Brookings residents press council for more veterans services, housing and volunteer follow-up

Connie Hunter, a founding secretary of the VA Roseburg Mental Health Advocacy Council and veterans and tribal liaison for state Representative Court Boyce, told the Brookings City Council on Jan. 13 that local advocates are working to improve brain-injury screening and access to care for veterans.

“We convened a previous veterans brain injury providers workshop and veterans community town hall,” Hunter said, and she described a presentation she helped develop titled “Brain Injury Screening is Suicide Prevention.” Hunter said the group is planning another town hall and provider workshop on April 25 to connect veterans and families with services and to discuss incarceration and post‑incarceration supports for veterans.

Hunter also raised housing as a near‑term opportunity. She told the council that, according to her information, the state of Oregon had about $4,000,000 set aside for veterans housing that was not used and that the resulting rollover produces roughly $9,000,000 now available for veterans housing. She asked for a future agenda slot to brief the council on county housing projects and a prospective veterans housing proposal.

Laura Goldberg, a Brookings resident, commended local and regional emergency responders for their Dec. earthquake and tsunami response. She said schools were evacuated and “all of our different agencies and personnel had seamlessly collaborated” to identify and evacuate low‑lying areas from Crescent City to Port Orford, and she urged continued attention to preparedness.

Amanda Whitmore, a local nonprofit worker and KCIW radio host, urged better follow-up when residents sign up to volunteer. “There’s like a disconnect that I can’t quite put the puzzle pieces to,” Whitmore said, describing online volunteer sign‑ups that do not result in acknowledgement or assignment. She offered her radio program as a venue for outreach and suggested the city and county improve volunteer communication.

City Manager Tony Lou told speakers the manager’s office would follow up on requested presentations and outreach opportunities. At the meeting’s close, council members acknowledged the comments and said staff would be asked to coordinate with the speakers about next steps.

Why it matters: Residents asked the council to help connect veterans to brain‑injury screening and behavioral-health services, to pursue a possible state funding source for veterans housing, and to improve how volunteer interest is acknowledged and assigned. Those issues link to public safety, housing resources and the capacity of volunteer‑dependent community programs.

Additional details: Hunter said Curry Prevention has a grant supporting problem‑gambling prevention among veterans and their families that local advocates hope to coordinate with other services. Hunter also identified the Coos Scribe housing authority (as named in her remarks) and said she serves as a commissioner and would like a future briefing on student and veterans housing projects. Goldberg described the Dec. 2024 offshore earthquake near Eureka and the subsequent tsunami warning and evacuation exercise; she said the incident highlighted interagency coordination across several counties.

The council did not take formal action on the items raised during public comment; staff and council members agreed to follow up and to consider scheduling the presentations Hunter requested.