The iconic Bayonne Bridge, which connects Bayonne, N.J., to Staten Island, N.Y., buzzed with pedestrian traffic Sunday morning as hundreds ran and walked across the world's fifth-largest steel-arched bridges, all for a good cause.
Sponsored by BCB Community Bank, the BCB 4-Mile Bayonne Bridge Run & 2-Mile Walk brought together the north Jersey community to raise funds for wounded and disabled veterans, The Jersey Journal reports. Proceeds from the charity event were donated to two veterans organizations, the Independence Fund and Hope for the Warriors, with the ultimate goal of purchasing two all-terrain wheelchairs for wounded warriors. Unlike typical wheelchairs, all-terrain chairs use tank treads as back wheels.
"This thing can be taken off road, through streams, over rocks and through sand," BCB director of marketing/communications Mike Delaney told the news outlet. "They're just amazing chairs."
According to the Independence Fund's official website, an all-terrain wheelchair costs at least $12,000. The fund has provided all-terrain wheelchairs for six veterans so far and continues to take donations through its website.
Sunday morning's race will be the last run on the historic bridge, as the steel structure is set to undergo multiple renovations beginning in November.
During a National Guard event over the weekend, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed into law a military benefits measure that will make it easier for former servicemembers to prove their military service, The Star-Ledger reports.
According to the news source, the law mandates the state's Motor Vehicle Center to issue a veterans status on drivers' licenses if requested by former servicemembers. The bill was sponsored by state Rep. Cleopatra Tucker, who chairs the Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee, and Rep. Herb Conaway, Jr., M.D., an Air Force Medical Corps veteran.
"Plain and simple, this legislation will make life easier and more convenient for veterans of all ages," Christie told reporters during the event. "With this single point of identification, veterans will now have easier access to services and discounts at businesses across the state."
The pro-veterans initiative comes at a much-needed time for Christie, who was under fire earlier this year for his proposed changes to New Jersey's civil service system, which would streamline promotions by allowing managers to "move" state employees without examinations, the news source previously reported. Lawmakers and veterans harshly criticized the changes, claiming that they would eradicate veterans' preference in the hiring system. However, The Star-Ledger reports that Christie recently assured veterans that their employment preference would remain despite the proposed changes.
Many U.S. military veterans currently residing in Bermuda do not realize that they qualify for military benefits. Now, they have the opportunity to fully receive the rewards they deserve for their service, The Royal Gazette reports.
At a meeting recently held by U.S. Consul General Robert Settje, former Marine Corps Staff Sergeant David Perinchief met with about 30 veterans to discuss the benefits open to them. Perinchief, a dual U.S.-Bermuda citizen who works out of the Boston Veterans Affairs office, travels to Bermuda on occasion to educate and foster a personal relationship with the veterans, making it easier for them to understand the complicated VA system.
Perinchief told the news source that he was surprised by the large number of former U.S. servicemembers living on the island.
"Their numbers are more than I originally thought – you wonder how many more of them are out there," Perinchief said.
According to the news source, Bermuda-based veterans are entitled to full benefits, including health care and disability, from the U.S. government.
"It's the best feeling in the world when these guys come in to see you," Perinchief said. "They're so mad, so angry, and when you explain it to them they get that smile."
Philadelphia has nearly 80,000 residents living within its city limits, yet none are employed by the city's VA office, the Philadelphia Daily News reports.
Located on the first floor of City Hall, the Veterans Advisory Commission is reportedly the primary resource for Philly veterans. However, the office only has two full-time employees, neither of whom have any military experience.
According to the news source, a faith-based nonprofit called Pointman Soldiers Heart Ministry is advocating for the office to hire veteran employees in order to better help servicemembers returning from war.
"When they come back from situations of war and tragedy, they want someone to talk to who has had that experience," Ari Merretazon, the nonprofit's founder, told the news source.
Not everyone agrees that the lack of veteran employees is alienating servicemembers. VA employee Joyce McKeown told the news outlet that since the office's move last year to a more visible location, she has seen twice the number of veterans coming to her office.
Fellow VA employee Wanda Pate added that she is hesitant about having veterans with previous traumatic experiences working in the office, because they might not adapt to the office environment, the news source reports.
However, nearly three-quarters of the staff at the Philadelphia Veterans Multi-Service and Education Center in Old City are veterans, according to the news source. The nonprofit's chief of organizational development told the Philadelphia Daily News that having veterans in the office provides extra empathy when dealing with difficult situations.
Former President George W. Bush launches the Warrior Open golf tournament this weekend in Irving, Texas. Now in its third year, the annual competition honors the wounded veterans who fought during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, ABC News reports.
Sponsored by the Bush Institute's Military Service Initiative, the tournament features 24 veterans from the Army, Marine Corps and Air Force, according to the event's website. All of the veterans were injured during combat. Some are amputees, while others suffered from traumatic brain injuries. They have since turned to golfing as a form of healing.
"The example of these folks out here today is an important example for our fellow citizens," Bush told the news source. "You can either be defeated or defeat your injury. They all have chosen to defeat."
Bush told the news outlet that the military members had a great effect on him during his presidency and that this is his way of honoring their service.
This will also be the first year with a special Pro-Am competition, which includes PGA Tour pros and sponsors of the Bush Institute, the event's website states.
An Iowa nursing home for military veterans has recently been targeted by the state for an investigation into its management practices, The Des Moines Register reports. The nursing home, which is the largest senior care facility in Iowa, has faced allegations of poor management and care abuse in the past, placing the facility under scrutiny from state officials from the Department of Administrative Services and the Department of Elder Affairs.
Nursing home manager Commandant David Worley, a Gulf War veteran, faced repeated criticism of his "blunt management style" over the last three years, according to the news source. Last April, about 40 nursing home staffers penned a letter to The Des Moines Register and other Iowa newspapers describing the lack of morale and stressful conditions.
The allegations took a serious turn when state Sen. Daryl Beall, chairman of the Iowa Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, wrote a letter to State Ombudsman Ruth Cooperrider claiming he received firsthand accounts of sexual harassment and bullying by Worley against his staff and residents, the news outlet reports.
State Sen. Steve Sodders also told the news source that he hears stories from his veteran constituents about poor conditions at the nursing home, mostly because the facility is under-staffed. However, Sodders said that the atmosphere at the nursing home has reportedly improved.
"People say that as far as Worley is concerned, he has been far less abusive. They have hidden him away in an office most of the time … So in that respect, it's better," Sodders told the news outlet.
The John Marshall Law School in Chicago held a ribbon-cutting ceremony this week to celebrate the new home of its legal clinic exclusively for veterans.
Located in the Windy City's downtown area, the John Marshall Law School Veterans Legal Support Center provides legal assistance to veterans trying to navigate their military benefits, CBS Chicago reports. The center launched in 2006 and expanded in 2010 after receiving a grant from the Department of Justice.
Brian Clauss, executive director of the center, told the news source that a majority of the counsel's current cases are Veterans Affairs benefits appeals, stemming from the VA's on-going backlog of disability claims.
In a spacious new headquarters measuring over 5,000 square-feet, the center also helps Chicago-area veterans with other services, ranging from criminal cases to family matters, Clauss said. Students and practicing attorneys work side-by-side, educating veterans about important military issues and providing additional resources. However, the attorneys do not represent veterans in criminal matters, according to a statement on the center's website.
Several students working at the center, such as Michael Hoffman, are veterans who know firsthand the difficulties former servicemembers face when trying to sort out their military benefits.
"I went through the veterans' benefit system myself. It was very difficult, very long," Hoffman told the news outlet.
A group of wounded warriors took a ride through the historic streets of Concord, Mass. last weekend, finding a calming peace of mind through cycling in solidarity.
The Boston Globe reports that 50 disabled veterans participated in Soldier Ride, a biking event sponsored by the national nonprofit Wounded Warriors Project. Most of the veterans who participated suffered from traumatic brain injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder, or were amputees. Event organizers expected to raise more than $100,000 for the Wounded Warriors Project through the event.
Beginning near the Old North Bridge, the location where the "shot heard 'round the world" jump-started the American Revolution, participants rode as a group throughout the 22-mile course, the news source reports. The veterans were also joined by 400 civilians, including former New England Patriots linebacker Steve Nelson.
For most of the veterans, the ride was a milestone in their long road to recovery.
"When you're in a bike, you're free, you're outside, and it's liberating," Iraq war veteran Kathleen White told the news outlet. White suffered a traumatic brain injury during her 2004 tour in the Army National Guard. It took her years to recuperate from the experience.
"I never thought I'd be in the place I am now," she added.
Female servicemembers are stepping into more small-business roles with the help of new initiatives, the New York Post reports.
Launched in 2011, Veterans as Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship trains women veterans and military spouses in business and marketing strategies through a 15-day online course. Once the participants finish the course, they attend a three-day conference held in various cities throughout the nation, where they meet other like-minded women veterans who have found success in operating small businesses.
According to the news source, the program already has roughly 900 graduates. Tina Kapral, director of educational programs at the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University, where the program is currently administered, told the Post that nearly 60 percent of the graduates have successfully founded their own small business.
Why are women veterans naturally able to helm their own businesses? Kapral claims it's because they already have beneficial skills in key areas.
"[The veterans] already have a built-in mentality for bootstrapping and key leadership characteristics," Kapral told the news outlet. "They're used to being in situations in which they take calculated risk and they know how to work out a contingency plan as backup."
Currently, only 4 percent of the 3 million veteran-owned small business are led by women, according to data provided by the Small Business Association. But as the unemployment rate of female veterans continues to drop, Kapral hopes it will encourage more women servicemembers to jump into entrepreneurship.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted for massive cuts to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program last week, shaving $40 billion off the budget for the next 10 years, the Washington Times reports. These cuts might pose a major threat to the low-income veterans who rely on food stamps to live.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, approximately 900,00 low-income veterans receive benefits from SNAP each month. An estimated 170,000 of those veterans might be negatively affected by two key sections of the House's budget bill.
About 120,000 veterans might lose their benefits due to the "Southerland" provision, which eliminates assistance to non-elderly unemployed adults who were unable to secure employment through a job program, according to the source. An additional 50,000 veterans might be at-risk under the second provision, which cuts food assistance to people ages 18 to 50 living in areas of high unemployment. The source also states that veterans might lose their benefits due to other cuts targeting low-income families with high child-care costs.
Supporters of the bill claim its intent is not to eradicate SNAP but to cut down on fraud and abuse within the system, the Washington Times reports. However, the news outlet states that millions of unemployed citizens will lose their benefits if the bill is passed.