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The Veteran Foreign Wars Post 3016 will be hosting a veterans resource fair on Thursday from 9 a.m. until noon at 299 Kingbends Road.

Officials say the event is dedicated to assisting veterans with submitting claims to the Veterans Administration, signing up for healthcare and addressing unanswered questions within the veteran community. Over 150 veterans, including some from Selma, are expected to attend. Earl Lewis Sr. of Selma is the District 6 commander.

Representatives from the VA Hospital, VA Regional Office for Disability Benefits, local VA Health Clinic and community leaders will appear at the event. They will discuss current and future initiatives and solicit direct feedback from veterans about their experiences with the VA for veterans, their families and their communities.

“We at the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center and VA as a whole know that it is important to meet our veterans where they are within their communities,” Tuscaloosa VA public affairs officer April Jones said. “This event is one of many other events we are organizing along with our VA and community partners to share what benefits and resources are available to veterans and their families. We want all veterans in Selma and surrounding areas to come out and learn more about what may be available to them through the VA. Even if you have applied for benefits or healthcare in the past and been denied, we encourage you to try again. The PACT Act expanded eligibility to so many veterans and now is the time to find out if you qualify.”

The introduction of the PACT Act has significantly expanded healthcare and benefits access for veterans. Behind VFW Post 3016, over 1,700 veterans have gained access to healthcare, compensation benefits, securing quality housing, receiving excellent medical care, affordable educational opportunities for their children and families’ quality of life.

The Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center has a community-based outpatient clinic in Selma located at 206 Vaughan Memorial Drive, offering primary care as well as home-based primary care and mental health intensive case management within the home. 

The clinic which opened in 2009, makes receiving VA care more convenient for veterans living in the southernmost part of the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center’s catchment area and also provides transportation to the main campus for specialty and ancillary appointments.