New Office for Nevada Veteran’s Coalition
Joseph Maino The Fernley Reporter
Brett G. Palmer, President of the Nevada Veteran’s Coalition is proud to announce the opening of their Main Street office. The new office, along with name change from “Northern Nevada Veteran’s Coalition” to the “Nevada Veteran’s Coalition,” reflects the organization’s expanded emphasis on helping all of Nevada’s veterans and to providing advocacy help.
Palmer says, “We have a certified Veterans Advocate, but needed a place for the veterans to meet with that advocate. We wanted to make him more accessible by the public. Fernley’s real estate tycoon, Bill Meyer, helped the Vet Coalition get that space. He’s a vet and he found out what we were up to and he made us a proposition we could not refuse. He understands the need for the advocacy program.”
As a consequence of the Coalition’s efforts, Governor Sandoval will present the organization with an award to be held at the Governor’s Mansion Event Center in the Nevada Room on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 9 a,m. The award ceremonies will also include a tour of the Governor’s Mansion immediately following the ceremony.
Jan Hodges, the Coalition’s current advocate says, “Many of the common questions we get include “How do I increase my disability benefits? How do I bury my husband. and I’m just getting out of the military, what are my benefits?”
“We can help get any information they need. Give them the right forms. When all the paperwork is completed we present them to the Veterans Service Officer in Fallon, who then presents the veteran to the VA. We get things moving.” adds Hodges.
The Veterans Advocates are all volunteers and none of them are compensated for their services. They must also undergo education and training. The online Nevada Veterans Advocate education and training course consists of 20 separate parts. The intensive education/training provides information about the most common and critical questions veterans seeking assistance are known to ask. Hodges successfully completed and passed all the tests required to become an Advocate about 6 months ago.
The Nevada Veterans Coalition office is located at 140 E Main Street, Fernley Nevada and is open Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
