Crook County veterans officer outlines rising engagement, homelessness concerns and state bills ahead of June resource fair

Tom, Crook County's veterans service officer, told the board on May 28 that official counts understate the county's veteran population and that demand for county services has risen sharply in fiscal year 2025.

"Currently, we have about on paper, about 2,700 veterans in the county. Realistically, there's probably about 3,000," Tom said, adding that registration with the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs relies on veterans engaging with a veterans service officer. He reported an increase in office visits this fiscal year — "'25, pretty big uptick in numbers at 757 office visits and 11 home visits" — and said the county had 134 new VA awards since July, with new-claim monthly and annual totals discussed in the presentation.

Tom flagged veterans' housing instability and homelessness as a major local issue, saying senior veterans and surviving spouses are struggling to afford housing in Central Oregon. He described reintegration and employment challenges for younger veterans and rising demand for mental-health services tied to multiple deployments.

Tom outlined several state bills he is monitoring, using the study materials distributed to the board: he referred to "House Bill 2537," which he said would establish a veterans waiver program with Oregon Health Plan to provide medical assistance to low-income veterans in Oregon, and "House Bill 2845," which he said would provide roughly $10 million to the Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs and could fund additional state staff for services including incarcerated- and homeless-veterans programs. He also warned against predatory private firms that charge veterans for claims assistance, discussing "claim sharks" and a related "Senate Bill 150" he said would restrict certain paid services on claims.

The veterans office is organizing a county resource fair on June 20 at Pioneer Park, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tom said; participants will include state and federal VA representatives, caregiver support, Central Oregon Veterans Outreach and local nonprofits. Tom described caregiver support as "a very utilized program in the county." He encouraged outreach and suggested targeted advertising to reach older veterans and family members who might help them access benefits.

Board members and staff discussed outreach channels and advertising to warn veterans about predatory organizations and to increase sign-ups for benefits; staff noted the county has advertising dollars that could be used for targeted outreach. Tom emphasized that benefit claims can yield durable support for spouses: "there's a chance that we can get your wife, you know, spousal benefits where she could receive $1,602 a month rest of her life and a health insurance the rest of her life," he said when describing spousal benefits in some cases.

Tom said average VA claims processing remained about six to nine months and that some delays were driven by complexity in evidence and appeals, not an across-the-board stoppage of benefits. He described partnerships with local service providers and the Vet Center, which offers weekly office hours and group meetings in the county.

No formal board action was taken on the bills at the work session; the presentation was informational and staff indicated they would pursue outreach and use existing county resources to support the June resource fair and targeted advertising where appropriate.