Support for Returning Troops in Fairfield County

When Corey Walsh stepped back into civilian life nearly two years ago, the amount of support surprised him.

"I got inundated with offers from the state, from free tuition to life insurance," said Walsh, an Iraq War veteran. "The state did a pretty good job. As for the county – nothing."

No one would mistake Fairfield County as a mainstay of the military; after all, the towns aren't clustered around a base. That means the citizenry sometime overlooks returning troops. Still, there are a dedicated few assisting veterans with job searches, housing and in some cases physical and mental health care.

Graduating from Wilton High School in 2002, Walsh, 27, served with the 3BN 162nd Infantry Brigade in Iraq. He holds a degree in criminal justice from Regis University in Denver, CO.

Walsh now works at Unilever in Englewood Cliffs, NJ. He found the job after another Wiltonian told him of a job opening.

"In general the support is there, but its small circle, hands-on by and large," Walsh said.

He learned the state waived tuition if a veteran forgot to sign up for GI Bill. When a soldier separates from the military, the state is informed.

But not every returning veteran knows where to turn.

Walsh said a regional Fairfield County website to match job-seeking veterans with potential employers would be useful.

If an online service existed, other veterans might know that Fairfield-based General Electric actively recruits veterans. The company was named a top "Military Friendly Employer" by G.I. Jobs.

"Nearly one in fourteen U.S. employees of GE are military veterans, so we are well experienced in helping new hires adjust to life in the private sector," said Steve Canale, the company's manager of global recruiting and staffing. "Through programs like Operation Yellow Ribbon, we provide a flexible work schedule in order to re-acclimate to GE and tend to personal issues."

In addition, GE developed the GE Veterans Network, a cross-business network to support its employee veterans. It provides more than 11,000 U.S. veterans a network to help them transition from military service to civilian life.

Of course, not all employers are the same.

Caterina Veronesi of Fairfield recalled when between deployments.

Veronesi joined the Army in 1985, after six years on active duty she joined the Army Reserves. Currently on her second deployment, Veronesi said civilians often don't understand what the U.S. Army forces does or what its soldiers experience.

"The last time I was home [from Iraq] one of my bosses asked me if I had been away on a sabbatical, as if I was a professor at a university," Veronesi said in a previous interview with Patch.

Don Hazzard, commander of Wilton's American Legion Post 86, knows first-hand what it's like to come home to little or no support.

The Vietnam veteran often worries about American service members who serve multiple tours.

Recently, Hazzard compiled a list of area men and women who are serving overseas. He said he wants to keep them connected with letters and packages. And that he wants them to know they can come to the Legion any time to talk with a veteran about their experience.

Although it might seem Fairfield County has few veterans, several thousand actually populate the surrounding towns.

In New Canaan, there are 1,710 civilian veterans, or 12.8 percent of the town's population, according to U.S. Census Bureau. That's slightly above the national average of 12.7 percent.

In Westport there are 2,188 civilian veterans, or 11.8 percent of the total population and in Wilton there are 1,312, or 10.9 percent. Fairfield has 4,865, or 11.1 percent.

But new to this conflict are the sheer number of women service members. These daughters, wives, and mothers, many face an entirely different set of challenges when they come home.

For some female troops coming home doesn't always mean having a home.

That's why Wilton resident Shalini Madaras, a Gold Star Mother, got involved in Female Soldier:Forgotten Hero, which works closely with Bridgeport's Homes for the Brave.

There are between 6,000 and 8,000 homeless women veterans in the United States, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Of those, between 300 and 400 of them live in Connecticut.

Since 2002 Homes for the Brave has helped 650 veterans find homes and jobs.

"We get a lot of support from towns like Wilton, Weston, and Fairfield," said Joy Kiss, CEO of Homes for the Brave. "The lack of affordable housing has always been an issue and finding jobs is a little more difficult now; it's reflective of the economy. People aren't hiring like they were four years ago. But we're still successful in placing individuals."

Area veterans may be eligible for a reduction on assessed value of their property; by recording their veterans discharge papers (DD-214) in their respective Town Clerk's Office.

Many after-effects of military life cannot be addressed so directly. For example, multiple deployments, or even just one deployment, can have serious mental health consequences. About 125 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan committed suicide through August 2010, according to the Army. If the trend continues, 2010 will outnumber last year's toll of 162.

More than 19,000 female veterans of Iraq or Afghanistan were diagnosed with mental disorders; more than 8,000 of whom were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress, according to the VA.

As of July 2009, slightly more than 5,000 Iraq or Afghanistan female veterans had received disability benefits for the stress disorder, compared with nearly 58,000 males.

"The awareness is out there to help and it's growing each day," Kiss said. "We're tuned into the needs of veterans, partly because of our partnership with the VA."