Free Legal Aid Available for Veterans

"Free legal help is available to veterans and active-duty personnel seeking benefits.

That was the message National Veterans Legal Services Program delivered to 14 people at the Washington County Commission on Aging on Wednesday.

"There are tens of thousands of veterans who don't have all of the disability benefits that they should have," Rochelle Bobroff, the organization's director of pro bono services, said before the program.

Bobroff was joined by staff attorney Alexis Ivory and Paul Schwen, an Equal Justice Works fellow for the organization.

Their presentation noted that the U.S. Census Bureau in 2012 counted more than 12.4 million veterans age 65 or older.

Veterans from different eras were exposed to different hazards.

For example, many Korean War veterans were exposed to severe cold and might have conditions, such as skin cancer, that worsen as they age. Many veterans of the Vietnam War were exposed to the defoliant Agent Orange, and 31 percent suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome, a condition that was not recognized at the time..."

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