The Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA) is excited to announce the grand opening of the Regional Veterans Center in Spokane County.
The new Regional Veterans Center will continue to provide veteran relief services to eligible veterans needing financial assistance from the Spokane County Veterans Assistance Fund. In addition, all veterans are welcome to access the new Center where partners from other agencies, organizations, and non-profits will provide assistance with VA Claims, applications for VA Medical Care, employment, and connections to other resources.
The Regional Veterans Center is a partnership between Spokane County, the WestCare Foundation, and your Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs. The Center will ensure services are provided to veterans in Spokane County, but also acts as a regional one-stop for any veteran in Eastern Washington who needs help connecting to benefits they earned by serving in the military.
"Awareness of the programs and services designed to help veterans and their families continues to be one of our biggest challenges,” said WDVA director Alfie Alvarado-Ramos. “The Spokane County Regional Veterans Services Center will give all veterans in Eastern Washington the chance to learn what is available and how to get connected. Expanding services to Eastern Washington has been our focus and I’m excited to open this new resource in Eastern Washington!”
WDVA operates several specialized programs for veterans and their families; however, they have been underutilized in Eastern Washington. Programs such as PTSD Counseling, the Veterans Conservation Corps, homeless veterans services, and the Veterans Innovations Program, which provides financial assistance to veterans experiencing financial hardships due to recent deployments, are available to veterans statewide. In February, WDVA also cut the ribbon for a new Veterans Home in Walla Walla to serve eighty Eastern Washington Veterans in need of long-term care.
Cathrene Nichols, Strategic Operations Manager for Eastern Washington, will oversee the Regional Veterans Services Center and through a grant from the WestCare Foundation will develop a Second Chance Act Reentry Program. This program is the first to be developed in Washington and is funded by a three year Bureau of Justice Grant working in collaboration with the Washington State Department of Corrections with a goal of better integrating veterans into their communities to reduce the likelihood of them re-offending and going back to prison.
The Regional Veterans Center is hosted by Spokane County, working with partners including the federal VA, the City of Spokane, WorkSource, Goodwill, several Veteran Service Organizations, New Horizons, and Pioneer Human Services to provide a one-stop Veterans Center in Spokane.
A grand opening reception is being held on April 10, from 9 – 11am, at 1101 W. College Ave, Suite 401 in Spokane.
To contact the Spokane County Regional Veterans Services Center visit http:// www.spokanecounty.org/1122/Veteran-Services ; http://www.dva.wa.gov/; or call 509-477-4486.