 Welcome to Voice of the Veteran on ThinkTech Live Streaming Network series, broadcasting from our downtown studio at Pioneer Plaza at the core of downtown Honolulu. I'm your host, Helen Dora Hayden, Veteran Advocate. Joining me in the studio today is Ron Han, Director of State of Hawaii, Office of Veteran Services. Today, we're going to talk about state benefits for veterans, active duty, and family members. Our talk shows are streamed live on the Internet from 12 noon to 5 p.m. every weekday, and earlier shows are streamed all night long. All our shows are streamed on livestream.com. If you want the links to our live streams or previous broadcasts, which are available on youtube.com, or if you want to subscribe to our programs or get on our mailing list and get our program advisories, go to thinktechhawaii.com. The State of Hawaii Office of Veteran Services has multiple offices throughout Hawaii. To assist in preparing VA claims and other vital services, we are so very lucky to have Ron Han, the Director here today, to share with us the multitude of services that can be offered. Ron, thank you for being with us. It's an honor to be here, and congratulations on your new show, The Voice of the Veteran, and for your military service as well, Helen. Thank you, Ron. So, a lot of veterans face a lot of obstacles when they try to navigate through the VA healthcare. So, it's wonderful that there are agencies out there, like the state, that can jump up and help them. Can you talk about where your offices are located first? Absolutely. We're headquartered at the Trippler Army Medical Center, and specifically, it's the E-Wing. And so, right there, where a Veterans Benefits Administration resides on the first floor and the upper floors were right there on the first floor, and you come to the door in the big waiting room with the first door on your right, and we share that with the other Veterans Service organizations, like the Military of the Purple Heart, the State of American Veterans, American Legion, some really great organizations out there. So, that's one headquarter location. We have a diamond head office over at 22nd Avenue, and then we have satellite offices on Kauai, on Maui, in Hilo, and over in Kona. And then we do outreach to Molokai once a month, and we do Lanai once a quarter. So, those are our offices and how we're set up out there. Thank you. You're welcome. Can you tell us a little bit about what you do as a state agency that's different than maybe one of Veterans Service organizations does? There's a lot of similarities, Helen. You know, benefits and entitlements, counseling, basically as an advocate, as a navigator, for the veteran or the family member that comes in is our primary role. But we also take care of the eight state veterans' cemeteries. So, we have oversight of cemeteries pretty much in every island. The island of Hawaii has three cemeteries, so we work in partnership with the counties, the respective counties as well. So, they do the day-to-day maintenance, but we provide the oversight with the State Department of Defense, the Hawaii Engineering Office, Department of Accounting and General Services as well, along with the State Office of Veterans Services. So, that may be a little bit more of a unique thing that we get involved with that other Veterans Service organizations do not get involved with. Yes, thank you for that. I didn't know all that. I knew that there was a state agency, but I did not know exactly how you differed. And I think that there's a lot of public misconceptions out there about that. So, thank you for clearing that up. You're welcome. Can you tell us a little bit about the services that you offer from your office for veterans when they walk in? Right. Probably the first and foremost thing is to help veterans with eligibility. As they come through the door, we'll ask them or triage them to figure out, hey, what are your needs? You're looking to file a disabled claim to the system, are you looking for paperwork? Some folks come to us for the license plates. We help issue up the veterans' license plates in partnership with the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Transportation for the State. Some ask us for some other information to deal with name changes and other things. So, we're kind of a no-wrong door, kind of a spouse-to-no-wrong door concept. If you come through our door, we're going to find a place for you or refer you to the right agency. And that's a part of a state kupuna program that's going on right now. The other piece of it too is when we do connect you to where you need to go, we ensure that we do the follow-ups with you. So many times claims get submitted, we'll advocate for the veterans to go online to do their benefits, follow-ups, and so forth. But then again, sometimes the decisions are not what the veterans are looking for. So we go through an appeal process. We help them prepare the case, prepare the notes, actually even represent them in the appeal process with a federal magistrate or with a federal judge. So we do take it to that end degree. It almost is, like, create a degree to some extent, because we also take care, as I mentioned earlier, about the cemeteries. So we'll see folks literally for decades and decades until they're finalized and make sure that they get the honor and dignity of a proper burial with military honors that they deserve. And so that kind of, in a nutshell, the things that we would do when they first come through. I know that veterans really struggle, and I have personally, when I filed my claim, I kind of don't understand the process. So the frustration level is very high. And I know that there's been a lot of media attention nationally on VA and the backlog and the untimeliness of medical appointments. Can you touch about how that all impacts us here