Trinity County proclaims November as Veterans and Military Families Month; veteran services officer reports $9 million in VA benefits

The Trinity County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 4 adopted a proclamation supporting Operation Greenlight and recognizing November 2025 as National Veterans and Military Families Month.

Jennifer Dobbs, Trinity County veteran service officer, told the board the office served 551 individuals during the last fiscal year, filed 222 claims and handled more than 2,300 contacts by phone, email and in person. "We're bringing in over $9,000,000 from the VA to the county for last fiscal year, and recurring monthly payments are over $770,000," Dobbs said.

Dobbs described several individual successes tied to recent federal law and appeals work, including claims helped by the 2022 PACT Act that expanded covered exposures. She said one veteran received more than $30,000 in retroactive pay and now receives about $4,000 per month after an appeal and new law changes. "It's because of a law change and because he had a friend who was concerned about him, and it was life changing for him," Dobbs said.

Dobbs also warned residents about unlawful paid agents she called "ClaimSharks," who solicit veterans for fees and are not accredited to work in the VA claims system. "They'll file a claim. They're not accredited. The veteran's claim is denied. They don't know how to fix it," she said, urging veterans to use county veteran services, VFW representatives or accredited VA agents instead.

Board Chair Goguen introduced Veterans of Foreign Wars members who joined the presentation. The board read and approved a proclamation encouraging residents and businesses to display a green light from the evening of Nov. 4 through Nov. 11 to honor veterans. The proclamation passed on a roll-call vote with all supervisors recorded as "aye."