ATHOL – Lisa O’Sullivan has spent the last month settling into her new job as veterans agent for the Northeast Quabbin District Veterans’ Service Office, serving the towns of Athol, Orange, Petersham, Phillipston and Royalston.

Prior to moving into her office at Athol Town Hall, O’Sullivan spent four years with Veterans Inc., which provides support services to veterans and their families in New England.

“This is a bit new to me,” said O’Sullivan, a resident of Baldwinville. “With Veterans Inc. I did mainly non-profit work with veterans. So, I would hook them up with resources, make sure families are taken care of, get them hooked into the VA (Veterans Administration), things like that.”

O’Sullivan herself is a veteran, having served two tours in the Middle East.

“When I was in high school, when the Gulf War broke out, I was sick with the flu and was home watching TV and that was the first time I saw females in the military,” she said. “I didn’t realize you could be a female in the military. And that’s when I decided that’s what I wanted to do.”

In her junior year in high school, she entered the National Guard Split Training Option. Those who enlist in this program must be 17 years old and have permission from a parent or guardian, finish their junior year, then attend Basic Combat Training during the summer between junior and senior years, according to the National Guard website.

“Once I finished that, I ended up going into active duty at Fort Bragg, where I served for a few years,” said O’Sullivan. “When I got out, I went back into the Guard and that’s where I was pretty much ever since.”

While in the Guard, O’Sullivan worked in religious affairs.

“I worked with the chaplain; pretty much ran their office,” she added. “When we were deployed overseas, I had to make sure the chaplains didn’t carry a weapon. I was there to make them safe.”

She was also responsible for ensuring service members in Kuwait and Iraq were “aware of the different religious practices of Muslims and make sure they’re not doing something wrong.”

In 2022, O’Sullivan left the National Guard at the rank of staff sergeant. She has also earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a masters in project management, both from Southern New Hampshire University.

O’Sullivan’s oldest daughter is also a veteran, having served in the U.S. Air Force as an aerospace/medical technician.

O’Sullivan described her work with veterans as a sort of calling. She said that because of her role, she would often have service members asking her about different resources, which she knew how to connect them with. Once her time in the Guard ended, she said it felt natural to seek a similar position.

O’Sullivan said the hardest part of the job has been “seeing veterans who have earned their benefits and seeing them struggling, especially financially. We do have things in place for them, but right now it’s a hard time for the country as a whole, financially. But there are things in place to help them with that. As far as helping them, I can do it all day long. I love doing it.”

O’Sullivan said most of those seeking her help are Vietnam-era veterans.

“A lot of the older veterans have been needing help. I feel like the younger veterans are looking at getting their service connections or help with navigating the VA system,” she said. “Older veterans are mainly looking for financial help or help with food insecurity, things like that.”

While she currently serves around 50 veterans in the area, O’Sullivan wants to spread awareness of the help she can offer. Once local veterans get to know her, she hopes that those dealing with some kind of trauma or struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder will feel comfortable opening up to her about their problems, so she can find them the help they need.

“I really would like to get out into the community and try to get my name out there and let them know I’m here,” she said. “My hope is they’ll learn that I’m here and that they’ll start coming in, even if it’s just to say ‘hi’.”