La Junta VA Resource Fair, Town Hall

VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System (ECHCS) will host a resource fair and town hall Aug. 10 for Veterans in La Junta. The resource fair takes place 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. VA ECHCS Director Michael Kilmer will host the town hall from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

VA ECHCS provides health care to Veterans in Eastern Colorado and surrounding states. Prior to the concluding public forum, Veterans, along with their spouses and caregivers, will get one-on-one support with understanding, accessing and using VA benefits and services.

During the resource fair, Veterans confirmed as eligible for VA health care will get assistance with enrolling and scheduling their first appointment. For more information on how to apply, including the requested documents, visit VA.gov/health-care/how-to-apply.

A licensed clinical social worker will explain long-term care, caregiver support, home health and applying for home improvement grants or resolving case management issues. A Veteran experience officer will ask about the moments that matter and offer help in resolving issues.

VA ECHCS Office of Community Care representatives can clarify how consults get processed and offer updates. Community providers can learn how to partner with VA through TriWest.

A social worker with the suicide prevention team can talk about screening for suicide risk, promoting connectedness, improving care transitions and increasing lethal means safety, as well as community engagement, coalition building and change initiatives for suicide prevention.

Veterans can learn about VA homeless programs and community-based initiatives. A program expert will explain what efforts are crucial to increasing permanent housing placements and enabling a full accounting of Veterans experiencing homelessness to keep it rare and brief.