in Hawaii and what new things and exciting things we're doing here to help veterans? I've been with the program with the state office for almost six years now. So I've seen the actual start, the genesis of will, some of the things that we had made mention of earlier to kind of where we're at today. There's a real, the gap has been closed. There's still more that needs to be done, but they're on the right track and getting started. So I think one of the big issues that had come up that we have seen has been about capacity. Can they see appointments with their health care provider in the VA in a timely manner? One point in time we had a couple years back, probably the longest wait times in the nation. The other thing was the quality of care. Do we have enough health care providers that are there with the VA? And then probably the other thing is the timeliness, as you made mention of. How fast does it take for me to get a claim? Well, I can tell you, and I won't speak for the VA, but we're very closely with them. We live in their facility. We're engaged with them on a daily basis. Most of their claims for the Hawaii unit, there's very few that are over a year old. Six years ago, there were a lot of more of five years old. They've come a long way in that regard. Most of the appointments are done within a 30-day window instead of the six-month window that was purported a couple years back. They've increased their staff. The VA was one of the very few organizations in the departments when the president put a hiring freeze down that had opportunities to hire. So they weren't part of that. And they hired quite a bit of staff members, both in the Veterans Benefits Administration and the Veterans Health Care Administration, the VHA piece of it. So we have seen some things what they're doing. Is there more that needs to be done? Absolutely. Appeals modernization and reform is a huge and important thing that we want to see. Get those appeals down to a workable level and give the veterans a chance to make some options. Give them some decision-making in that process. And of course, I can't say enough about homelessness. Veterans homelessness, you know, we need to do more. More has been done, but we still need to do more until we get every single veteran off the street. I saw recently an article by the governor that he was talking about no homeless veterans, that they are really targeting and getting them off the streets. And there's over 6,000 in Hawaii is what the numbers that I got recently. I understand that issue very well. I personally have suffered from that myself. So my heart is near and dear to that. But I wanted to thank you and your team of service officers that go out and reach out to the community and do outreach and do these claims for these veterans, the active duty. Can we touch a little bit about active duty and their family members and how you help them? Sure. I'd be happy to. And then just for the point in time count they did 2017, Helen, I think we're down at 619 now. Oh, good. Veterans across the state, that's both sheltered and unsheltered. And I think 6,000 might have been the overall numbers that they were looking at. But they have come a long way in respect to that. And it's because of what you said earlier. And thank you for sharing your own personal story because I've always found that the most important things that happen is a veteran helping a veteran. And I know your story will help many other veterans to say that you can get help and we will help you. Thank you for that. Now go back to the military, folks. We're doing our very best now to help the transitioning military members and their families. It's out of the military. They use the transition assistance programs. But we also conduct our own similar ones as well. And we're happy to come out to visit with units or military members that come into our office. There is some navigational tools that you have to use. We give them a template or kind of a playbook to let them know here is the process. This is what it takes to get a claim to the system. In case it is denied, this is what you do here. It is a process that you have to have patience with, but you have us to help you navigate. You've got an advocate. You've got someone you can talk to. And what we're also finding out is, again, many of the military members are talking to those who had separated or retired before. And so they're getting a lot of good keys and all the good lessons learned and takeaways before they get out of the system, which is the way it has to be done. Absolutely. And the rules are always changing. You know this from your own personal background. So what happened five or six years ago is not the case today. The rules have changed. When I first came in, there were eight presumptive Asian-Orange elements that would give an automatic rating. We're up to 15 today. So thanks to change. Thank you for that because I got out in 1990. I did four years and didn't know I was even a veteran. And so I was very fortunate to come across DAV reps that helped me understand the process. And I did not understand what was going on. I was excited to get my VA disability at this percentage that I did, but they were not. They pushed and pushed and taught me how to advocate for myself. And that's a message that I want to give to all of my veterans in active duty. It's our own responsibility to know what's in our records, to advocate for ourselves, to educate ourselves so that we can be proactive in the process of your claim. This is your claim. So having an organization to help them along the process is wonderful. But I'm absolutely a proponent of that person taking ownership of their own journey and educating. So that's why I've been a TAP brief here for six years out in Alabama. And learned here, when I moved here in August, that veterans don't