Tuesday’s governmental shutdown will affect veterans across Ball State relying on benefits from Veteran Affairs Services.
More than 400 Ball State student veterans currently receive benefits from Veteran Affairs Services, said Beck Hannaford, veterans benefits and financial assistant coordinator.
Two work-study students, classified as veterans, will have to wait to receive their paychecks due to the temporarily reduced workforce in positions responsible for sending the checks.
Hannaford said he got a call from one student in the Indiana National Guard who had been furloughed, meaning he was temporarily laid off without pay, but has yet to hear of any others. The student worker was deemed nonessential to the government.
About 100 students on campus, who receive aid through the National Guard or another branch of the reserve service, will not receive monetary aid next semester if the shutdown continues.
Hannaford said every military student turned in the necessary paperwork on time for this current semester before the shutdown occurred.
“Veterans are impacted a lot by the government shutdown and it could have a big impact if it continues,” Hannaford said. “A hundred students not getting their tuition paid, that’s a big deal.”
Ball State Student Veteran Organization’s Vice President Jessica Robinson said if the shutdown continues, disabled veterans, like herself, wouldn’t receive benefits. The fund currently being used to send veterans disability payments could run out of money.
While active members of the armed forces will continue to receive pay due to a congress bill, Robinson said she is still uncertain about her future.
“The shutdown makes me worried about my future for a lot of reasons,” Robinson said. “The biggest one is that Veteran Affairs funds my school and I am disabled so I count on this money to help me pay for getting care for these disabilities. If I don’t get paid, then I’m not sure how my education will be paid for.”
Robinson said a government shutdown is not the right way to solve the government’s problems for veterans.
“It is extremely frustrating and impacts more than just one political party,” Robinson said. “They are hurting a lot of people, veterans and civilians, because they do not know how to get along and make a budget.”
