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Providing More Help for the Community

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It was a cold and snowy morning on Jan. 8 at the old fire station on Second and Maloney, and the veterans of the A-Team assembled slowly, rubbing their hands together for warmth and leaving their jackets zipped all the way to the neck until the heat eventually seeped through their systems.

This was a very informal meeting, with barely over half the team present, and initial talk continued to center around various frauds being perpetrated against veterans and seniors, which in this context were one and the same. A recent article in the AARP Bulletin put the scams for one year at $12.76 billion in America. Lots to talk about there, including ways to circumvent the predators that would take your last penny.

The addition of Phillip Silva to the group gave a slight pause to the ongoing conversation. Silva has been sorely missed in the last couple of months and was greeted warmly as he resumed his rightful place on the team.

The conversation eventually moved to the power outage on the north side of town at the start of December, which lasted for a 12-hour period. It was later found that many on the north side were in dire straits because of this, but the group quickly came up with a temporary solution.

Veterans Helping Veterans will begin to acquire three or four small generators which could supply power to some houses affected by outages like this. Depending on the demand and the supply, these generators could provide life-saving help to many of the infirm or aging residents who cannot easily leave their residences.

A secondary plan is being set in motion as well that would open the fire station as a temporary shelter for those able to move but with no place else to go on these cold winter nights. This plan would entail obtaining multiple cots and blankets or the comfort of those dispossessed of their homes, even for a relatively short amount of time.

The Veterans Helping Veterans is community based and provides services when able to every citizen of the area. All veterans, regardless of dates service, affiliation, or service are welcome to attend these meetings and help this group grow, providing resources for others that are not easily obtainable.