Georgetown County to host one-stop veterans benefits claims clinic

GEORGETOWN COUNTY NEWS RELEASE
Jan. 7, 2025
Contact:
Jackie Broach, Public Information Officer
Phone: (843) 545-3164
E-mail: jbroach@gtcounty.org
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
Georgetown County to host one-stop veterans benefits claims clinic
 
GEORGETOWN COUNTY – The Georgetown County Veterans Services Office will team up with state and national Veterans Affairs partners to host a one-stop claims clinic at the Howard Center on Jan. 29. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is part of a statewide effort to make it easier for veterans to apply for and receive the benefits to which they are entitled. The Howard Center is located at 1610 Hawkins St. in Georgetown.
This is the second such event the county has hosted. The first took place last summer and attracted more than 100 local veterans eager to save themselves a trip to the regional office in Columbia. Shelia Jackson, director of the Regional Office, said then that more events would follow. Georgetown County Veterans Services Officer David Murphy said he’s glad to see the promise being kept and looks forward to hosting another great event.
The one-stop clinics are part of an effort to bridge the communication gap between the VA and the veterans the agency serves. It starts with community clinics, like the ones in Georgetown, and builds from there as the department regains trust and develops better relationships with veterans. The ultimate goal is to make sure veterans are aware of and can access the benefits they have rightfully earned, Jackson said.
A 20-year Army veteran herself, Jackson said the first thing she noticed when she came to S.C. is there were many veterans the agency wasn’t reaching. She wanted to fix that.
"We started on this massive outreach campaign," Jackson said.  "We have to go out there and reach the veteran where they are in their environment, at their leisure, and at their time. Our whole vision and mission is to bring service to them for benefits that they so richly earned.”
The clinics bring the full resources of the regional office directly to veterans in their communities. These claims clinics function as mini regional offices, offering on-the-spot assistance and resolutions to veterans' queries. For more information on the claims clinic and other opportunities from Georgetown County Veterans Services, call 843-545-3330 or email dmurphy@gtcounty.org.