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Delaware County veterans director says services expanded, highlights job grant and crisis response team
Summary
Colonel Arthur Jenkins told county council the Office of Military and Veterans Affairs has boosted outreach and casework, secured a $400,000 workforce grant, launched a Veterans Response Team and begun a Veterans Advisory Council to better reach homeless and at‑risk veterans.
Colonel Arthur Jenkins, director of Delaware County’s Office of Military and Veterans Affairs, told council the office’s operations have “increased our throughput by about 68% over the past 2 years.” Jenkins said that increase reflects expanded outreach, more walk‑in assistance and targeted events at community sites and veterans resource fairs.
Jenkins described a July “homeless veterans sweep” coordinated with the Community Action Agency that surveyed known encampments in Chester and Upper Darby and offered transport to VA medical centers. He said the county set up two vans to take veterans to the Philadelphia VA Medical Center or Coatesville hospital if they needed care.
The director highlighted the Veterans Employment Project, a two‑year grant the county secured with workforce development totaling $400,000 to address employment barriers; Jenkins said the state asked the county to enroll 20 veterans this year and 20 next year, and that “we have 23 veterans … thus far.”
Jenkins also announced a new Veterans Response Team composed of veteran police officers and first responders who receive de‑escalation training so that, when called, they can respond to mental‑health crises with peer‑to‑peer approaches. “These are police officers, but again, they’re veterans who are highly trained in de‑escalation,” Jenkins said.
Council members praised the work. One councilmember said the Veterans Advisory Council and resource fairs have helped create community among veterans and make county services more accessible. Jenkins said the office will continue community events such as book reviews and flag‑raising ceremonies and is establishing satellite service points in Media and Drexel Hill.
The council did not take any formal action on Jenkins’s report; the presentation served as an update to the record and to guide future budget and program discussions.
