Library, Manatee County partner for veterans benefit seminars

For the 40,000 veterans who live in Manatee County, access to information about available benefits and opportunities might make the difference they need in their lives.

Manatee County Veterans Services Officer Lee Washington said those who attend the Veterans Services Department’s annual seminar series can learn about veteran disability benefits, pensions, health care and burials.

The last session is scheduled for noon April 27 at the Braden River Library. It is meant not only for veterans, but also for their caretakers, family and surviving spouses.

“If they’re unsure about anything veteran-related, it doesn’t matter what it is, we can answer it,” Washington said.

Washington said the session will consist of an hourlong prepared presentation and the rest of the two-hour seminar is used answering questions from the audience. The sessions are recorded, and the videos will eventually be posted online on the county website and Facebook page, Washington said.

The Veterans Services Department offers the series each year in April at the Manatee County Administration Building in downtown Bradenton. This was the first year it partnered with the Manatee County Libraries system to hold seminars at library locations instead.

Washington said the change has helped reach more people with about 40 individuals attending each of the prior three April sessions compared to 40 total last year.

The reception, he said, has been positive.

“They were happy to see us in the community,” he said.

Washington said he and his department are actively seeking information on veterans in the county. They only have records for approximately 10,000 of those veterans.

Washington attributed much of the seminars’ increased success to the assistance of Manatee County’s libraries for not only providing space for the seminars and boosting access but by helping spread the word.

“A lot of veterans come to our libraries, so it was important for us to provide the space for Lee to get these veterans meetings planned,” said Glenda Lammers, library services manager for Manatee Libraries. “It’s very important to help the veterans in the community, and there are a lot of them.”

Lammers said holding events, such as the benefits seminar, at the library is indicative of a new trend.

“The libraries are really turning into community centers. It’s just a change in the whole dynamics of libraries,” she said.

Lammers said ultimately she wants to support not only the veterans but the whole community at large.

“Everyone can come here and feel comfortable,” she said.