The Paralyzed Veterans organization is working very hard to make sure veterans of all types are getting the benefits they deserve. This is through a new initiative called the Power of Attorney Project. Created 15 months ago, the Power of Attorney Project has successfully identified specific benefits that are not being received by veterans. The initiative is also developing solutions to correcting the problem.
In order to take advantage of the initiative, veterans must sign a document that allows a Paralyzed Veterans participant to represent them. This process is known as power of attorney, hence the namesake of the initiative. Anyway, thanks to the Paralyzed Veterans, the Veterans Benefits Department, (also known as VBD), has identified that 25 percent of its members did not take advantage of this opportunity. The Veterans Benefits Department responded by sending out several mailings informing Veterans of what the Paralyzed Veterans organization was offering. These mailings include a Power of Attorney form, so the process of signing up would be easier for them.
Once a veteran does complete their Power of Attorney form, it gets sent to their local service office. From there the service officers will check to see if the veteran is receiving their due benefits. If the veteran is not receiving their benefits, the Paralyzed Veteran representative will file a claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs. From there further action gets taken to ensure the veteran gets what is owed to them.
Since the Power of Attorney project has started, 100 out of 445 members were found not to be receiving the benefits they deserved. Claims have been filed, so hopefully the veterans will receive their benefits quickly.