know that if they went to Afghanistan or Iraq that they have five years free medical at the VA. Could you touch on that, please? Yeah, absolutely. You know, I know me and that TAP briefing before the exit, they should have all that information prior to them getting out. But obviously a lot of things happen as they go along through the process, small little impediments along the way with looking for jobs, or am I going to stay in Hawaii? You know, I'm from Alabama. Do I go back to Alabama? Do I do these things? And so a lot of things are happening with them all at the same time. But we need to do our very best to help them at the moment of need. And so thank you for what you're doing as well as an advocate and walking the talk. Absolutely. Thank you. Okay. We are going to take a short break. I'm Helen Dora Hayden. This is Voice of the Veteran on Think Tech Live Streaming Network Series. We're talking with Ron Hahn, Director of State of Hawaii, Office of Veteran Services about state benefits for veterans, active military, spouses, and family members. We'll be back in a minute, so stay tuned for more of the story. Welcome to Sister Power. I'm your host, Sharon Thomas Yarbrough, where we motivate, educate, empower, and inspire all women. We are live here every other Thursday at 4 p.m., and we welcome you to join us here at Sister Power. Aloha and thank you. Veteran, my victory was finding the strength to be a champion. My victory is having a job I can be proud of. At DAV, we help veterans get the benefits they've earned. My victory was finishing my education. My victory was getting help to put our lives back together. DAV provides veterans with a lifetime of support. My victory is being there for my family. Help us support more victories for veterans. Go to DAV.org. We're live. I'm Helen Dora Hayden, Veteran Advocate, and this is Voice of the Veteran on Think Tech Live streaming network series, talking about state benefits for veterans, active military, and family members. We have Ron Hahn here, and we would love to talk to you a little bit about what's moving forward in the state of Hawaii for our veterans, active duty, and family members. Thanks for asking that question, Helen. We just got through a week long in May, the 50th anniversary, commemoration anniversary of the Vietnam War, and so many Vietnam vets were brought to many of these advances in means of camaraderie. You know, they never got a welcome home that they should have received. A lot of them didn't get a thank you, didn't get a parade, getting a lot of different things. So we had a lot of that going on this particular week, but it connected veterans, as you had highlighted earlier. So what are you doing? Did you get help there? What can I do now? So that was great. We're taking that to the Naval Islands now. We got some great veterans consoles and council members on the Kauai and on the Big Island as well, on the Island of Hawaii. Maui did theirs back in November, and we still want to get to Molokai and Lenai as well. So they have planned events coming up in November where they're going to recognize these Vietnam veterans, ever veterans, I should say, on those Naval Islands. We also have a lot of things going on with the World War I centennial that's also coming up in 2018. So a hundred years in Hawaii. So Hawaii had some interesting dynamics that happened out there with vendors and contractors and people. You'd be very surprised. So we have a website that's all designated to that. And we're looking at trying to put together a big program, a combined program again, with the county and the state on November 11, 2018. So those are just some of the big things that are happening out there. As far as bigger projects, we got a $3 million project going on with our cemeteries. Lenai's getting some upgrades. The Island of Hawaii, East Hawaii cemeteries get some upgrades. And also on Maui, we're completing their phase two realignment restoration project. It's about almost a $3 million project right there. And then we're also going to adjust now to building these, thanks again to the Veterans Affairs Administration, these multi-service centers on Kauai and Maui. And so they're going to be at one stop shop for the Vet Center, the Community Outpatient Clinic, part of the VA, and the State Office of Veterans Services will all be under one roof. Oh, that's nice. Already fully funded by the VA, and we hope to have those up within a couple years. And again, a lot of partnerships there, State Department of Education got involved. They're sharing some land on Maui High School that is unused land. And we've done all the environmental side assessments. The community's been very strong behind that. And it's going to create some synergy with the students there. You know, they talk about STEM, you know, the steam, some of the science, technology, engineering, and arts, and math. And so we want to see some of those come over to the health side to help some of these veterans and get to know the most of them are community members and their great role models as well. And then finally, we're trying to work on a second state veterans home. Governor E. Gay and the State Legislature approved 27 million to build a 120-bed skill nursing facility. We have a 95-bed skill nursing facility in Hilo. It's been there for a little over 10 years now. Yukio Kutsu, state veterans home named after Medal of Honor recipient. It's a 95-bed skill nursing facility, always mostly at capacity. So more is needed, and we're looking forward to that, trying to get some federal money to match for that, to get that on the books as well. Again, all that we can do to help veterans and to promote veterans, that's what we're trying to do. We also work a lot on legislation stuff as well. And so if you look up through the ehoi.gov, you look for legislative