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(From Left to Right) Russell Zimeberlin, Robert B. Fried, Veterans and Military Affairs Section Chair Jason Fragoso, and CBA Immediate Past President Maggie Castinado at the Rocky Hill Stand Down Event
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This year, CBA Members continued to provide pro bono legal services to veterans at the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs’ annual Stand Down event, which the CBA has assisted with since 1998. On Friday, September 20, attorneys Robert Burnes, CBA Immediate Past President Maggie Castinado, Veterans and Military Affairs Section Chair Jason Fragoso, Robert B. Fried, Scott Kustra, Jacob McChesney, and Russell Zimeberlin represented the CBA and provided in-person assistance to attendees at the Stand Down events, which were held in Bridgeport, Bristol, Danbury, Norwich, Rocky Hill, and Stamford.
"Stand Down at the Connecticut Veterans Affairs campus was a big success this year," remarked Attorney Fragoso. "We had a great turnout of volunteer attorneys from the CBA and others representing other agencies and organizations such as Connecticut Veterans Legal Center, the Attorney General's Office, the Department of Justice, and more. Just speaking for the CT Bar contingent at Rocky Hill, our volunteers staffing the tent were approached and engaged proactively with numerous Veterans. At many of these encounters we were able to provide on the spot guidance or conduct a warm hand-off to a cognizant agency or organization. As a Veteran myself I feel gratitude towards Connecticut Veterans Affairs for hosting this event. As a CBA section officer, I am thankful and extremely proud of the work we did as a CBA volunteer team and look forward to staffing this tent for CBA next year."
Stand Down was established after the Vietnam War and provides veterans with “one-stop” access to a range of programs and services offered by state and federal agencies, Veterans organizations, and community-based non-profits.