WEST SPRINGFIELD – Veteran Service Officer (VSO) Anthony Ciollaro stood near a table set up at the front of the dining space at the West Springfield Senior Center on the morning of Dec. 10. A handful of people milled around, glancing at the brochures and fliers laid out on the table.

“These are services I can aide veterans in getting,” Ciollaro said. He was on hand to answer questions and meet-and-greet veterans in the community. Ciollaro became the town’s VSO in October, around the same time the VSO Office was moved from the town hall to the senior center at 128 Park St.

“It gives it a lot more access,” Bill Hearn, a U.S. Army veteran who served from 1982 to 1991 said of the move. “While [veterans are] here, they can pop in.”

VSOs, Ciollaro said, are “a means of information to help.” Ciollaro said if he doesn’t know the information someone needs, he tries to track it down for them. Veterans often act as information resources for each other, he said.

Ciollaro said some veterans may be hesitant to ask for help. Locating the VSO at the senior center, where many Vietnam-era veterans already spend time, may make getting information to veterans easier.

Part of a VSO’s job is “[trying] to balance the outreach with being fiscally responsible,” Ciollaro said. As a West Springfield employee, he has to make sure that veterans are getting the right amount of benefits, which are paid by the town and reimbursed by the state. He said, “you’re essentially a case-worker for veterans, making sure they get the maximum benefit,” and putting them in touch with resources.

Ciollaro served in the U.S. Army from 2004 until 2007 with the 1st Armored Division and was deployed in Iraq in 2005. After working for the city for 10 years in other capacities, he decided he “wanted to carry that into another part of the community,” and help his fellow veterans.

“I welcome Anthony coming in,” said Hearn, who does a lot of work with veterans, including helping the families of fallen service members and holding a seat on the West Springfield Veteran’s Council.

“We’ve got to show [veterans], especially some of the young kids now coming home, that they’re not alone,” Hearn said.

West Springfield veterans with questions can reach Ciollaro at 263-3019 or aciollaro@tows.org.