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Lake County Vet Connect officially got under way in March, offering a critical link between homeless and jobless vets and services that they're entitled to receive because of their service.
The group offers twice-monthly events where veterans can sit down with fellow veterans, explain their situations and get the services they need.
Vet Connect's intake and outreach events will take place twice a month – on the second Wednesday at the American Legion Post No. 437, 14770 Austin Road in Clearlake, from 9 a.m. to noon, and the same hours on the third Wednesday in Lakeport at Umpqua Bank, 805 11th St. Both the post and the bank are providing the space for the effort free of charge.
The clinics this month will be held in Clearlake on April 13 and in Lakeport on April 20.
The first Vet Connect took place on March 16, and organizers called it a “tremendous success,” with 26 veterans served in what is expected to be the first of many sessions.
Lucerne vet Frank Parker, president of the United Veterans Council, called the program's goal “a hand up, not a handout.”
Parker was one of the local veterans instrumental in founding Lake County's Vet Connect. He said it was exciting to see so many veterans getting the help they need.
This past January, United Veterans Council of Lake County formed a committee to address the needs of the county's homeless and underserved veterans. Local veterans officials said the committee arose based on the concerns of local veterans organizations and the Lake County Veterans Service Office, which are committed to ending homelessness in Lake County.
Out of that committee came Lake County Vet Connect, the group said.
Parker emphasized that Vet Connect is a combined effort of many groups in the county. He said group affiliations have been put aside in order to join together in a common goal of serving veterans in need.
Parker helped lay the groundwork for the group when, last year, he began researching how to put it all together and make a one-stop experience for veterans. He came across Sonoma County's Vet Connect, which has assisted by offering expertise, guidance and even the forms that will be needed for vet intake.
The research and work that Parker and his fellow veterans did to put together Lake County Vet Connect revealed that “a lot of these services are already available in Lake County,” according to Dan Davi, a Vietnam veteran involved in Lake County Vet Connect.
Parker and the group also created their own Vet Connect handbook, with information on local services available to vets.
Government and nonprofit organizations that will have a presence at the monthly Vet Connect outreach events include Veterans Administration Support Housing, Lake County Veterans Service Office, Lake County Mental Health, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Disability Services and Legal Center, CalFresh for general assistance and food stamps, Employment Development Department, Drug and Alcohol Center, Legal Education, Financial Education, North Bay Veterans Resource Center and Catholic Charities.
The work is complementing that done by the Lake County Veterans Service Office.
“Part of our job is to connect veterans to local resources, to assist in whatever they need,” said county Assistant Veteran Service Officer Bob Penny.
However, Penny explained that he and his staff are so busy working with the Department of Veterans Affairs that they don't always have time to research and keep up with all the programs that are available locally, and which are always changing.
He said Vet Connect has been doing a lot of research and finding new resources.
In one example, a local veteran's roof was damaged by the wind. “He called here to see what might be available,” said Penny.
Penny gave made a call to Parker, who found some assistance through the US Department of Agriculture. “This was something that I didn't know about that Frank did research on and found,” said Penny.
“To have their help in doing this is an immense help to all of our veterans and their dependents in our county,” Penny said.
The background to the effort
Local veterans have put enormous time and preparation into creating Vet Connect to serve their comrades in arms.
Ahead of the official kickoff of Vet Connect last month, a group of veterans involved in the effort gathered in the upstairs community meeting room at Umpqua Bank on 11th Street in Lakeport.
Tom Benton, a Vietnam vet from Sonoma County who was a founding member of its Vet Connect, took the men through a practice intake interview, with local vet Kirk Macdonald sitting across from him, playing the part of a veteran seeking services.
Benton led the interview in an easy going manner, explaining to Macdonald that he would next be directed over to some tables where a Veterans Affairs social worker would check his eligibility for health benefits and shelter.
“You're going to have to feel your way through it,” Benton told the vets who watched him work through the process.
He explained the importance of keeping information confidential and also making veterans – some of whom have never approached the system and haven't wanted to – comfortable.
Having veterans work with other veterans helps tear down barriers right away, Benton said.
Helping similar Vet Connect programs get started outside of Sonoma County “is something we've wanted to do for a long time,” said Benton.
Sonoma County's Vet Connect began in November 2007. The founders included eight vets – seven of them, including Benton, having served in Vietnam – and local service providers.
The effort in Sonoma County started out as a way to help homeless vets, said Benton, who himself had been homeless for 18 months at one time. Another of the founding vets also had been homeless.
Over time, the group became so proficient at dealing with large numbers of veterans that Benton said
Sonoma County officials wanted to know how they did it. Benton said it's because they're not a bureaucracy, and can therefore move more swiftly and efficiently.
They're not sure how many vets to expect to serve over time, but they said their outreach will help validate the numbers and the need in Lake County.
Parker also believes that the word will travel, and Benton said that in Sonoma County word of mouth has been a key way of communicating the available services.
Parker said they estimate they will need seven volunteers for each event. They're already getting more offers of help.
To offer assistance in the form of volunteering or donations, of if a local group would like to be an onsite service provider, contact Parker at 707-274-9512 or Kirk Macdonald, 707-263-8449.
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