Lake County commissioners hear VSO briefing on outreach, benefits processing and potential cleanup grant

Lake County Board of County Commissioners work-session attendees heard a briefing from a county veteran services staff member about local veteran outreach, benefit processing, and a potential multi-county grant to help veterans with property repairs and cleanup.

The veteran services staff member told commissioners that regional VA offices are the only part of VA operations currently affected by the federal shutdown and that medical services and benefit processing continue, though some benefit processing may be slower. “The only thing that’s being affected is the regional offices. Medical is still going like it should. VA benefits will not be affected. There’s still processing benefits. They may be slowed down,” the staff member said.

The briefing focused on three practical needs: outreach to reach more veterans (particularly older Vietnam-era veterans), modest increases in training and outreach budgets, and use of data systems to track veterans who seek help. The staff member said a fall training session ran Sept. 15–18 and that the office has historically held two sessions per year (spring and fall) with consideration of expanding training frequency. They identified a training line item of about $1,000 and a smaller travel/expense line around $300 that may need adjustment.

On counts and tracking, the staff member said 471 veterans in the community were receiving VA benefits but acknowledged the total number of veterans living in the county is not known from a single reliable source. The county uses the VA’s VMS database to look up veterans when they have the veteran’s power of attorney (POA) or when veterans work with Veterans Service Organizations such as VFW or American Legion. “The VA has a program they call the VMS,” the staff member said, describing how staff can check benefit status and outstanding documentation requests for veterans who have given POA to VSOs or county representatives.

Commissioners and the staff member discussed outreach tactics aimed at older veterans who are less likely to use the internet. Commissioners urged placing information on the county website and local channels and suggested radio, newspapers and senior-center visits as ways to connect veterans to in-person help. The staff member said they have been attending senior-center events and noted that many Vietnam-era veterans are reluctant to engage with services.

On assistance for property cleanup or minor home repairs, the staff member said Lake County is coordinating with Grand and Summit counties to pursue a grant that could fund expenses for veterans—examples discussed included home modifications for disabilities, short-term rental assistance, vehicle repairs and cleanup of nuisance properties. The staff member said the county has not used such a program before and that details would need to be worked out with partner counties and with county code enforcement. The staff member added they would try to connect code enforcement staff with the veteran services office to explore options.

Other operational details covered included membership dues for the Colorado County Veterans Association (a small annual fee the staff member said could be paid out-of-pocket if needed) and an internal note that the county’s web listing for the VSO needed correction so the VSO appears prominently on the state site. Commissioners asked the staff member—who identified outreach and language as valuable assets—to help shape messages that would encourage veterans to seek help.

No formal motions or votes were taken during the discussion.

Looking ahead, commissioners asked the veteran services staff member to provide budget figures if the office seeks additional training or outreach funding and to follow up on the multi-county cleanup/repair grant concept and coordination with code enforcement.