Perhaps like many of our blind and low vision veterans, I found it difficult and frustrating to use the much-heralded MyHealtheVet. However, there is a group of folks that works either for or at VA who have taken on the challenge of making accessibility a whole lot better. We met some of them at the recent convention in St. Louis while others have been involved in Beta Testing with the goal of developing a usable, […]

Business establishments throughout the country, especially restaurants, have traditionally chosen to recognize Veterans Day and honor military veterans by offering them entirely free meals all day on November 11. In other cases, deep discounts are available to veterans’ families or the party with which they may be dining. Several of the discounts are valid throughout the month of November and not just on Veterans Day. An extensive list of the discounts in several categories (not […]

Blinded Veterans Association members, their families, and their regional groups nationwide are encouraged to participate in a variety of local events and activities next week leading up to and including the November 11 Veterans Day holiday, which falls this year on a Saturday.  The Association’s National Headquarters will participate in the 70th annual National Veterans Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery honoring the men and women who have served and continue to serve in the […]

Mike Cook, Arkansas Regional Group, and Randy Cantrell, Spokane Inland Empire Regional Group, are the newly named Directors of Districts 2 and 4, respectively. District 2 is comprised of the following states: Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. District 4 includes: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.  A Vietnam veteran of the U.S. Air Force, […]

It may have been Halloween but members of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Group and staff of the Washington, DC VA Medical Center’s Vision Impairment Services Outpatient Rehabilitation (VISOR) Clinic had their minds on an equally important but different theme as they made their way to an all-day October 31 event promoting awareness of the White Cane and care of our nation’s blind and low vision veterans.  Some 20 attendees (see accompanying photos) from the regional group […]

Two BVA members this past week captured the attention of their local television news media. The focus in both cases is their demonstrated persistence to lead active, productive lives despite losing their sight.  Vietnam veteran Edward Collins, Tennessee Regional Group, was featured on WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee, in a segment entitled “Service and Sacrifice: Blind but Ambitious.” The interview is available for viewing here. James Malone, an at-large BVA member from Tempe, Arizona, with only […]

In this week’s BVA Happenings, Deputy Director of Government Relations Alek Libbin names a few useful sources of information for keeping abreast of legislative issues nationally. The subject of a previous blurb was the chaos created by the removal of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. After a turbulent 22 days, the drama seems to have settled for the time being with this past Wednesday’s election of Representative Mike Johnson (R-LA-4) to the Speakership.  […]

Veterans Experience Action Centers (VEACs) are virtual or in-person events hosted by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in coordination with state and community organizations to quickly connect veterans and their families to needed resources. The activities offer veterans the opportunity to speak directly with VA and community experts to obtain one-on-one assistance in the areas of health care, benefits, community services, peer-to-peer connection, memorial affairs, crisis resources, and women veteran coordinators. On October 31 […]