Homes on the Homefront, a program of Operation Homefront, is again offering a renovated home in Pennsylvania. In the vicinity of our area alone, about five homes over the last two years have been offered and occupied. While this one Read more…
As a result of Winter Storm Jonas, the Allentown VA Outpatient Clinic closed 25 January due to a significant snow load accumulating on the roof. The weight of the snow has caused a deflection in the roof which generated concern over Read more…
Robin Carmody, our Chair of the Veterans Reading Brigade, is calling for veterans to step forward and volunteer to read to elementary school students during school hours and/or after-school programs in the Allentown School District (We can use volunteers for other school districts as well.). (more…)
On 8 January, the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA), after unexplained foot-dragging resulting from the budgetary impasse, finally announced the availability of up to $550,000 in competitive grants. It gives the Lehigh Valley community of nonprofits an opportunity to do more for its military veterans and their families. The suspense for submitting a proposal is 5 February 2016, 4 p.m.
The source of the funding is through the Veterans Trust Fund, which was created to expedite or expand services to veterans and their families using an alternate source of 
funding. Over the years, the gears of state government have ground far too slowly to be responsive to their needs. (more…)
VA Plans to Issue Regulations for Presumptive Conditions Which Will Expand Disability Benefits Eligibility for Veterans Exposed to Contaminated Water at Camp Lejeune
We’ve reported on this previously. While someone located at Camp Lejeune during the period in question could seek and obtain healthcare from the VA, compensation was another matter.
However, on 17 December the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it plans to propose expanded disability compensation eligibility for veterans exposed to contaminated drinking water while assigned to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. From 1953 to 1987, water sources at the base were contaminated with industrial solvents that statistically correlate with certain health conditions. (more…)
NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 17, 2015
Harrisburg, Pa. – The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs encourages Pennsylvania veterans to connect with them via their new online Pennsylvania Veterans Registry at www.register.dmva.pa.gov for assistance with obtaining veterans benefits and services. (more…)
Homes on the Homefront, a program of Operation Homefront, is offering another renovated home in our vicinity — about the fourth or fifth one since the the program began. This one is in Effort, PA. Deadline for application is 13 Read more…
On 1 December, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that it again was making changes to its Veterans Choice Program after “learning from our stakeholders what works and what needs to be refined …” It is the second major announcement, since the program began on 5 November 2014. As previously reported, the “as the crow flies” 40 mile rule was changed to actual driving distance on 24 April 2015. A back story to this last announcement has been barely noticed. (more…)
At a press conference on November 11 at Bethlehem’s City Council Chamber, President of LVMAC, Gerald Still, Retired Major General (USAF), announced the Healthcare in Our Community (HOC) alliance has remained strong and viable and has grown going into its fifth year. Still said, “The commitment of the CEOs of the participating organizations in this working alliance has been remarkable and necessary. Our sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, continue to return to an environment where there are no major military medical facilities close to home. It is absolutely critical that we continue to work with one another and the local VA to meet the short- and long-term needs of our military veterans.” (more…)
On Tuesday, December 1, a Warming Center will open in Allentown to provide overnight emergency shelter to those without homes. The Lehigh Conference of Churches will manage operations at the City of Allentown’s Fountain Pool Building, located at the corner of S. 10th Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard. The Warming Center’s opening date coincides with the start of Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering in a coordinated regional effort to meet the increased need for warm, safe refuge for homeless individuals seen in previous winters. (more…)