By Michelle Chance

Maricopa resident Robert Caron, 47, is a U.S. Army veteran who said he drives 52 miles to the Phoenix VA from his home in Hidden Valley.

In two months, Caron is due for his fifth back surgery from an injury he sustained during his time in the service. The pain is bad enough to keep him up at night, he said, and a shorter commute would help ease his physical pain, as well as the cost of commuting.

Additionally, Caron said he would like to see an expanded center that offered mental health care and access to his primary care physician.

“(A VA center) anywhere in Maricopa would benefit me greatly. That would save me so much,” Caron said.

Is sues like this will be part of the discussion at the annual Maricopa Town Hall and Resource Fair, which takes place March 30 from 5 to 8 p.m. at City Hall. See flyer

Among those attending to take VA healthcare questions from Maricopa veterans, their supporters and families will be RimaAnn Nelson, the director of the Phoenix VA Medical Center, and Wanda Wright, director of Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services.

The annual event is sponsored in part by Councilmember Julia Gusse, who said the town hall is an opportunity for veterans to express their praise or concerns to top veteran officials in the state.

“The only way we’re going to get a seat at the table is for us to have these conversations and steps like these,” Gusse said regarding the town hall.

Veterans make up nearly 10 percent of Maricopa’s geographic population, including vets living in unincorporated portions of the city, Stanfield and the Ak-Chin Indian Community, Gusse said.

Gusse’s ultimate goal is to land a VA medical clinic in Maricopa, and she said she hopes voices heard at the town hall will encourage officials to consider it.

“These are questions that vets have been posing to me for years and I haven’t been able to give them a straight answer because there are no services in Maricopa.”

Currently, local vets seeking medical care through the VA have two options: travel to Phoenix or commute to Tucson.

“It’s a burden because many of our vets are disabled and they cannot do the drive on their own,” Gusse said. “So it’s taking a toll on many of our vets, and many of (them) would rather go without the service.”

Local veterans who bring their military ID and DD214 form can receive information on their VA health benefits by meeting with on-site VA healthcare system administrators.

Event sponsors American Legion Post 133 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 12043 will also be in attendance, as well as Blue Star Moms, Vet’s Community Connections and VetIt, Inc. Additionally, The Ripple Effect organization will be on hand to address the veteran suicide epidemic.

In the future, Gusse said she is working with Wright to organize a veterans town hall specifically for local female military vets who she said might feel stigmatized by sexual harassment and other issues they experienced during their time in the military.

“I actually helped write a resolution a couple of years ago regarding the sexual trauma of PTSD, so we are trying to address this on a national level, but it starts at home and we need to open up these conversations here,” Gusse said.

For additional information please contact: Sara Delgadillo at 520-316-6827 or [email protected].

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR