After learning a Veterans Affairs office will reopen in downtown Windsor next month, local vets are breathing a sigh of relief.
Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr has announced the office will have a staff of 17, when it opens its doors again in late April.
Eric Moulton, service officer with the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 642 in Chatham, says it'll make navigating the system a lot easier for many veterans.
"A lot of them don't have computers... so to call in and get a form mailed to you... you could be looking at three to four weeks for getting a form put into the system," Moulton says. "Or they can go right down to Windsor, talk to somebody and get it input immediately. So it will make a difference."
Moulton says since the Windsor office was shut down by the previous federal government back in 2014, the Legion has had a Veterans Affairs officer come into the Chatham branch once every two months to fill the void.
"But if he's got a problem and he wants to just talk to somebody, he's got to wait two months," says Moulton, "or else drive to London, which is quite a long drive for some veterans."
Moulton doesn't know how many veterans there are in Chatham-Kent, but estimates the Legion serves around 200 members in Chatham alone. He says, when the Veterans Affairs officer comes into the branch, about five veterans book appointments seeking help.
"We're just happy that the government has shown an interest in the veterans," Moulton says. "It's been quite a long time since they've just been put in the back corner and forgotten about."