Veterans can get access to benefits through webcam sessions
Jul 18, 2017, 5:00 AM
PHOENIX — The Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services is using camera sessions to give veterans easier access to their benefits.
The state agency is using a program called GoToMeeting. It allows benefits counselors to live chat with those who need help applying for their compensation and pension claims. The agency also helps veterans file claims for disability if they have an illness or injury as a result of their military service.
Veterans who have a computer can log on to GoToMeeting and hold a video conference with a veterans benefits counselor.
Wanda Wright, director of the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services, said the idea came from using GoToMeeting to meet with employees who are in different locations across the state.
“One of our northern veterans benefits counselors thought this might be a great way for us to meet our veterans where they’re at instead of them having to travel to come meet us,” Wright said.
The camera sessions are currently being tested on tribal lands and rural communities in northern Arizona. The Hopi Tribe was one of the first to test this.
Wright said those living in rural areas often have to travel far to get to the nearest Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services office.
“Sometimes it might take them an hour and a half to get to one of our offices,” she said. “If we can have better access so they don’t have to do that, then I think that we are really doing our job by advocating for veterans.”
The camera sessions have also been tested in Flagstaff and the Winslow. Write said her office hopes to soon expand the camera sessions across the state.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey said in a statement that with these camera sessions, the state is “leading the nation in using technology to ensure Arizona’s veterans receive the benefits they’ve earned.
“This program increases access and convenience, especially for Arizona veterans in rural areas,” Ducey added.
