VA hires vets to go find comrades who need help
By LISA ORKIN EMMANUEL – 1 hour ago
MIAMI (AP) — Derek Graner can scan a crowd of veterans and pick out those needing help.
The former Army sergeant developed post traumatic stress disorder in Iraq and knows the signs — the withdrawal, the restlessness, the distrust.
"Sometimes there is a certain look in their eye," he said.
Graner is one of 100 former service members hired nationally by the Department of Veterans Affairs as outreach specialists to help get Iraq and Afghanistan veterans into programs aimed at easing their transition back to civilian life.
They frequent job fairs, welcome-home events and other places where troops back from the wars might congregate and look for those struggling to adjust. The goal is to persuade them to visit one of 230-plus vet centers nationwide, which are operated by the VA to offer free services from job hunting assistance to marriage and mental health counseling.
Experts applaud the effort to actively search for veterans who may need help, even if some advocates say the program should be much bigger.
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