HELPING LGBT VETS:

AVER Veterans Affairs helps advise individual vets via the internet, by phone, and thru referral to MCSN. Individual LGBT veteran inquiries for assistance come in at a steady pace. Issues inquired about have included: VA benefits eligibility, homeless vets, keeping VA hospitals open, headstones for deceased vets, discharge upgrades for those discharged due to homosexuality, VA Home Loan Guarantee qualification for same sex couples, medical benefits for children of LGBT veterans and their partners in co-parent situations involving homophobic state and federal regulations, Transgender dignity and medical benefits, LGBT sensitive counseling in the VA and referral via MCSN to counseling outside the VA, Veterans tax benefits, treatment of PTSD and HIV, VA privacy issues, as well as services and benefits for those currently returning from combat duty, among other issues.
Each of those and many other inquires sets of a new round of research and advocacy for our LGBT vets. We have begun to be able to better serve these inquiries via the newly established AVER Veterans Affairs Committee and in coordination with MCSN.

VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE:

In conjunction with MCSN, the AVER Veterans Affairs Committee was begun, via internet, as a pilot project involving list members who are lawyers, social workers, psychologists and therapists, and others involved in direct service with LGBT vets. Via the committee e-list, we have begun to be able to make referrals on a case by case basis to assist in individual cases. The intent is to be able to provide direct service and or reduced fee and funded social services for LGBT vets and active duty personnel.

Denny Meyer, AVER VP for Veterans Affairs, speaking at a rally in New York to keep VA hospitals open.

GETTING HELP:

LGBT Veterans Benefits E-Mail Discussion Group:

AVER has established an e-mail discussion group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered veterans and their supporters to share information on issues of specific concern to them as GLBT veterans, e.g., service discharge upgrades, VA health services for HIV/AIDS, same-sex partner issues at VA, etc. Click here to join the group.

Individual Inqiries:

If you have specific questions about veterans benefits eligibility or your rights as an LGBT American armed forces veteran, you may also contact us directly and we will do out best to point you in the right direction to resolve your issues. The best way to contact AVER Veterans Affairs is via e-mail: write to Denny Meyer, AVER VP for Veterans Affairs, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Please note that we are not able to provide immediate or emergency assistance.

Veterans Affairs Committee:

If you are a professional and or have experience and knowledge about LGBT veterans issues, we would welcome your participation in the AVER Veterans Affairs Committee e-group. Please contact Denny Meyer, AVER VP for Veterans Affairs, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Legislative Action, Liaison, and Advocacy

Press Conference New York City Hall DADT repeal resolution L-R: Council Member Margarita Lopez, James Reilly, Denny Meyer (speaking), Dr. Frank Kameny, Leslie Deutsch

AVER Veterans Affairs is engaged in an ongoing aggressive campaign to establish and secure the rights of LGBT service members and veterans. At the national and local level, via AVER chapters, we continually write letters to editors of gay and mainstream media, promote and endorse LGBT rights legislation, participate in efforts to keep VA hospitals open, and regularly liaison with elected officials and political candidates. In the recent Presidential Campaign, in 2004, the AVER VP for Veterans Affairs was the only Openly Gay Veteran to appear onstage -on national television- with a presidential candidate.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal resolutions and the Military Readiness Enhancement Act (HR1059)
Starting in New York in May of 2005, AVER, with other organizations, has succeeded in enacting city, state, and organizational resolutions which demand that Congress and the President repeal the DADT law and allow patriotic gay volunteers to serve in our nation's armed forces, openly in Pride, by passing HR1059 the Military Readiness Enhancement Act.

As of October 2005, DADT repeal resolutions have been passed in:
New York City, West Hollywood, San Francisco, Chicago, Cathedral City CA, and the State of California.

At the urging of AVER Veterans Affairs, Stonewall Democratic Club, and Veterans For Peace have enacted resolutions at their national conventions to endorse the repeal of DADT. Efforts are underway across the nation for more city, state, and organizational resolutions. For consultation on starting a DADT repeal resolution effort in your local legislative area, contact the AVER VP for Veterans Affairs, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

"The time has come for the pointless policy of ideological discrimination, embodied in the Don't Ask, Don't Tell law, to come to an end so that all American patriotic volunteers may serve our nation in pride." –Denny Meyer. VP for Veterans Affairs with Congressman Steve Israel at press conference re. HR1059

Liaison with LGBT Organizations:

AVER Veterans Affairs maintains liaison and coordination with other LGBT organizations such as TAVA (Transgender American Veterans Association), NGLTF (National Gay and Lesbian Task Force), SLDN (Servicemembers Legal Defense Network), MCSN (Military Community Services Network), and MEI (Military Education Initiative), among others. We attend and participate in conferences such as the Hofstra University School of Law's roundtable on DADT in 2003 which focused on the Solomon Amendment regarding the banning of ROTC recruiting on college campuses due to discrimination against homosexuals. Future plans include a national survey of LGBT veterans in a joint project with a research and public policy institute.

Hoftstra Conference Shara Greer(SLDN), COL Cammermeyer, Jeff Cleghorn, and Denny Meyer VP Veterans Affairs

AVER Veterans Affairs Goals:

AVER Veterans Affairs goals include ongoing liaison with VA administrative officials to develop an ongoing dialogue regarding the general needs and specific problems of GLBT veterans in obtaining respectful treatment, medical benefits including HIV benefits, disability benefits, discharge upgrades, and related issues, as well as on support services and entitlements for the families of GLBT service members and veterans.

Please Help AVER to continue working for your rights and benefits, donate online today.

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