New state program offers variety of help to veterans
By TAYLOR BROWN
tbrown@yourmvi.com
Veterans and their families now have easy access to needed resources.
Following Veterans Day observances around the globe, officials have launched a statewide outreach initiative to serve more than 800,000 veterans in Pennsylvania.
PA VETConnect, operated by the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, identifies community partnerships to broaden referral capabilities and connect veterans to the best resources, regardless of where they live in the commonwealth.
By partnering with local agencies, it will help veterans and families with an array of issues, including homelessness, mental health concerns, suicide, unemployment, financial challenges, legal and family crises and much more.
Gov. Tom Wolf said the initiative will help the state fill in gaps for veterans’ resources.
“Pennsylvania provides a variety of programs and benefits for veterans, but there are still areas that we do not have formal programs due to lack of funding,” Wolf said. “PA VETConnect is our solution because it allows us to address these gaps through creative inter-agency coordination and community partnerships. We owe it to our veterans to provide them with the help they need and have earned through their military service.”
Maj. Gen. Anthony Carrelli, Pennsylvania’s adjutant general and head of the DMVA, said the project was considered extremely important.
“With the governor’s leadership, the DMVA staff has made PA VETConnect a priority project so that we can reach deeper into communities, establish a wider network of advocates, and provide the best possible programs and services to our veterans,” Carrelli said. “We realize that there is no way a program of this magnitude can be successful without the cooperation of our community partners. We are a more helpful agency to veterans because of these relationships.”
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