Military veterans moving from the front line to the classroom can get help from the Department of Veterans Affairs. But while there’s a myriad of benefits for them, the process of getting them can be intimidating. Fortunately, student veterans in southern Michigan have direct access to an expert from the VA right on campus.
“What we’re assigned to do is to help a veteran understand the best way to use the benefits that they have.” That’s how Vet Success on Campus Counselor Reginald Rogers sums up his mission: helping student veterans and their families get the help they need from the VA. “Not only do we work with veterans but we also work with dependent spouses, children etc.”
Rogers is one of two vocational rehabilitation counselors in southern Michigan assigned by the VA to work face-to-face with veterans on college campuses. His area includes Eastern Michigan University, Schoolcraft Community College, the University of Michigan, and Washtenaw Community College. A Navy retiree with two decades of service in uniform, Rogers helps veteran students with whatever they need, whether it’s applying for education benefits or filing a service-related claim. And Rogers says VA will not come knocking on the veteran’s door. “You’ll never see billboards on the side of the road, you’ll never see an ad on TV or hear anything over the radio."
Brett Haddow, a four-year veteran of the Air Force, helps veteran students on the southwestern side of the state understand and apply for their VA benefits.
“I mean anybody can send anybody to the websites and say here’s how you apply, but sometimes that’s even confusing. So I’ll sit down with people, go through all the steps, make sure it’s good to go, make sure they say okay, once you apply, this is how long it takes, and you apply for financial aid, this is how you apply for the school, these are the advisors you need to talk to.”
Haddow works with veterans attending Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo Valley Community College, and Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek. "If they have questions about the Battle Creek VA Medical Center, the Grand Rapids VA Medical Center, or anything, we can lead them in the right direction.”
Just like his partner on the eastern side of the state, Haddow assists those returning from active duty into the classroom by connecting them with their post-9/11 GI Bill benefits. He pays particular attention to the frustration felt by vets who get impatient trying to find, qualify for, and use VA services because of the long wait times on the phone, and not being able to get to the right person.
Haddow urges veterans to come see him as soon as they can if they have a question about education issues, or anything else.
“Whether you’re a veteran or not, people will want to try to figure it out themselves, and maybe when it’s too late. They dig themselves into a hole and it’s harder to get out. If they ask, usually we can figure it out.”
Like Haddow, Rogers wants veterans to come see him at the first sign of trouble. When a veteran steps into his office, Rogers says he immediately begins to assess them as he starts the conversation.
“What I’m looking to see if there is something obviously wrong with this person. If the person limps, if the person can’t hold their head up, and so forth. I say well there’s got to be something wrong. And then I introduce myself. I share what I do and, if need be, I share that I am a vet. I explain that I’m from the VA and we’re here to help you decide which benefit is the best for you to use.”
Being a veteran himself, Rogers says he realizes that while veterans are some of the strongest people after stepping up to serve their country, they are often the worst at asking for help. “The VA is not interested in having individuals waste their benefits and we’ve had a lot of that in the past. So what we want to do is we want to adjust that, to ensure that they are not wasting their program.”
Not all colleges are lucky enough to have their own in house VA counselor. But Haddow and Rogers urge veteran students to contact the student military affairs office at their college to get connected with the VA services they need.