Natalie Carter
The Broadside
“There are more than 345, 000 veterans in Oregon” according to Governor Ted Kulongoski’s letter in the 2011 Veterans’ Benefits Resource Guide.
The state of Oregon offers a broad range of benefits and services to all Oregon Veterans. Benefits and services that include: transitional housing for homeless veterans, home loans, financial aid for education, employment services, medical care, and family
and personal counseling.
Central Oregon Veterans Outreach:
Central Oregon Veterans Outreach [COVO] Program was founded in 2005 by members of the Bend/Lapine Veterans of America who initially assisted veterans found living in homeless camps in Central Oregon.
It is a program that has expanded to offering various services such as counseling, assistance in obtaining disability, social security
disability, records reconstruction and correction, and obtaining awards that never appeared in their records.
They also offer transitional housing in the form of a six bed transitional house, which was established to allow homeless veterans
a place to live, save money, and improve job skills and/or obtain an education. This program is always accepting new volunteers and supplies to help veterans in Central Oregon. Visit www.covo-us.org or call 541-318-5713.
Oregon Veterans’ Home Loans:
According to Oregon.gov, “Since 1946 the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs [ODVA] has helped over 345, 000 veterans realize their dreams of owning a home, by loaning over $7.5 billion.”
ODVA’s Oregon Veterans’ home loans offers favorable interest rates and assists honorably-discharged veterans in purchasing a single-family occupied home. “The current maximum loan amount for a single family is $417,000.”
Eligibility for the program can be established prior to filing for a home loan, but this program does expire 30 years after discharge
from qualifying active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces.
For more information and program qualifications, call ODVA toll free 1-888-673-8387 or visit www.oregon.gov/ODVA/HOMELOANS.
State of Oregon Employment Services
The State of Oregon offers unemployment insurance benefits and preference points to all eligible and honorably discharged veterans within 15 years of discharge. According to Oregon.gov, “Since the time of the Civil War, veterans of the Armed Forces have been given some degree of preference in appointments to government jobs. Recognizing that sacrifices are made by those serving in the Armed Forces, Congress enacted laws to prevent veterans seeking employment from being penalized because of the time spent in military service.”
For more information and to see if you qualify visit www.oregon.gove/EMPLOY/VETS or call 1-800-237-3710.
State Financial Aid:
The Veterans’ Benefits Resource Guide lists two State Education Programs.
The State Educational Aid program will pay up to $150/ month for full time study or training and $100/month for part time.
Payments are made directly to qualifying veterans for college/university, vocation school, and home study. Benefits will be paid for as many months as the veteran spent on active duty service up to a maximum of 36 months. For more information and to see if you qualify call ODVA toll free free 1-888-673-8387 or visit www.oregon.gov/ODVA/BENEFITS.
The Tuition Waiver Program
became active in 2008 when the Oregon Legislature passed a law that provides a full-tuition waiver for children or spouses of service members, who died on active duty, became 100 percent disabled in connection with military service, or died as a result of a disability sustained on active duty after September 11, 2011. This program waves full tuition for a bachelor’s or master’s degree at any Oregon University System institution. For more information visit www.ous.edu.
Central Oregon Community College Veteran Center:
The Veteran Center that opened on Central Oregon’s Community [COCC] Campus last spring provides resources for veterans including college advising, veteran benefits, and financial aid and transition resources. “It is becoming a place where COCC Veterans can feel safe and comfortable sharing their experiences, especially as it pertains to transitioning from military life to civilian life,” said Alicia Moore, COCC’s dean of student and enrollment services. For more information visit the Veterans’ Center, the upstairs conference room in the Campus Center, located next to the Multicultural Center.
State of Oregon Medical Care Services and Veterans’ Home
According to the Veterans Benefits Resource guide “The Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs (ODVA) works to assist veterans
with applying for medical care through the federal VA healthcare system.” To also help assist veterans a 151-bed Medicare-Medicaid certified Oregon Veterans’ home was opened in 1997. This home provides skilled nursing, Alzheimer’s and other dementia care, and
inpatient and outpatient rehabilitative care to veterans, spouses of veterans, and parents all of whose children died while serving the U.S. Armed Forces. The home is located in the Dalles, and overlooks the Columbia river. For more information about applying for medical care call 1-800-692-9666. Information about the Oregon Veterans’ Home can be found at www.oregon.gov/ODVA/VETSHOME.
Central Oregon Vet Center:
The Central Oregon Vet Center found at 1645 NE Forbes Road in Bend is a center that provides many services to eligible veterans and their families.
Services that include individual, group, marital, family, sexual trauma, bereavement counseling, as well as information and referrals to community and local Department of Veterans Affairs resources.
This center is open to all Veterans from all eras. Call 541-749-2112 for more information.