Representative Melanie Stansbury was in Albuquerque this past weekend and took part in convening a Veterans Resource Fair alongside the New Mexico Department of Veterans Services and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center.
Several other local veterans organizations also took part in the event, which helped highlight the benefits of connecting veterans with resources such as health care enrollment, housing assistance, vocational rehabilitation and VA home loans.
The resource fair also doubled as an opportunity to share information with veterans about the Honoring Our PACT Act.
Passed back in July 2022, Honoring our PACT expands access to care for veterans who have been exposed to toxic chemicals and burn pits.
For post-9/11 combat veterans, this bill extends the period of time they have to enroll in the VA health care from five years to ten years post discharge.
It also allows combat veterans who do not fall within that window to access a one-year open enrollment period.
The bill also codifies the VA’s new process for evaluating and determining presumption of exposure and service connection from various chronic conditions and removes the need for certain veterans and their survivors to prove services connection if they are diagnosed with one of 23 specific conditions.
Stansbury said New Mexico’s deep connection to military service is being paid back to the veterans of this state through both the resource fair and the PACT Act.
“My hope is for all of the veterans that come here, they get connected to care and services. My hope is that for those who have been struggling with accessing the system, who have not been able to get the healthcare that they have already been seeking or aren’t sure if they even qualify for healthcare because of their service, that they have the opportunity to talk to folks in the VA system, to connect with housing opportunities, to connect with other veterans and just find access and care for their service to our country.”