Heading into July, the Pierce County Veteran Service Office is planning some exciting things to share with our veterans. For our office, the warmth of Summer along with the longer days are both a motivator to get out of the house and hopefully be more active overall. With that in mind we are in planning mode in order to perform outreach, providing more information to Pierce County veterans and their dependents.

In order to share our knowledge with you, we are currently looking for host sites from our local Pierce County businesses to set up outreach events for benefits. If you are a local business – or if you know of one that would be interested in hosting one of our veteran outreach events for our Pierce County veterans, please contact us at 715-273-6753 in order to schedule. These events can be any topic. An event could be as simple as an open forum space for vets to meet and discuss benefits and share their service experience with the Pierce County CVSO and Veteran Case Coordinator. We are also anticipating - as these outreach events continue, that we will potentially include other related subject matter experts such as service dogs, VA Health Care, VA Home Loans, Vet Center, and the wide world of VA claims.

With our deep concern for veterans at the forefront of everything that we do, we would also like to take the opportunity to extend a note of caution: Claim sharks are everywhere. BE CAUTIOUS. These words cannot be overstated. It is important to realize that while these agencies may seem legitimate, and state that they will help you get service connected, it is their practice to lure our veterans, obtain their signatures on their necessary contract which also states that they take a percentage of your disability pay once VA issues your rating. They may also pressure veterans to sign contracts without fully understanding the terms or the implications. They target veterans, often those who are vulnerable and struggling with the VA disability claims process. They often promise to expedite claims or guarantee certain outcomes but – their primary goal is to extract large sums of money from veterans. Claim sharks are not accredited by the VA to represent veterans in their claims, meaning they are not held to the professional standards and ethical guidelines as accredited representatives are. This lack of oversight allows them to engage in deceptive practices without fear of repercussions from the VA. It is illegal for unaccredited individuals or companies to charge veterans for assisting with their initial VA disability claims. This practice includes charging fees for preparing, filing, or assisting with any part of the initial claim process. Claim sharks could be taking thousands of dollars out of the veteran’s pocket. Moreover, as they are not accredited they cannot track any VA claims thereby providing inaccurate advice to our veterans. They rely on the veteran to give them all documents and do most of the legwork. If you are service connected you earned that and no one should be taking it from you. It is unsafe to provide an unscrupulous entity with your private personal information including your medical records, your DD-214 and more. Protect yourself from exploitation and contact your county’s Veterans Service Office to keep your money and information safe. We uphold the highest standards when working with our veterans and will continue to stay proactive with this in our community as it remains a real problem and a threat. Your Pierce County Veterans Office would never charge money for any services provided to a veteran. It is our goal to make your claims process as seamless and streamlined as possible and to uphold the professional standards that our Pierce County veteran community has come to know and trust.

In lighter news, the Pierce County Fair is coming up this August! The Veterans Service Office and the American Legions of Pierce County will be partnering up to create a booth highlighting the importance of mental well-being and resources that are available. If you or your family was affected by a veteran suicide and want to share their story, reach out to us and help us honor and remember them. You can contact us at 715-273-6753 (or pcvso@co.pierce.wi.us). We hope to see you at our booth during the Fair!

Here is the timeline of inspiring events that we have planned:

• Thursday, Aug. 7: Pierce County Veteran Service Office, the American Legion Posts along with representatives from the VA Medical Center
• Friday, Aug. 8: Pierce County Veteran Service Office, American Legion Posts, VA Medical Center representatives, plus the Mobile Vet Center on site
• Saturday, Aug. 9: Pierce County Veteran Service Office, American Legion Posts, and Toni Mattson, Founder of Trinity Equestrian Center will be coming to our booth at the Pierce County Fair to talk about equine-assisted therapy, a form of therapy that centers around working with horses. Toni will also showcase her book “Unlikely Recruits” which is about the use of horses in helping heal veterans.
• Sunday, Aug. 10: Pierce County Veteran Service Office, American Legion Posts and Dr. Steve Lansing and Colonel B. Wayne Quist, co-authors of the book “Veterans in Crisis” and founders of Veterans Empowered will be doing a book signing of their book which is about the history of PTSD. They will also be promoting the use of healing through storytelling.

We have so many positive and and interesting things planned for the Fair this year with a lot of relevant information, to help promote the healing process and journey of our veterans. Make sure you stop on by and meet our special guests as they have wonderful things to share. We will be located again this year at the Beldenville Old Car Club Building along with the American Legion Posts. We invite you to stop and visit!