The Metro: How will cuts to the VA and its services impact veterans?
Veterans rely on the VA to provide the essential services that help them return to civilian life after serving.
Marine Corp Veteran and therapist Kevin Scott, live on The Metro, at WDET Studios.
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The Department of Veterans Affairs announced plans to restructure in early March. The agency will eliminate 80,000 jobs according to a memo issued by the VA’s chief of staff.
The goal is to reduce the number of staff members to pre-pandemic levels. This is another proposed cut to add to President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s list of federal job cuts. Under Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), hundreds of jobs have already been cut at the VA.
Read more: 10 year Marine Corps veteran terminated from Veterans Affairs in Ann Arbor
Veterans make up a large percent of federal workers who are already at risk of losing their jobs due to cuts to other departments. They are a substantial portion of the VA workforce too. So the restructuring plans for the Department just makes things even more uncertain.
They also rely on the VA to provide the essential services that help them return to civilian life after serving. Veterans get housing assistance and health care through the program.
Today on The Metro, we’re looking at these cuts and how they could negatively impact services for veterans who need it.
Guests:
- Kevin Scott: Decorated combat-era Marine Corps veteran who provides therapy and support to veterans who are facing all kinds of challenges after serving.
- Vedia Barnett: Co-founder and executive director of Vet Space, a group for women veterans to share nature-based experiences.
We also asked our listeners:
“What is the transition to civilian life like for veterans and their families?”
Ryan, a Marine Corp veteran in Royal Oak, said: “I mean, (the VA has) been my health care service for 20 years, and I’m hoping to be till I die, my service. And if it goes away, you know, that upends my life in a different way. So it worries me.”
Tomorrow’s caller question: “What would allow you to give up your car in southeast Michigan?”
Use the above media player to hear the full conversation.
More headlines from The Metro on March 25, 2025:
- The Michigan statehouse is split with Democrats controlling the Senate and Republicans controlling the House, making many wonder what bipartisan work can get done this session. To discuss what’s going on at the state capitol, Michigan Public Radio Network political reporter Colin Jackson joined the show.
- Alyce Hartman is the founder and executive director of Birdie’s Bookmobile. She is also a K-4 STEM teacher at Detroit Prep and the Mack Kids director at Mack Avenue Community Church. Hartman travels the city putting books in little hands and is getting ready to open Birdie’s Book Nest. She joined the show to discuss the project.
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Flooding is an issue Detroit residents are constantly facing, with water main breaks, extreme weather events and flooding growing more common over the last few years. Earlier this year, Metro co-host Robyn Vincent spoke with Nick Schroeck, professor of environmental law and dean of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, about the problem of flooding and some of the solutions that are being proposed to change it.
- We also revisited a conversation with Todd Scott, executive director of the Detroit Greenways Coalition, about pedestrian safety in Detroit. Hear the conversation below beginning at the 47:50 mark.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
