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Bay Veterans Foundation installs VSO; Habitat program and other partners expand repair and support options
Summary
Bay Veterans Foundation now hosts an American Legion Veterans Service Officer on Mondays; Habitat for Humanity's Operation We Care expands repair options for eligible veterans, and the Native Veterans Foundation continues monthly outreach and equipment donations.
Bay County officials told the Veterans Affairs Committee on May 20 about expanding partnerships meant to broaden services available to veterans, including a dedicated Veterans Service Officer (VSO) at the Bay Veterans Foundation and a home-repair option from Habitat for Humanity.
The committee learned Keisha Counts (spelled K-I-E-S-H-A Counts in the meeting) is installed as an American Legion VSO and holds office hours at the Bay Veterans Foundation on Mondays. Committee members said Counts can assist with appeals and veteran-law-judge counseling sessions but that the county's in-house staff do not perform that particular appeals work; Counts provides services to American Legion clients without county funding or oversight.
Committee staff also highlighted Bay County Habitat for Humanity's "Operation We Care" program, which accepts applications for home repairs and replacements. Staff said the program can serve households with gross annual incomes up to $44,640 and covers repairs such as roofs, gutters, HVAC (furnaces and boilers), accessibility ramps, weatherization, hot-water heaters and appliances. Staff described this as a new, useful option for veterans who earn above the county's emergency-relief income threshold but still need home-repair assistance.
The Native Veterans Foundation was reported to be providing computers to qualifying veterans (a DD-214 required) and hosting a monthly coffee hour that includes community and VA representatives. Committee members described the foundation's workshop activities, counseling, PTSD classes and other support services.
Staff urged other agencies and veterans to use these resources and said the partnerships broaden the "field of play" for veterans who need repairs or representation beyond the county's emergency-relief program. The committee noted there is no county funding tied directly to the VSO at the Bay Veterans Foundation; the relationship is described as parallel and cooperative rather than a county program expansion.
No formal committee action was taken on these partnership updates during the May 20 meeting.
