Veterans education and resource fair held on 9/11 in Clarksburg

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — On the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center put on a Veterans Education and Resource Fair at the Nathan Goff Armory.

The event was put on in partnership with the Joining Community Forces Veteran Coalition of North Central West Virginia and provided resources to veterans such as the VA’s suicide prevention team, homeless outreach and foster home programs, food drives and G.I. Bill education resources.

“What we’re doing is we’re compiling as many official VA and unofficial community resources for veterans as we possibly can into one spot,” Public Affairs Specialist Sean McGinty said. “Veterans can come here, have a one-stop shop–find out what benefits they’re eligible for, what resources out in the community are available to them, and how they can access those.”

According to McGinty, it can sometimes be difficult for veterans to know exactly what resources they qualify for, especially due to there being so many. “Unless you come to a place like here today, where they’re all right at your fingertips and you can just chat with everybody and find out what’s available to you,” he said.

McGinty added that the VA tries to hold these resource fairs regularly, adding that they’re held almost once every quarter at least at different locations throughout the community. However, this event was a little different because there was a remembrance ceremony held with the local VFW Honor Guard to honor the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

During this ceremony, some cadets raised the American and West Virginian flags before bringing them to half-mast. There was also a 21 Gun Salute and a playing of Taps to honor the lives lost 23 years ago.

The event also featured a duffel bag giveaway filled with items, and free lunch for the first 150 participants. Each organization present also had different items to hand out at their individual tables.

Later this month, the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center will be having a pop-up toxic exposure screening clinic. The clinic will be held on Sept. 23-25 and will run from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. “So it’ll be an all-day event for veterans to come and find out if they qualify for healthcare or service-connected disability benefits at the hospital,” said McGinty.

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