Local Veterans Face Long Waits for VA Benefits
Returning veterans are now facing a new enemy at home—long wait times for their disability claims. The waiting times started increasing in 2010 when U.S. troops were withdrawn from Iraq causing a dramatic uptick in first-time filers, according to the Center for Investigative Reporting. The data found that in most regional VA offices, not only did waiting times increase, but they vary dramatically with location: about 508 days in Baltimore, Maryland and 134 days in Fargo, North Dakota. The national average now stands at about 11 months, which is dramatically higher than in 2009 when it was 116 days. Claims sent to the VA’s Boston office take on average 411.6 days to process a disability claim. That’s more than 13 months before the average claimant gets a decision. The backlog has also partly been blamed on the VA still using paper to process their claims. In 2011, the Department started implementing a computerized system in several of its regional offices. However, despite spending $ 537 million on the new program and employing 3,300 claims processors, 97 percent of veterans’ claims are still on paper. Still, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki pledged back in March that the VA will end the enormous backlog by 2015. While Memorial Day, which is celebrated this Monday, is officially a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who died in the service of their country, in practice it’s often a day to recognize living veterans locally. The data above was obtained by The Center for Investigative Reporting from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs and is updated weekly. South End Patch
Boston City Councilor Waits for ‘Monster’ to be Caught During Lockdown
Gripped to media reports like the majority of Boston area residents is how Boston District 6 City Councilor Matt O’Malley is riding out the stay in shelter lockdown. “I’m sitting in my living room since 6:20 a.m. this morning watching television, waiting, hoping and praying there’s no more innocent victims,” said O’Malley, who texted his staff early to let them know to stay home. He said he also received a robocall from NotifyBoston letting him know about the stay in shelter order while law officials search for one of the two bombing suspects. He said he hasn’t received a briefing on the lockdown situation, and said he knows as much as anyone watching media reports. O’Malley also took to Twitter for a little tweet beef with a state rep from Arkansas on gun control. State Rep. Nate Bell, R-20, who tweeted last night: “I wonder how many Boston liberals spent the night cowering in their homes wishing they had an AR-15 with a hi-capacity magazine? #2A“ To which O’Malley (tweeted) and retorted today: “@NateBell4AR You are a moron.” But the district councilor representing West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, and a part of Roslindale, said his focus has been on the safety of people. “Allston-Brighton was the first ‘shelter in place’ (area), then at the press conferene later in the morning it was the entire city of Boston,” said O’Malley. “So I checked in with friends and family making sure that everyone is safe.” O’Malley said he believes federal, state, city and town police will catch the suspect. “It’s obviously very tense. Like everyone we’re watching television, watching media reports and hope this monster can be caught and and brought to justice.” “Obviously, we’re all very concerned. We’re obviously worried and many of us know victims who are recovering. We know victims who were loss,” said O’Malley. “The three people who were killed, and the cop lost last night. Our city mourns, but we’re strong, we’re tough, we’re resolute – that’s why we’re the greatest city in the world.” South End Patch