Workers from the troubled Vermont Veterans Home have taken to the streets of Bennington. They hope to enlist community support for what they see as a fight to save the state-run nursing facility.
In Vermont, an estimated 125 veterans are homeless on any given
night. But the state is slowly expanding its transitional housing for
vets, with four residences now in
Bradford, Rutland, Winooski, and Northfield.
Four years ago, a Korean War veteran from South Burlington began working to convince all cities and towns in Vermont to boost their property tax benefits for disabled
veterans. Now, he’s almost completed that mission.
Vermont has one of the oldest veterans’ populations of any
state in the country. Because of
these demographics, the state office on Veterans Affairs says it’s trying to
balance the needs of veterans who served in World War II and the Korean War
with the concerns of younger veterans.
A look at Vermont’s military veterans’ major challenges, including health care, employment and housing issues, analysis of the special Legislative Irene briefing session and a listen back to the voices in the news this week.
About 200 of Vermont’s 251 towns already allow
disabled veterans to deduct $40,000 from the assessed value of
their homes in order to reduce their property taxes. That number could soon increase.
Earlier: Boosting Benefits For Disabled Veterans
A program that
helps Vermont National Guard veterans returning from deployments in Afghanistan and elsewhere will get a one-year extension of funds
from the Pentagon.
Students at the country’s oldest private military college have
won a prestigious national prize for their documentary exploring issues
veterans back from Iraq
and Afghanistan
face upon returning home.
Norwich Students Produce New Documentary
A South Burlington man’s crusade on behalf of disabled military veterans
became a statewide movement at town meetings this week. Residents in about 40 towns were inspired by the
work of Lou Lertola to increase property tax breaks for the
vets.