Dallas unveils yearlong veterans well-being assessment; public forum set for June 12

The City of Dallas Office of Equity and Inclusion provided the Workforce, Education and Equity Committee with an update on a yearlong veterans well-being assessment the office launched with guidance from the Veterans Affairs Commission (VAC).

Hai Tran, interim director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion, and Christina Da Silva, assistant director, told the committee the VAC was created by ordinance in early 2021 and acts as an advisory body that makes recommendations to the city manager and city council on matters affecting veterans. The presenters said approximately 40,000 military veterans live in Dallas and that key issues identified for the assessment include navigating services, stable affordable housing and workforce and employment opportunities.

Da Silva described a triangulated research approach for the assessment: (1) a Veterans Innovation and Insight Forum to gather direct input from veterans and providers, (2) a quantitative impact analysis of support services, and (3) a geospatial study of where veterans live and how they access services. The presenters said the VAC formed a subcommittee that met through July to develop recommendations; the VAC formally approved its recommendations on 08/08/2024.

The procurement process for the assessment included veterans on the evaluation team, the presenters said. According to the presentation, the project launched on 04/01/2025; the contract and procurement roles included a veteran buyer in procurement and a veteran employee resource-group representative on the proposal evaluation committee.

Presenters said the Veterans Innovation and Insight Forum will be held on Saturday, June 12 at Southern Methodist University and described it as an all-day workshop for veterans, families and providers to workshop solutions and shape the assessment's recommendations. (There was a brief date correction during the presentation: an earlier reference to July 12 was corrected to June 12.) Committee members asked for promotional materials, stronger interdepartmental follow-through and systems to track how many veterans the city currently serves.

Councilmember Jaime Resendiz and other committee members asked how the assessment will lead to action and how the city will measure the commission's effectiveness. Office staff said the assessment is intended to produce actionable recommendations and suggested it could include a third-party evaluation framework to track progress. Presenters also said SMU researchers are analyzing city records and partner-provider data to identify service gaps and to estimate how many veterans the city currently reaches through existing programs.

Ending

Office of Equity and Inclusion staff invited committee members to the VAC meeting and to the Veterans Innovation and Insight Forum, and they asked council members to help amplify outreach to increase veteran participation. Staff said they will return to the committee with findings and recommended metrics to track implementation.