Program Innovation

News & Resources in Serving Veterans

Current Happenings within MRS Districts/Offices

A number of MRS counselors recently attended the Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center’s (VAMC) Battle Creek partnership presentation on March 29, 2012. Jacques Short, MRS Rehabilitation Counselor and VA Champion of the Southwest Michigan District has a well established wrap-around system with his VA counterparts in meeting and serving the individualized service needs of veterans.

Opportunities of the developed wrap-around system in Battle Creek include (to name a few):

Streamlining of referrals: A no-wrong-door approach, where veterans are referred timely, based on their individualized needs.

Service Provision: Through partnering with a variety of veteran service staff, case management and services are coordinated, enhanced, and non-duplicated.

Vocational Rehabilitation Process: Expediting of processes (application, eligibility, IPE), made possible by the commitment and passion of all partners involved.

Chris Michalek, Chief Social Work Service; Dawn Peevers, Supported Employment Counselor; and Jerome Volesky, Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist of the VAMC’s Compensated Work Therapy (CWT), shared and discussed Battle Creek’s vocational assessment and work readiness program, designed to assist veterans in gaining access in competitive employment. In stabilizing and teaching positive worker traits, the CWT program generally runs 4-6 months, pending the participant’s need.

There are other components of CWT as well. These include therapeutic residence, which provides housing opportunity with supports while participating the work program; supported employment, designed to meet the more intense service needs of participants to enter the workforce (ie, job carving, job coaching, job development); incentive therapy which addresses work therapy goals or provides work activity; and job placement and case management services.

Dennis Avery, Veterans’ Employment Specialist of the State of Michigan Workforce Development Agency, shared the commitment of veteran employment representatives in providing employment resources to veterans and their eligible spouses. To locate a veteran employment representative nearest you, visit

Passion rang through on behalf of all staff in attendance during this event. Thank you MRS and VAMC in Battle Creek for this opportunity!

To hear what’s happening in your area of coverage, see the following section….

MRSVA Champions and VAMC’s with VR Component

There are five VAMC’s in the state of Michigan that provide CWT. Locations are in Ann Arbor, Battle Creek, Detroit, Saginaw and IronMountain. For a complete listing, visit MRS Champions are passionate to serve our great veterans, and are already in the process of following-up CWT sites to establish VR relationships and personnel contacts. Since the invite with VAMC in Battle Creek, the following champions are in the process of leading efforts in their area, as follows:

Chris DenHeeten, MRS Rehabilitation Counselor, Mid-Michigan District. Chris has connected with the VAMC VR Program Counselor of the CWT program in Saginaw, and has a meeting scheduled April 27th.

Nina Garcia-Locke, MRS Rehabilitation Counselor, Marquette District. Nina plans to connect with VAMC’s CWT program in IronMountain.

Kathy Morris, MRS Rehabilitation Counselor, WayneDistrict. Kathy is working to make contact with the VAMC in Ann Arbor for starters and then connect with the Detroit facility. She is also following up with Dawn Peevers from VAMC’s CWT program in Battle Creek, as Dawn may assist with appropriate contact personnel. She anticipates a meeting within the next couple weeks.

Jean Parks, MRS Rehabilitation Counselor, W. Central Michigan District. Jean is in the process of establishing point of contact(s) with VAMC medical records personnel in Detroit.

Sharlene Organ, MRS Rehabilitation Counselor, Grand Rapids District Office. Sharlene has a well-established system in working with various partners serving veterans in the Grand Rapids area. As the VAMC in Battle Creek is interested in expanding their services to veterans to include its Grand Rapids coverage area, Sharlene and Chris Michalek, Chief Social Work Service of the VAMC’s CWT program, plan to discuss/coordinate opportunity.

To find a VA MedicalCenter in Michigan nearest you, visit For a complete listing of veteran medical facilities, see

Other: Federal Veteran Benefits Contact Numbers

VA: Toll-free Numbers
Department Name / Toll Free Number
VA Benefits:
Burial
Death Pension
Dependency Indemnity Compensation
Direct Deposit
Directions to VA Benefits Regional Offices
Disability Compensation
Disability Pension
Education
Home Loan Guaranty
Medical Care
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment / 1-800-827-1000
Beneficiaries in receipt of Pension Benefits / 1-877-294-6380
DebtManagementCenter (Collection of Non-Medical Debts) / 1-800-827-0648
Children of Women Vietnam Veterans (CWVV)
Foreign Medical Program (FMP)
Spina Bifida Health Care Program / 1-877-345-8179 (or)
1-888-820-1756
Education (GI Bill) / 1-888-442-4551
Health Care Benefits / 1-877-222-8387
Income Verification and Means Testing / 1-800-929-8387
Life Insurance:
Service members and/or Veterans Group Life Insurance Program
All other VA Life Insurance Programs / 1-800-419-1473
1-800-669-8477
Mammography Helpline / 1-888-492-7844
Meds by Mail / 1-888-385-0235 (or)
1-866-229-7389
Special Issues - Gulf War/Agent Orange/Project Shad/Mustard Agents and
Lewisite/Ionizing Radiation / 1-800-749-8387
Status of Headstones and Markers / 1-800-697-6947
Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) / 1-800-829-4833

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