things nationally, or in the state level, you'll see a lot of issues going on with veterans. We just got through, Governor E. Gay just got through signing a Filipino World War II burial assistance bill. A lot of the Filipino veterans didn't have an opportunity to send their remains back to their homeland. A lot of them weren't treated like how the U.S. military were treated because of some of the rules that were set up at that time. So a lot of those rules have been mitigated, and now we have some offerings of support for them. Of course, you know they're going to get the World War, the Congressional Gold Medal is going to be presented this year. For the Filipino veterans, just like our niece said, veterans have. So that's supposed to happen sometime later on this year as well. So a lot of things in the mix, the busier the more we get done. Yes, and I want to let veterans know about the monthly meeting for the Oahu Veterans Council that meets over at the Foster Village. Amazing facility, if you've never seen it. That was my first time last month and getting to know everybody. Very warm welcome. Any veteran is welcome to attend and learn. There's over 30 veteran organizations that are represented there. I remember meeting you and meeting the new director for the VA Health Care, Jennifer. And so could you just touch briefly about maybe some things you may have heard about what might be coming down the pike with this new director? Well, you know, we've worked the last probably month and a half since Director Jennifer Gutoski has come here from Arizona. And she's been very open and upfront about things and very much engaged. And the short, the month and a half, she's already visited pretty much every one of the neighbor islands or is planning to do so. Has already gone downrange to Guam and Samoa to be able to do that. So she's got a tremendous amount of energy. We've engaged with her. She's already started to make some important changes that need to be done. We're going to do our very best to support her any way we can. I think her heart's in the right place. And I think she's done some great work for us in the years ahead. Great, thank you for that. Is there anything else you'd like the audience to know about your organization? You know, I just want to say thanks to you again, Helen, for the opportunity to come on this wonderful show. And congratulations on this show. I know you'll do some great work for our veterans and the military members and their families. And then I also want to say that in the long run, any veteran that needs help give us an opportunity. You know, as a fellow veteran, there's no better testimony than to bring veterans in and to get them the help that they require. So thank you so much again. Thank you, Ray, very much. Honored to have you here. Ladies and gentlemen, I just want you to know a little bit about background about me. I moved here from Alaska. And this is my third time here. And this is home for me. I'm out here as a veteran advocate. I've done this job for 25 years as a volunteer. I love my fellow veterans. My father was active duty Army for 22 years. I did four years Army. And my son is active duty here as well in the Air Force. So I just want to let you know that I have a long extensive life journey with working with veterans and their families. And it's a labor of love, truly. I encourage all of you. Something that Ray touched on was legislation. I've served on two governor's boards and worked with legislators. And that's where we really need to work together to make sure that all veterans and their family members are taken care of at a legislative level. So join me every time there's a legislative action. Please vote. Please get out there and make your voice known. One voice, we can impact anything in our state and in our nation. So I need your help to work with me on that. The other thing I'm looking to do is contact me at the station. And I would love to have you as a guest. I feel like this is a show about you, about the veterans out there. That's why we call it Voice of the Veteran. And I'd love to learn what your struggles are. And maybe some of you have great ideas for solutions. I don't want to just know about struggles. Let's talk about how we can all work together to make it a collective environment so that we can all benefit. I hear a lot of veterans say, no, I don't want to file for VA disability because I'm taking it away from somebody else. You're not. These are earned benefits that you've already paid for. Please hear me and understand that. And we want to all collectively work together to make sure that you get the benefits you've already earned and so deserved. So please don't walk away because the paperwork is daunting or the bureaucracy may tie you up. Talk to one of us. We will help you. We are all here to help. It's been an honor and a joy serving the veteran community in Alabama, Alaska, and now my home here in Hawaii. Anything I can and do, I will for you. Please stop me and talk to me. Okay, we're about out of time and we have to wrap this up. I'm Hela Dora Hayden, veteran advocate, voice of the veteran on Think Tech Live, streaming network series. We've been talking with Ron Han, director of state of Hawaii office of veteran services about state benefits for veterans active military and family members. Thank you for being here. Thanks to our broadcast engineer, Ray, our floor manager, Cindy, and to Jay Fidel, our executive producer who puts it all together. And thanks to you, our viewers for watching. Think Tech will be back next Thursday for the next show in our Think Tech live streaming network series. So please tune in and tell your friends to tune in then. And of course, I'll see you next Thursday for more. A voice of the veteran on Think Tech, I'm Hela Dora Hayden, veteran advocate. Aloha, everyone.