LYNN – Those protesting the closure of the veterans’ affairs clinic in Lynn have been fighting relentlessly to keep the clinic open. On Friday, they took the fight directly to Representative Seth Moulton.
Protestors met at the Lynn community-based outpatient clinic on Boston Street, where they began a more than five-mile drive towards Moulton’s Salem office. They carried with them petitions and a letter, imploring Moulton to take action against the closure.
At Moulton’s office, about 40 protestors were welcomed in. They were met with not only appreciation, but also a plate of cookies. Inside, they presented their letters and petitions to Neesha Suarez, director of constituent services, who addressed the group saying, “you’re in the right place.”
Moulton was not present, but the protestors expressed their need for help, nonetheless. Don Parker, a Vietnam veteran who utilizes the clinic, was protesting the closure because of accessibility. He detailed the complicated process of trying to get to the Boston VA hospital via public transportation, opposed to getting on one bus to the clinic in Lynn.
Parker, who has lived in Lynn since 1970, also said he was angered by the closure, knowing the sacrifices that he and other veterans gave during their service. “I feel like I’m being disrespected,” he said. He equated the clinic closure to an experience he had being spit at in the airport after coming home from combat.
Ward 3 Councilor Coco Alinsug joined the protestors at Moulton’s office.
“I’m here to support our seniors who are proactively doing this,” he said. “It’s actually very emotional just thinking about it. They’re the ones leading this initiative.”
“Coming from a family of veterans I know how it feels,” Alinsug continued. “Accessibility is very important to these people. For me to be here, it’s very empowering.”
Jon Lazar, Nahant veteran services officer, reiterated Parker’s point, saying “there’s a lot of services that can be done in Lynn. That’s why the community-based outpatient centers were created, to cut down on having to go and travel to these [hospitals].” He said that traveling to Boston for care is especially difficult for the elderly veterans and their families.
Mike Sweeney, the director of veteran services in Lynn and Swampscott said that the fight for the VA clinic now is two-fold. The first is against the recommendations of the VA to close the Lynn clinic and the second is about getting the VA to be more transparent and honest.
Sweeney said that his main goal is to get eyes on the lease that the VA says they have signed for the Lynn location. “If the lease is a done-deal, why can’t we see it?” He continued by saying that he was taking issue with the administration of the VA, not the medical providers. He said “there are fundamental problems” and “a lack of trust” that have become clear throughout their protests.
Sweeney believes that even if a lease is negotiated and signed, the 2,000 people who use the clinic deserve more. “Even once the lease is signed… we still have a lot of work to do. We want a commitment.”
The group has plans to try to expand services at the Lynn location.
Sweeney said, “we are trying to provide a lifeline in Lynn.”
Emma Fringuelli can be reached at [email protected].
