Eclipse Magazine - Produced by NABVETS Winter 2014 | Page 25

A Helping Hand Up: NABVETS is Helping Veterans Get Their Fair Share Anyone who has stopped at a red light and been approached by someone with a shamed look on their face, carrying a sign asking for “anything to help,” knows the situation many of our veterans are facing. Having worked with these heroes over the last 45 years, I not only know how many of our vets have fallen through the cracks, but I know an organization—our very own NABVETS—that can make a real difference in their lives. Some time ago while walking out of Walgreens, I met a man asking for spare change. I gave him a couple of dollars, and asked if he was a veteran, as I usually do. When he said he was, I immediately told him about NABVETS and asked about the status of his VA benefits. He told me he had tried to get help, but because he had some issues with his discharge, he was told he wasn’t eligible. I told him this wasn’t necessarily the end of the story, and invited him to my office. He arrived the next day, and over coffee, we talked about his situation. This man had an “other than honorable” discharge because he had tested positive for marijuana on a random u ɥ