The city’s Military and Veterans Affairs Department has been driven to increase the level of service it provides area veterans.
Soon those outreach efforts will include driving, too.
The department is receiving a specially branded, patriotic van with scenes of military personnel and contact information for the office.
Red, white and blue, of course.
The scenes come from EverBank Field and Jacksonville Jaguars games, which isn’t coincidental.
The van is being provided to the office via a multiyear grant from the Jaguars Foundation.
The nonprofit side of the team awarded a $1 million grant spread over five years to assist the military-missioned office. The grant is now in the third year.
“We could not do what we do without the foundation,” said Bill Spann, department director. “Out of the 32 NFL teams, they’re the best friends of the military.”
The grant doesn’t cover just the vehicle or other special projects.
It covers the everyday checks the office cuts to help veterans with short-term needs to stave off evictions, keep the lights on or assist with legal issues.
They’re smallish in nature — typically $200-$300 — for veterans who meet U.S. Housing and Urban Development thresholds.
Those who seek help but have bills that aren’t critical — think large cable bills, multiple cellphones and the like — receive budget counseling.
“We are their safety net, one of multiple safety nets to help veterans face bumps in the road,” said Spann.
Some receive small grants, others take loans with manageable payback terms. If they don’t repay the loan, that’s the only help the office will provide.
“They get one bite of the apple,” as Spann said.
The office’s Veterans Resource and Reintegration Center is the entry point for those needing help to access their benefits, find a job or transitional housing, receive emergency financial assistance and more.
The numbers of those served have increased over the past fiscal year.
In 2014-15, the office helped 6,050 Northeast Florida veterans. New benefits for those veterans topped $23.5 million for the year.
With just over a week to go in the fiscal 2015-16 year, the office has assisted more than 8,100 veterans.
New benefit figures likely won’t be provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for a couple of months, said Spann, but conservative numbers would put it in the range of a 10-15 percent increase.
If upwards of 30 percent of that was spent locally, it would provide a solid return-on-investment for the city department that Spann said is the smallest in terms of budget at $1.13 million.
Some of that return for the office isn’t just financial, either.
Spann recalls scenes of veterans the office has helped returning to offer baked goods or hugs for the assistance they’ve received.
Or maybe even a happy dance, like one woman did last year in the middle of the lobby after receiving a large benefits settlement with the office’s help.
Spann credits the people in the office for the help veterans receive. He just fills the office’s lobby, he said.
That comes from a concerted marketing effort, whether it means speaking for a few minutes at a civic club or being featured at veterans’ functions.
“Anyone who will listen,” he said. “The automatic answer is ‘yes.’”
Soon enough, people will be able to see that effort on the roadways, too.
@writerchapman
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