Peabody deserves praise for Veterans Services Director Stephen Patten’s initiative to provide free legal services for men and women who served their country.
Porcello Law Offices in Salem is Peabody’s new partner in a campaign to help veterans and their families navigate the legal system. The effort to connect veterans with the legal help they need starts with a Porcello attorney spending two days a month at the Torigian Community Life Center, a Peabody location that counts many veterans among its residents.
The legal aid program represents a progressive approach by Patten and the city to reach out to veterans and it is a tribute to Porcello, a firm founded by a veteran.
Patten’s initiative mirrors the collaboration by Lynn doctors and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure local veterans have a convenient local source for medical care. Instead of driving to a Veterans Affairs hospital out of town, veterans can get health care in the local Boston Street clinic.
The facility is an enduring tribute to former U.S. Rep. John Tierney who fought to get federal money for the clinic after vowing he would ensure no veteran living in the Sixth Congressional District had to travel more than 15 miles from home to receive care.
U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton has worked to provide support for the clinic and fellow veterans who use its services, including mental health counseling and other help available in part through interactive technology connecting the clinic with other medical offices.
Patten’s efforts and the Lynn clinic’s success buttresses work by the Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development to end homelessness among local veterans. Combine these efforts with strong commitments to veterans in surrounding communities, including Saugus, Swampscott and Revere, then it is clear strong potential exists to do more for veterans.
This potential is only limited by the imagination and drive of veterans old and young, women and men, representing the full spectrum of veterans.
New efforts on the part of veterans can begin with Moulton obtaining the federal resources needed to conduct a valuable “hyper survey” of Lynn area and North Shore veterans. This study can assess in detail and accurately gauge the needs and challenges facing veterans.
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So much more can be done on behalf of veterans.
Lynn English High School’s Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets can be harnessed to provide services to veterans beyond the good work the students already perform under Sgt. Major Ken Oswald’s leadership.
Older veterans need companionship assistance and there is a historic need for young people to assist in oral history projects aimed at preserving the memories and experiences of the few remaining World War II veterans as well as Korean War veterans.
There is also a compelling need for younger veterans to have opportunities to define and shape the services and assistance they need. They can work with Moulton, Patten and other veterans affairs experts, including Lynn Veterans Service Director Michael Sweeney, to outline long-range veterans assistance plans.
Veterans have done their share for their country. But the work to be done on their behalf is just beginning.