Tigers for Troops helping veterans navigate legal complexities of VA benefits

It's always nice to see groups find opportunities to serve our area veterans, and a recent story in this newspaper highlighted one example taking place this week in Cape Girardeau.

Tigers for Troops, a program of the University of Missouri School of Law Veterans Clinic, will hold a consultation event from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at VFW Post No. 3838, 1049 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau.

The idea is to reach out to veterans around the state, particularly in rural areas, and provide free legal consultations so these individuals can receive benefits available to them.

"The disability compensation process is meant to be very veteran-friendly, but in practice it ends up being pretty complicated," Martha Bradley, an attorney with the veterans law clinic, told the Southeast Missourian. "It's meant for a veteran to be able to just do it all on their own, but they really do need a lawyer's help with a lot of this stuff. Especially if they end up wanting to appeal any of the decisions. These cases start at a regional office and can make it all the way up to the Supreme Court. So, having an attorney be able to step in and help can be really beneficial to a veteran."

There are a number of resources available to veterans, from checkups, to medications to hearing aids, Bradley said.

You can learn more about the event by calling (573) 882-7630. There are two websites online with more information: facebook.com/MizzouLawVeteransClinic and web.cvent.com/event/dd22fd12-a2af-4bb4-86cc-133441b3a34a/summary.

Navigating the complexities of the VA can be a challenge. This looks like a good event for our local veterans who need legal assistance. We applaud the Tigers for Troops organization, which also connects veterans with local attorneys, for their outreach.