Reprinted from Deadline Hollywood by David Robb on April 8, 2021.
The Motion Picture & Television Fund’s VA Benefits Assistance program has helped Hollywood’s military veterans collect more than $1 million in unclaimed Veterans Affairs benefits since it started tracking outcomes in 2014. To date, 115 veterans have gotten the benefits to which they’re entitled, and 82 more claims are currently being processed.
When veterans decides to file a claim, program director Naomi Rodda, a licensed clinical social worker and federally accredited VA claims agent, helps them navigate the paperwork process and troubleshoots their claims through the complex and bureaucratic web of the Veterans Benefits Administration. The pension benefits MPTF helps its veterans secure can open doors to other VA programs, including free health care, free education benefits for dependents, and additional caregiver stipends for those who care for severely disabled veterans. The program also helps physically frail and cognitively impaired veterans and surviving spouses gain access pension to benefits that provide them with additional monies to use toward caregiving or assisted living facility expenses. …
