By Greg Jordan
For The Register-Herald
ATHENS —
More services are available for the nation’s veterans, and even college and university campuses are becoming more “veteran friendly” with programs designed to meet their needs.
The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission Office of Veterans Education and Training Programs conducted a symposium for veterans education Wednesday to provide background on the needs of veterans who are also students.
Keynote speaker Dr. Al Batres, chief readjustment counseling officer for U.S. Veterans Affairs, said the VA has a long history of serving veterans when they return home. In some cases, the VA helped veterans deal with issues that were unknown to the general public.
“We were around before PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,)” he told the audience at the Rahall Technology Center. “We were treating veterans before that diagnosis was made.”
The VA is “first and foremost” focused on the needs of veterans and their families, Batres said.
Veterans who are combating PTSD and other medical issues often do not seek counseling because of the stigma it can carry. Military culture, which emphasizes self-sufficiency, can also make veterans uneasy about seeking assistance, he said. Having the involvement of veterans’ families is important.
“Sometimes it’s (the urge to be self-sufficient) difficult to turn off,” Batres said. “The thing that works for us is seeing families. I don’t see how we can help without families.”
Whenever possible, combat veterans counsel combat veterans, and cultural differences are taken into account as well, he said. West Virginians counsel West Virginians.
Concord University is a veterans friendly campus that has a veterans office, a veterans lounge and a student veterans club, said Sarah Dalton, a university spokesperson. One counselor on campus is a veteran.
Colleges, universities and other agencies to make themselves more veteran friendly so more veterans can enroll, get the services they need and graduate, Dalton said.
The Princeton Vet Center is located at 905 Mercer Street. The telephone number is 304-425-2837. In Beckley, the Vet Center is at 1000 Johnson Road. The phone number is 304-252-8220.
— Jordan is a reporter for the Bluefield Daily Telegraph
