ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida is home to 1.5 million veterans, yet only a fraction receive benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Countless others find themselves lost in what can be a complex, lengthy process. That's where benefits counselors can come in.

“If you go to the enrollment office, they’ll usually tell you, you don’t qualify,” explained Army veteran Tommie Maldonado, who heads Orange County’s Veterans Service Program. “But come into our office, we’ll see how we can get you qualified.”

Benefits counselors, who are veterans themselves, offer their expertise at veterans service offices all across Florida. They are not authorized to contact veterans directly, so they rely on outreach programs to get the word out.

“The law is very confusing. People like to try by themselves, they’re very smart, but they always leave certain things out,” Maldonado explained, and that can be the difference between getting approved or denied.

Raymond Cintrón, a Vietnam-era veteran, says he waited more than 40 years to receive disability compensation and other benefits.

“You get frustrated,” he told Spectrum News. “You want to walk away.”

Cintrón did not make any headway until he met with a benefits counselor at Maldonado’s office. Then a few years later, he was finally approved.

“They wouldn’t let us give up,” his wife, Earline Cintrón, explained. “If something came up, ‘don’t worry, we’ll go this way.’ So it’s been a blessing.”

According to projections from the VA, there are around 72,000 veterans in Orange County, and about 18,000 are receiving benefits. That means 75% are not being reached, even though Maldonado estimates the bulk of them — up to 90% — would be eligible for at least one benefit.

Maldonado’s message for veterans: “Don’t assume you don’t qualify.”

“The veterans think that the disability for VA purposes is the loss of a limb or eye or something like that. But it’s more than that. There’s stuff that you don’t see. There’s arthritis because you twisted your ankles 20 times while you were in the service,” he said.

Maldonado explains there are multiple benefits beyond disability compensation, including pensions and property tax exemptions.

“There’s money there,” Maldonado said. “(The VA has) this set aside because they know our veterans are hurt, and this is a benefit to help you now and in the future.”