By VINAYA SAKSENA

CENTRAL FALLS — The City Council was the latest of several local government entities across Rhode Island to receive a letter from the town of Warren seeking support for a cause that has not yet taken off, but appears likely to gain momentum.

The Warren Town Council unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday urging U.S. congressmen to “provide long term care, post combat job training, and a place to call home” for war veterans returning home from combat  psychologically and often physically scarred, and having difficulty assimilating into society and the work force.
The town has sent out letters seeking support for this resolution to communities across the state, including Central Falls and Cumberland.
The Central Falls City Council addressed this letter at its meeting Monday.
Council President William Benson said the council had not had the opportunity to decide exactly how to respond to the letter.
However, Benson said that, being a veteran himself, he felt the resolution deserved support from Central Falls., While he had not spoken at length with the other council members about the matter, he believed their sentiments would be similar.
“I would definitely support it,” said Benson, who once served in the Air Force. “Anything we can do for our veterans I’m all in favor of.”
Benson added the services afforded veterans did not seem to have kept up with the needs of returning soldiers, which had changed as warfare continued to modernize. He also expressed concern about the extended tours of duty many soldiers were undergoing in Iraq and elsewhere.
“The health care for veterans doesn’t seem to be as good as it used to be,” Benson said, adding: “They sent you to Vietnam, you came back after one tour and that was it.”
Benson pointed out that fellow council member Richard Aubin was also a veteran, having served in the Marines. Aubin could not be reached for comment.
Fellow council member Ricardo Patino said he could also relate to the plight of returning soldiers, but for a slightly different reason.
Before coming to the United States, Patino served as an army officer fighting guerillas in his native Colombia, retiring in 1980. Like Benson, he had no trouble saying where he stood on the Warren resolution. Patino added that any support he could lend would not be as a council member, given that his service is coming to an end.
“I would support this as a citizen all the way,” Patino said. “I think it is very important, especially with all the veterans we have coming back from Iraq.”
See VETERANS, Page A-8
Patino said he was acquainted with several veterans in the city, and was aware of a large number of Latino veterans who had recently returned from the Middle East. And several, he said, had come back “very sick,” and could definitely use a greater level of care than they were currently receiving.
The idea for the resolution came around Veterans Day, when Warren Town Council President Frank Alfano was preparing a speech for an event celebrating the holiday.
The East Bay councilor was inspired by a news story stating there are nearly 200,000 homeless veterans in the United States. Alfano, whose father-in-law and uncles served in World War II, said he had received positive responses from 13 communities and no negative responses so far. He requested that all Rhode Island communities join in the effort.
“If we’re going to bring them home, let’s bring them to a real home,” Alfano said. “They may come back in one piece, but a lot of them are not mentally fit. So we’re hoping that the cities and towns all join with us.”