Department of Pennsylvania Service Officer Stephanie Wilson brings claims assistance to rural veterans.
For selfish reasons, Stephanie Wilson became a veteran service officer with the American Legion Department of Pennsylvania.
For personal and passionate reasons, she’s now been doing it for nine years. And her work is making a difference – including for rural veterans in Western Pennsylvania.
On the third Tuesday of each month, Wilson makes the nearly two-hour drive from Pittsburgh to the small Jefferson County borough of Reynoldsville. There, she spends hours meeting with veterans in the area in need of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs claims assistance. It’s part of a series of regular outreach efforts that take place throughout the month for Wilson.
After serving in the U.S. Air Force from 1992 to 1995, Wilson struggled with her own VA claim, facing denials and lengthy delays between denials. It got to a point where she questioned whether or not it be better if she became a service officer to handle her claim.
Her question was answered when she was hired in 2015 with the Department of Pennsylvania as a service officer, a role that was expanded to now also serving as a supervisor at the Pittsburgh VA Regional Office.
But it wasn’t always a passion for helping others that drove Wilson. “It started off selfishly, because I was only worried about my own claim,” she said. “Over the years … every win for a veteran is a win for me. And that’s why we do what we do. This is a soul commitment for me.”
That commitment includes her visits to Post 290 that started when the county veteran service office was struggling with manpower.
“Stephanie Wilson started coming to our post when we were having a high turnover in our (Jefferson County) VA Office. No one was available to help the veterans,” Post 392 Commander Janine Wolverton said. “Another veteran from our post who works through the VA knew that we needed some help and got us in contact with Stephanie.
“It’s very valuable to our veterans. They’re not used to going out of our borough. We’re very rural. It’s quite a long trip for most of them. A lot of them aren’t able to drive in a city. So being able to come to someplace familiar, where they know people and the system … we’ve had a lot of success with this program.”
For Post 392 Chaplain John J. Kuntz, proximity is a big reason while Wilson’s visits have meant so much to him. Kuntz lives in Stump Creek, which is roughly just seven miles from Reynoldsville.
“I’m close by. I don’t have to go to Altoona or Pittsburgh,” Kuntz said. “I can do things much easier just coming over here. I’m familiar with the post. I know the people, so I’m more comfortable just being around people that I know.”
Kuntz served in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1970 and was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2023. He worked with Wilson to get service-connected through expanded benefits made possible through the PACT Act.
“It’s been wonderful. She helped me with paperwork and getting things set up for the claim and submitting the claim,” Kuntz said. “Stephanie does what she says she’s going to do. And she’s very intelligent as to what she’s doing. If she tells me she’s going to do something, it’s done, and I’m not questioning whether it’s going to be done or not.
“First of all, I’m not very good on a computer. I’d had to get somebody to help me. And she’s helped me get the forms and fill out the forms and everything. It’s nice to know that somebody cares and is willing to do that for you, or for the other veterans.”
Post 392 Vice Commander Chuck Hamaker also appreciates the way Wilson is handling his claim. A U.S. Army veteran, he began working with Wilson four or five months ago after developing bladder cancer that is spreading.
“I love her. I really do,” Hamaker said. “She’s done a lot to get me through. I sent her all the papers that I get, and she posts them and takes care of anything. I don’t have to do nothing, and I see her every time she comes (to Post 392). She’s getting to be a pretty good friend.”
Hamaker makes it a point to let other veterans know about Wilson’s monthly hours at Post 290. “Every (veteran) I see I tell them, ‘Hey, come on in. Make an appointment. Walk in. We’ll help you’,” he said. “It’s just getting the word out, and word of mouth gets out here pretty quick.
“When she first started (coming to the post) it was a little slow. But it’s picked up, and we’re getting more and more people in. It’s great. I just wish we could keep her here full-time. There are a lot of veterans that need help and don’t know how to get it.”
But Wilson doesn’t just help veterans. She’s there for their families – at least one case, a widow.
Thomas Ronald Henery served in U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and received a Purple Heart. After his service, he developed cancer which was attributed to being exposed to Agent Orange. Treatments worked to stop the cancer twice before Thomas died from a heart attack that also was considered related to his military service.
Last summer, Henery’s widow, Denise, saw a Facebook post from Wolverton that Wilson was available to meet with veterans’ families. “I thought, ‘I’m just going to make an appointment and go down,’” Denise said. “I came down for my appointment, and that was the first I’d ever met Stephanie. She just went out of her way to help me and was so kind and courteous. She told me what paperwork I needed. I would go home and gather up the paperwork and come back. Between her and Janine, they would look at it and fax it in. She basically helped me do the process.”
Wilson was able to get Denise qualified for VA’s Dependency and Indemnity Compensation – something she didn’t even knew existed. The monthly income came at a good time.
“It really helped me because I lost my job when COVID came. They did away with my position,” Denise said. “I was a little devastated not having that income. I had no idea this was even available to me. When I came down, she explained everything.”
“I felt like since I was never in the service myself, was I really deserving of these benefits. I was kind of hesitant about it. I would highly recommend anyone who was in need or deserving of benefits from (VA) to contact (a service officer).”
Wilson said while many veterans and their dependents don’t know the benefits they may be entitled to, figuring out how to navigate the VA system once they learn about those benefits can be challenging.
“You get veterans who cannot manage the system. Very astute people struggle with the VA, much less people that are not highly educated,” said Wilson, a member of Scott Township Post 290 in Bridgeville. “No matter where you go and who you talk to, you definitely need to get help, and you need to see someone that’s accredited and know what they’re doing. Bottom line.”
Wolverton said having a resource like Wilson locally also is valuable in a time when for-profits businesses are targeting veterans looking to file VA claims. “I had heard about how much they advertise on TV. They can get your benefits, but then, of course, you have to pay them money,” she said. “And I know that’s not right. And some people were falling for that. When we can get the word out that they can get the help here to get the benefits, it’s really important. It’s important to me because I know they need the help.”
When Wilson and her staff can provide that help, “It makes myself (and) our entire team exceptionally happy,” she said. “That veteran has now finally received the benefits that they deserve. We all feel, obviously, that they should not have to fight for them, but they do. To finally end that fight is very gratifying and amazing.”
- Veterans Benefits