The 2015 Veterans Benefits and Health Fair Supermarket will be from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. June 24 at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex in Montgomery. All veterans are encouraged to attend.

“Our veterans have served their country with pride and honor and the Benefits and Health Fair Supermarket provides an opportunity for them to find out how to get their much-deserved benefits,” said Randy Ross, Pike County veterans’ affairs officer. “The information that will be made available is information they may not know about otherwise.

“The event is going to be just like going to a large supermarket where you can go around and pick out what you need. There will be a large number and variety of agencies there that provide services of benefit to veterans.”

Ross said some veterans have no idea about the services that are available to them so they miss the benefits.

“There are cases where veterans didn’t apply for benefits until they were in advancing ages and they could have been drawing all those years,” he said. “That’s sad but it’s just a matter of not knowing. The Veterans Benefits and Health Fair Supermarket is the place where veterans can go to make sure that doesn’t happen to them or their families.”

Ross said the VA will often pay for assisted living or nursing homes for wartime veterans and many veterans don’t know that.

“Wives and dependents may be eligible for pensions or benefit and there are services for homeless or displaced veterans,” he said. “At the ‘Supermarket,’ service offices will be available to assist veterans with information about benefits for which they are eligible and to help them file claims. Information will also be available on filing for unemployment.”

Ross said veterans can have the blood pressure check at the Supermarket or even get a hair cut.”

“Even if veterans are not eligible for benefits at this time, they should take advantage of this opportunity to learn about VA benefits,” he said. “Situations change and the information will be valuable to know if and when the need arises. Because things are always changing, it’s always good to know about the latest benefits that are available for veterans.”

The agencies that will participate are the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, Alabama Career Center, Social Security, Veterans Center. Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services, American Red Cross, Trenholm State Technical College, Alabama State University, Offices of Homeless Veterans, Alabama National Cemetery, Habitat for Humanity and the Office of Alabama GI Dependent Scholarship Program.

The Cramton Bowl Multiplex is located at 1022 Madison Avenue in Montgomery.

For more information, call the Pike County Veterans Affairs Office at 334-566-1780.