Earlier this year, a veteran of Operation Desert Storm arrived to the Montezuma County office for Veteran Services seeking to file a claim.
The office provides assistance to Montezuma County veterans, about 9% of the local population, and their families. Assistance is given in a variety of ways, such as: help filing claims for disabilities or pensions, receive access to healthcare, Veterans Affairs educational benefits, benefits for surviving spouses, life insurance, locating military records, and more.
The Desert Storm veteran died the next day. The Veteran Services office, run by director Travis Parker and Rick Torres, was able to file the desired claim and his spouse was awarded upward of $50,000 while also maintaining her healthcare and benefits.
“That’s the reason Rick and I do this job is to help people like that,” Parker told the Montezuma County board of commissioners. The story capped a departmental update provided to officials Monday.
During his update to commissioners, Parker said the office is operating under budget and has already completed about 92% of the work performed over the entirety of last year.
He indicated this year will likely see record demand in services.
“Helping a lot of veterans, and seeing a lot of success,” Parker told the board.
The operational budget for the office is about $56,500 for 2026. Reimbursements are received for services from the state of Colorado.
Year-to-date actual spending comes in at about $28,544, according to Parker’s presentation. Some of the numbers for this year, Parker said, include about 1,463 in in-person appointments, 92 healthcare enrollments, 25 home visits and 766 various claims filed this year through the month of July.
“All of our numbers – whether it’s phone or in-person appointments, outreach, home visits, and homeless clients – everything continues to increase,” Parker said. “We are seeing a lot more digital, online or telephone calls and helping veterans a lot more remotely instead of in-person, as well.”
The office reported about 6,000 phone calls and 6,835 emails over this year. There’s roughly 2,400 veterans living in the county, but Parker told the board he believes only a third of those use the service.
The office is one among many resources available, including organizations like the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5231, American Legion Auxiliary Unit 75 Ute Mountain Post, Disabled American Veterans Chapter 44 and the Colorado Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
Hosted by the VFW Post 5231, the seventh annual Montezuma Stand Down for Veterans is returning Sept. 19 at the Montezuma County Annex.
The resource fair runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Attendees will have access to plethora of services, such as U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs benefits and enrollment, legal information, hearing checks, mental health and substance abuse support, employment, medical, and education resources, as well as others.
awatson@the-journal.com
