A Veterans Reaction to the MVSC Information Fair.
The Military and Veteran Success Center Information Fair that took place on February 3 was the single-most informative experience I took part in during my time as a military member and veteran. The representatives running the booths were so helpful and gave me access to so many resources that I never received when I out-processed the military, chiefly among them being the resources for VA Healthcare. Who knew that once you left the military, you only had five years to enroll in VA Healthcare and after that, could only enroll if you were putting in a claim? They did.
Making my way around the room, I started at the Veterans Integration to Academic Leadership (VITAL) booth. They told me that they could provide members with a direct link to someone who could help them navigate VA services. Main services include connecting veterans to mental health treatment for minor afflictions, working with the campus to get academic accommodations for veterans with disabilities and obtaining assistive technology, and assisting with academic or conduct issues, to name a few. What I found most useful was that they could help members schedule appointments with the VA and act as a liaison with VA health care providers.
The next booth was the Veteran’s Health Administration itself, more commonly called the VA. Personally, this was the single most important booth at the fair, since, oddly enough, my out-processing checklist for leaving the military DID NOT INCLUDE signing up for VA healthcare. The representative was able to look for me in the system and, had I not already been signed up, would have been able to sign me up and apply for benefits on my behalf. I had signed up on my own when I became unemployed and was declined due to my high income from 2019 and early 2020. The representative was able to submit a hardship request for me, something I would not have been able to navigate on my own. For those who don’t need to sign up, or have already, they provide other services such as: treatments for combat stress, PTSD, or depression; acupuncture; whole health services; and healthcare specifically designed for women veterans.
Following the VA Healthcare booth was the Vet Center. They have two locations: Lincoln and Omaha. They provide a myriad of free services for veterans AND active duty such as free counseling for the member AND their families, employment assessment and referrals, resume workshops, whole health services like yoga and martial arts, and even have a Guitars for Vets program, which provides the member with free guitar lessons (as a form of musical therapy) and at the end of the program, they GIVE the member a free guitar. In addition to all of these awesome resources, they also provide members with a safe space just to hang out at their offices and talk to the representatives, who can also point members in the right direction for official VA resources. They provide a sort of one-way mirror for the member: the member receives all of the benefits of working with the VA, but the Vet Center never sends any information back to them, so the VA nor the member’s military units hear about any counseling the member may receive.
The last booth (although there were a few other booths in-between) that I found extremely helpful was the VA’s Office of Financial Readiness. They had a variety of financial resources for veterans (and active duty, reserve, and guard) from workshops to training to pamphlets across a number of different areas of interest like budgeting, investing, consumer rights, and home buying. This is by no means an all-inclusive list. The service that’s offered by the VA Office of Financial Readiness that I found to be the most helpful (or at least would have found the most helpful a year or two ago) is identity theft restoration. They work with members to help restore any potential damage suffered due to identity theft (and I can say from experience that it is a very time-consuming and stressful ordeal to go through alone). The best part of all of this is that it’s completely free. The Personal Financial Counselors (PFCs) are able to walk the member through any financial issue they could possibly have, all at no cost.
All in all, I wish that an information fair like this existed when I was out-processing the military. Perhaps it was just a location-based limitation, but our “class” only had a couple of representatives come in to talk to us, and none of it was as informative as the UNL Information Fair. I learned a lot, took home a ton of reading material and resources, and came out knowing so much more than when I went in.
Cassandra K
Making my way around the room, I started at the Veterans Integration to Academic Leadership (VITAL) booth. They told me that they could provide members with a direct link to someone who could help them navigate VA services. Main services include connecting veterans to mental health treatment for minor afflictions, working with the campus to get academic accommodations for veterans with disabilities and obtaining assistive technology, and assisting with academic or conduct issues, to name a few. What I found most useful was that they could help members schedule appointments with the VA and act as a liaison with VA health care providers.
The next booth was the Veteran’s Health Administration itself, more commonly called the VA. Personally, this was the single most important booth at the fair, since, oddly enough, my out-processing checklist for leaving the military DID NOT INCLUDE signing up for VA healthcare. The representative was able to look for me in the system and, had I not already been signed up, would have been able to sign me up and apply for benefits on my behalf. I had signed up on my own when I became unemployed and was declined due to my high income from 2019 and early 2020. The representative was able to submit a hardship request for me, something I would not have been able to navigate on my own. For those who don’t need to sign up, or have already, they provide other services such as: treatments for combat stress, PTSD, or depression; acupuncture; whole health services; and healthcare specifically designed for women veterans.
Following the VA Healthcare booth was the Vet Center. They have two locations: Lincoln and Omaha. They provide a myriad of free services for veterans AND active duty such as free counseling for the member AND their families, employment assessment and referrals, resume workshops, whole health services like yoga and martial arts, and even have a Guitars for Vets program, which provides the member with free guitar lessons (as a form of musical therapy) and at the end of the program, they GIVE the member a free guitar. In addition to all of these awesome resources, they also provide members with a safe space just to hang out at their offices and talk to the representatives, who can also point members in the right direction for official VA resources. They provide a sort of one-way mirror for the member: the member receives all of the benefits of working with the VA, but the Vet Center never sends any information back to them, so the VA nor the member’s military units hear about any counseling the member may receive.
The last booth (although there were a few other booths in-between) that I found extremely helpful was the VA’s Office of Financial Readiness. They had a variety of financial resources for veterans (and active duty, reserve, and guard) from workshops to training to pamphlets across a number of different areas of interest like budgeting, investing, consumer rights, and home buying. This is by no means an all-inclusive list. The service that’s offered by the VA Office of Financial Readiness that I found to be the most helpful (or at least would have found the most helpful a year or two ago) is identity theft restoration. They work with members to help restore any potential damage suffered due to identity theft (and I can say from experience that it is a very time-consuming and stressful ordeal to go through alone). The best part of all of this is that it’s completely free. The Personal Financial Counselors (PFCs) are able to walk the member through any financial issue they could possibly have, all at no cost.
All in all, I wish that an information fair like this existed when I was out-processing the military. Perhaps it was just a location-based limitation, but our “class” only had a couple of representatives come in to talk to us, and none of it was as informative as the UNL Information Fair. I learned a lot, took home a ton of reading material and resources, and came out knowing so much more than when I went in.
Cassandra K