By Joyce Gannon
When military veterans need help finding work, job training or housing, they can schedule an appointment with the Veterans Leadership Program of Western Pennsylvania or walk in without an appointment at the nonprofit’s South Side offices.
When veterans need assistance with issues the program is not formally trained to handle — such as education, mental health counseling or where to obtain food — it typically submits referrals to other veterans groups or human service agencies. Frequently its emails and phone calls go unanswered, leaving some veterans to navigate the complicated process of getting help on their own or to never get help at all, said Ben Stahl, the program’s chief operating officer.
“It’s not through the fault of the other organizations; it’s just a capacity problem,” said Mr. Stahl, who served in the Navy for almost nine years.
Mr. Stahl and officials at other veterans organizations are optimistic a new electronic referral network set to launch this week will help resolve the problem. The network, 
PAServes, will coordinate referrals in Allegheny, Butler and Westmoreland counties, where it estimates there are 140,100 veterans.
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