Three thousand
veterans' signatures needed for new clinic.
It is estimated there are close to three thousand U.S.
war veterans in Mexicali. Several Veterans associations
are seeking their peers living in Baja California to join
their ranks. A list of their names is being sought for
a petition to build a clinic in the Imperial County exclusively
for them.
 During
a press conference held yesterday in a restaurant in the
Mexicali Civic Center, it was explained that in order
to go ahead with the veterans petition, one thousand five
hundred signatures from ex-military personnel were required.
Up to this date they are 418 signatures short for presenting
it before the United States congress. Roberto Avila, director
of the program Serving the Vet,
from the Imperial Valley region, said that one can be
considered a veteran if you served in the military for
more than 180 consecutive days in the Army, Air Force,
National Guard, Coast Guard or Navy.
"Mexicali, it’s Valley and San Felipe, are
places where many war veterans live and who we wish to
reach, to let them know about the benefits they have and
collect their signatures to complete the census",
added N.O. Benny Benavides, member of the of the group
of Korean War Veterans. He said that the objective of
the Imperial Clinic Project was to make sure that the
people who returned from past wars and those returning
from Afghanistan, should have a nearby place for their
attention.
Juanita Salas, representative of congressman Bob Filner
from the 51 district, declared that the process to reach
the veterans was the legislator's idea, in order to justify
the petition for the clinic to Washington.
“The main proposition is to build a clinic in
the Imperial County so that veterans don’t have
to travel all the way to San Diego to receive medical
attention” she added. Besides medical services,
war veterans may receive education, housing, finances,
labor, unemployment insurance and loans, among other services.
The first step for the construction of the clinic is
to obtain the necessary funds from the U.S. capital, after
which the administrative duties of the clinic will be
handled by the regional veterans department in San Diego.
Phone: (760) 355 8620 to contact the officer for Services
for Veterans of the Imperial County
by Adriana Buendia
email: abuendia@lacronica.com
Translated by J.C. Tapia (USN Vet) San Felipe, B.C. Mex
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