DOWAGIAC — With Cass County being home to about 4,000 veterans, the Dowagiac Rotary Club dedicated their Thursday afternoon to learn about Cass County Veteran Affairs.

The Rotary Club welcomed Tom Green, the director of VA for Cass County to present information about veteran benefits at the county, state and federal level. Green himself is a Vietnam War veteran and served as an officer in the army. He is also a graduate of Western Michigan University and has raised his three sons in Dowagiac with his wife, Rose.

“There are 4,000 Veterans in Cass County, those are the ones I’m concerned about,” Green said. “That number 10 years ago when I came here was about 5,000 and that gives you an idea of the impact the loss of the World War II generation has had on our numbers.”

Green, who has been in his VA position for over 11 years, said his role is actually quite simple.

“My job is to counsel veterans and/or their dependents concerning their county or their state or their federal benefits in regard to their military service or their relationships to a veteran’s military service. Pretty simple,” Green said.

Green outlined several benefits at the county level, which are budgeted for, including a relief fund which is funded by the county and tax dollars. It is a small fund and used for food vouchers, gasoline vouchers or unexpected situations, which are all based on emergency needs, Green said. A burial fund is also provided at the county level, covering $300 of a veteran’s funeral expenses as well as their spouse’s expenses.

A new component of the relief fund will include transportation expenses for veterans who have legitimate needs to get to a veteran affairs’ appointment through the Cass County Council on Aging and their volunteer drivers.

Next, Green introduced benefits at the state level, including the Michigan Veteran’s trust fund, which has grown to $61 million and is used for larger emergency needs.

“We have one we are working on right now in the county where the Veteran is losing his home,” Green said. “This home is a mobile home. It’s not livable and can’t even be insured and it’s in the works. We believe he is going to get that replaced to the tune of $16,000. That’s what this fund can do for the veterans that our county fund can’t do.”

Another state benefit is a hunting and fishing license free of charge.

A large portion of Green’s time is dedicated to federal benefits, this is where the devil’s in the details, he said. The Department of Veteran Affairs is divided into three distinct administrations: the cemeteries administration, health administrations and benefits administration. In 2003, Congress decided there would be a cap on income placed on veterans trying to get healthcare, which was decided by cost of living, county by county, nationwide.

“In this area, that cap on income is approximately $40,000 household income which bars quite a lot of people from getting healthcare,” Green said. “It’s household income so husband and spouse or wife or spouse. If you have over $40,000 in income, you aren’t going to get healthcare from the VA.”

While there are educational benefits available to veterans, Green encourages them to sit down with a financial advisor at their school of choice.

“In my office everything is free,” Green said. “The veteran pays nothing. Not a thing, everything is free. Whatever they come into my office for, it’s free. If a veteran gets a claim, and it is denied and they go through an appeal process and it goes so far, they are a citizen of the United States, they can always hire a lawyer if they want to, but it’s not necessary they can always follow the appeals process within the system and its still free.”

Green enjoys engaging in these discussions to encourage veterans to give him a call and participate in the benefits and support provided for them.

“I want to tell you that I really enjoy these kinds of venues and discussions because I believe from these discussions somebody outside this room will be informed and they are going to give me a call,” Green said. “Somebody out of this discussion is going to get a benefit that they didn’t know they had coming, at least, that’s my hope. Pass it on.”