By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
HOULTON — The Maine Mobile Vet Center (MVC) based in Caribou traveled to Houlton recently to reach out to veterans and advise them of the services to which they are entitled through the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The informal atmosphere of the large motor coach almost belies the comprehensive assistance that it can provide on site as it moves around the county.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Elna Seabrooks
SERVING VETERANS — The Maine Mobile Vet Center, valued around $300,000, has state-of-the art technology, capability for two private counseling rooms and secure phones. In the event of an emergency, it is self-sufficient.
“We’re self-reliant with state-of-the-art technology, secure phones, encrypted software and TeleMed conferencing capability for video consultations with doctors anywhere in the country,” said John Theriault, a readjustment counselor for the Caribou Vet Center. “We can even link with the emergency management system and set up a couple of stretchers if necessary since the weather extremes in northern Maine can cause power outages.”
The high-tech, handicapped-accessible bus is estimated to be in the price range of more than most homes in Aroostook County — around $300,000. Veterans should see more of it next year when a schedule is finalized for 2010. It bears the V.A. logo prominently as well as the insignias of the United States Coast Guard, Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. Theriault is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm and served in the Navy.
Interestingly, with all the men and women coming back to Maine following deployments overseas and in the Middle East, Theriault said right now he has been seeing more Vietnam-era veterans than anyone else “which is a major reason the mobile outreach program exists.”
“When those vets came back from combat, they weren’t received very well because of the turmoil our country was going through. They said ‘the heck with it, I don’t want to deal with the V.A. or veteran services.’ So, they went back to their communities without the benefits they had earned and were entitled to,” Theriault explained.
Theriault said among those services are home loan guarantees, educational benefits, medical coverage, mental health coverage, employment counseling and skills assessment. Now, he added, with the climate in the country more supportive of the troops, many of those veterans feel less reclusive and more open to exploring benefits available to them. Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Elna Seabrooks
NEW G.I. BILL BENEFITS — Pete Blanchette, left, a United States Air Force veteran, talks with John Theriault, a readjustment counselor for the Caribou Vet Center about the post-Sept.11 G.I. Bill. Blanchette stopped into the Mobile Vet Center recently when it traveled to Houlton.
Forty years later, those Vietnam veterans, nearing retirement age, are often dealing with failing health and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to Theriault. “They had to endure some pretty horrible things in combat. If they were exposed to Agent Orange or injured or shot, it’s worse now.”
William Shaughnessy said his Vietnam tour of duty from 1968-1969, when he was a 22-year-old Marine SSgt., had a profound effect on him. “I saw myself as the Rock of Gibraltar and didn’t think I needed anybody’s help. I guess I had a lot of distrust.” Shaughnessy said he “swallowed his pride 10 years ago” and went for counseling through the V.A. that was “very helpful” in understanding his feelings and dealing with PTSD.
“When service people come back from overseas tours, it’s a big transition going from military life 24/7 to a civilian community,” explained Theriault. The structure and skill sets the service people used to survive in combat, he said, no longer work here. Sometimes, according to Theriault, he conducts an ad hoc counseling session in the motor coach. It easily converts to two separate and private rooms for consultations to deal with mental health issues, medical concerns, sexual trauma and harassment, employment counseling or another confidential matter.
The V.A. estimates that about 131,000 male and female veterans are homeless on any given night and up to twice that number are homeless at some point during the course of a year. Even more are at risk due to complex factors, not the least of which is a lack of affordable housing. Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Elna Seabrooks
SIGN OF THE TIMES — John Theriault, readjustment counselor, inserts a placard on the van that has permanent insignias of the United States Coast Guard, Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines in addition to the logo for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
According to Theriault, the number of homeless veterans in Aroostook County is not as high as the number in southern Maine. But, he maintained, “even one is too many. If a homeless veteran came into the bus or our center, I’d make sure he or she had a warm, safe place to stay for the night. Then I would follow up the next day to explore long-term housing programs.”
To learn more about benefits administered by the V.A., including the Post 9/11 G.I Bill, contact the Caribou Vet Center at 496-3900.