September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Preventing suicide among veterans has been a critical priority for VA throughout the past 20 years. In 2014, an average of 20 veterans died from suicide each day. Between 2001 and 2014, the rate of suicide increased among both veterans and civilians, but the increase was larger among veterans (32 percent) than among adult civilians (23 percent). In addition, the increasing rate of suicide among women veterans prompted Congress […]

In this issue of BVA Happenings, BVA Deputy Director of Government Relations Alek Libbin explains the often-criticized Congressional August recess. John Nance Garner, one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Vice Presidents, said: “No good legislation ever comes out of Washington after June.”  Virtually every year in August, members of Congress leave Capitol Hill and, for all intents and purposes, pause official actions (i.e., hearings, votes, and markups). This does not mean, however, that these legislators […]

Passage and implementation of The Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 (PACT Act) has made it possible for many veterans to enroll directly in VA health care without first applying for VA benefits. For some, however, the time to apply is running out. There are two related groups with different deadlines.  The PACT Act deadlines are as follows: First, Veterans who deployed to a combat zone, […]

Join BVA’s VetTech Team this Wednesday, August 30, at 2:00pm Eastern Time as the Weekly Wednesday Webinar welcomes Liz Whitaker, Product Manager for User Education and Research at Vispero. In Windows 11, Microsoft changed many of the core elements of Windows, including the Start Menu, Explorer, the Notification Center, and much more. The alterations require blind and low vision users to re-learn how to interact with these elements. Fortunately, Freedom Scientific has optimized JAWS and […]

The BVA 78th National Convention has now joined the previous 77 meetings in BVA’s historical archives. On behalf of our National Headquarters, thank you to all who made the five-day event possible and then successful from several vantage points. A record number of sponsored events and exhibitors, not to mention the scheduled meetings and evening hospitality, kept attendees busy from sunrise to well past sunset throughout the week. The convention was not without its customary […]

BVA recently supported Waymo’s efforts to operate in the City of San Francisco. The service is a fully autonomous ride-hailing operation enabling people with disabilities to move more freely and less expensively than they would using other ride-hailing services. The vehicles are fully capable of self-driving without a driver present and have logged more than a million miles without a single accident-related death, injury, or at-fault accident.  One week ago, the night before BVA Happenings […]

Join BVA’s VetTech Team this Wednesday, August 23, at 2:00pm Eastern Time as Weekly Wednesday Webinar participants look back at this past week’s National Convention. The session will focus on the technology featured during the event, both in the Exhibit Hall and in endeavors such as navigating the hotel facility using tools provided by convention sponsor WayAround.  Do not miss this VetTech session! Participants will receive: An overview of convention sponsors and exhibitors (the companies […]

In conjunction with the BVA National Board of Directors, the National Blinded Veterans Association Auxiliary (BVAA) elected four new officers for the upcoming fiscal year, all of whom were sworn in at the start of the Closing Business Session yesterday. The new officers are:             Robert Murphy, President             Sherri Harris-Bates, Vice President             Benjamin Holmes, Secretary             Karin Myron, Treasurer BVAA was created in 1977 as a means by which family members and friends […]

The BVA 78th National Convention had many success stories but none more compelling than those emanating from a record number of sponsored meals and activities, along with a heavily trafficked Exhibit Hall comprised of 45 booths. Although three additional sponsors did not purchase booth space, all were an integral part of the convention and crucially important in their support. Major event sponsors in chronological order of event were:             Hotel Orientation Using Navigation Technology, conducted […]

Four years of anticipation, two years of preparation, and a week of activities designed for stellar legs, healthy appetites, a zest for learning the latest in technology, and an interest in helping to guide the future of the Blinded Veterans Association all came to an end with the ceremonial lowering of the gavel at last night’s Awards Banquet, sponsored by Vanda Pharmaceuticals.  Attendees also made their way to the much-enjoyed hospitality suite sponsored by the […]