Following a unanimous vote by the Springfield City Council, deputy director for the Department of Veterans Services Joseph DeCaro was promoted to director.
The Feb. 12 vote followed a series of compliments and praise for DeCaro, who had been filling the role in the interim following the retirement Tom Belton, who retired in January after 13 years at the post.
Among the councilors supporting DeCaro were Kateri Walsh, whose late-husband served as director before Belton, and Councilor Tracye Whitfield, who referred to veterans services as a “hidden gem” while citing her late-father’s experiences as a veteran himself.
Whitfield also pledged to continue making sure the department’s adequately funded and staffed.
“I remember when I was doing the budget, [your] caseload was through the roof, and I don’t know if it’s still like that and you were understaffed and Tom let me know every time. So, we are going to look at that budget really closely when it comes up to make sure you have what you need because it’s so important, and I know you will do a great job,” Whitfield told DeCaro.
Years after growing up in the city’s South End, DeCaro returned to western Massachusetts nearly two decades ago after serving with the United States Coast Guard for some six years. The work entailed search and rescue work in South Florida, as well as migrant and drug interdiction.
But by 2006, he had packed up and returned to Massachusetts, working jobs that included time with the Department of Youth Services, before eventually hearing about Springfield’s veteran services department in 2017.
DeCaro said he quickly applied for an investigator position that would put him out in the field, meeting those in need of assistance, much like he continues to do to this day.
“That’s one of the reasons why I love this job and one of my biggest goals is outreach - because truth be told, there’s a lot of veterans that are older than me that don’t know about this program or any other programs in the area for assistance, whether it’s for them or their spouse,” he said.
The department predominantly works to give advice and assistance to veterans, helping connect them with the benefits they are entitled to, which include employment, education, hospitalization, medical care, and pension benefits, according to the department.
Its stated mission: “act as the primary advocate on behalf of all of Springfield’s veterans.”
In terms of what DeCaro and his team sees the most, the new director tells WAMC those who seek out the department mainly need assistance with financial matters, with inflation hitting veterans much in the same way its hit the rest of the general public.
Connecting them with the Chapter 115 safety net program offered to vets, he added that his team has also worked with various programs and organizations to help make sure food makes its way to those who need it most, with additional partners and funding emerging after the pandemic.
“We had a food bank that was opened up at Eastfield Mall to assist with that. We were delivering - we partnered up with Salvation Army and were delivering food boxes to the veterans on our Chapter 115 list on a weekly basis,” he recounted.
Another priority for the director – getting out to make contact with and assist veterans experiencing homelessness.
Speaking with WAMC, DeCaro recalled how when venturing into nearby Court Square in the past to speak to those who were experiencing homelessness, it was exceedingly difficult to convince those believed to be veterans to venture to city hall and fill out the forms needed for programs designed for them.
DeCaro said there is much that might keep a veteran without a home to take the first steps toward bettering their situation.
He theorized one factor might have to do with how veterans trained in the military to stay with their brethren might find it difficult to break away from their encampment and leave friends behind.
“With the country that we have, no person in this country should be homeless – there are enough resources out there to assist these people and get them back on their feet and just hold them up – sometimes it’s all people need, is a pickup off the ground and [being] told that there’s other options here for you," DeCaro said.
More information on Springfield’s Department of Veterans’ Services can be found here.
