The president of Pennsylvania's Governor's Veterans Outreach and Assistance Center (GVOAC) spent Monday morning putting stamps on envelopes to 100 veteran clients with active assistance claims, informing them the center will be closing because of state budget cuts.
The GVOAC will be closing its five centers effective Jan. 1, 2010 because of discontinued state funding. President Gary Dwyer said the sudden cut in state funding came as a surprise.
"We were led to believe that we were going to be funded back in the month of May," he said. "We were then notified on Oct. 30 that our services would no longer be funded by the state of Pennsylvania beyond Dec. 31 of 2009."
The main branch in Harrisburg aided 3,048 veterans during the program's 2008-2009 year in 23 counties in central Pennsylvania, including Centre County. The center offers assistance with applications for health care, service-connected disability claims and a variety of other services.
Dwyer said the county directors of veterans' affairs will now have to pick up the extra workload. However, Holly Serface, director of the Centre County Office of Veterans' Affairs, does not expect to see much of an increase in requests after the GVOAC closes its doors.
"I like to say we service all 10,000 veterans in Centre County, but that just depends on who puts in claims," Serface said.
Centre County Board of Commissioners Chairman Jon Eich said the GVOAC's closing may shift work to local agencies, which include an outpatient clinic in State College and Penn State's Office of Veterans Programs.
"It will be interesting to see what the long-range impact is," Eich said. "At least we have some local resources that are there to pick up the load."
And some students know the benefits organizations like the GVOAC can offer firsthand.
Penn State student Matt Poth (sophomore-secondary education) left the Marine Corps in September 2008 after serving two tours in Iraq. He went to the Centre County office for disability assistance but feels the GVOAC's closure will make it harder for other veterans seeking aid.
"Across the board, veterans' agencies are already understaffed and undermanned, Poth said. "To take a vital resource away from veterans just makes things a lot harder."
Tor Michaels, chief of staff for Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Centre, said the issue "touches home" because Rep. Conklin's late brother served in the armed forces. With a friend heading to Afghanistan and a father who was a World War II veteran, Eich also said he will be interested to see if the resources continue to be available for veterans.
Dwyer said it's a shame the GVOAC will have to close.
"We're sorry that we're going away because we did provide them an awful lot of assistance in obtaining their claims, and we wish them all the best," he said.
