Pennsylvania Lt. Governor Mike Stack is working with veteran representatives around the state to improve lives of military vets.
“We have a lot of veterans in our area that need help,” said Cathy Lloyd. Lloyd served in the military reserve for 20 years. She was in Iraq for two years before retiring as a disabled veteran. She smirked when she heard about the newly-formed Lt. Governor’s Veterans Task Force.
“I want to laugh ’cause they all come out with good ideas but they never follow through with them,” she said. “They can’t sit back in their offices and say ‘Oh well let’s do this.’ No. They gotta get out, meet us, ’cause everybody has a different need.”
Friend and veteran Renee Wineland agrees. Wineland was in the Persian Gulf War and is now also classified a disabled veteran.
“We try to do volunteer work and try to reach out to other veterans to help get them help because, like, the mental health thing and stuff a lot of people are embarrassed to ask for help or just don’t know what to do,” she said.
Stack’s 21-member task force aims to bring together public and private resources to address veterans’ issues, including housing, employment, mental health, etc.
“Try to keep our older veterans in their home and not in a home,” Lloyd stressed. She said she and other veterans she knows expect state help when they get out of the military. In reality, they feel like they’re on their own.
“I don’t know how they could fix that because it’s the federal government that turns you loose on society,” she said. “They don’t check your mental state, and once you’ve been to a combat zone, you’re a little messed up when you come home.”
Both Lloyd and Wineland think meeting with veterans at the VA hospitals would be a good start. They hope the panel, none of whom are from our area, remember all of the vets in rural, Central PA.
“Even them starting out with the town hall meetings would be helpful,” Wineland said.
