By BILL DOSS
For The Reporter
On Saturday, Oct. 5, the Hamilton County Veterans Corp (HCVC) held a breakfast that may help shape the future for our Military Veteran community (MVC) here in Hamilton County and beyond.
They invited the five American Legion and two VFW Posts in the county to an open discussion with several of our non-profit Military Service-connected organizations so we may all start working together as we move into the future. So many organizations out there are working for the same audience, the same cause, and all are trying to do the same thing, but they are stuck in their own silos, reinventing the wheel over and over again and are getting nowhere.
This event will hopefully tear down those silos and allow each organization to be a part of one voice, working together to make Hamilton County the place to be for our Veterans. In the process, we will make Hamilton County the model for all counties to follow.
At this first meeting, we also invited our city, county, state and U.S. representatives so they too could be a part of these discussions moving forward. We had great representation and ideas from Jacob Harkin of Senator Braun’s team, State Senator J.D. Ford, State Representative Victoria Garcia Wilburn, Fishers City Councilwoman Tiffanie Ditlevson, State House of Representative candidates Danny Lopez and Matt McNally, and our County Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt.
Our key resource partners in bringing the resources to our community who spoke about their missions and how we all can help were:
- HCVC, which has been serving our MVC for over 20 years and is the key player in driving communications across the board for the betterment of our communities. We will be bringing the VBA, VHA, County and Posts Veteran Service Officers together at each post to setup VA Claims Filing Days and we will be setting up suicide prevention training at all our Posts as well.
- A Healthier Hamilton County: Systems of Care and head of the Stronger Veterans Stronger Communities Coalition has received a grant from the IDVA for the Governor’s Challenge on the prevention of Veteran suicide. We are working to locate our Veterans, introduce them and their neighbors to the benefits and resources they need so they will be connected, talk about lethal means safety, and how our Posts can help in this mission of saving lives.
- Hamilton County Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs is working to acquire mental health assistance that will be free for our MVC and how our VFW and American Legion Posts can assist in designing this tool.
- Hero Hut brings together a diverse group of like-minded organizations where Veterans can learn about services and opportunities available to them. They are eager to work with the Posts in opening their doors to the community.
- Indy Warrior Partnership is connecting the resources to the people who need them.
- VA Roudebush Hospital, which explained the importance of getting into the VA system and filing your claims. The VA today is open and ready to serve their Veteran community and help make a difference in their tomorrows.
- Hamilton County Veteran Service Officer Tom Logan and his team are ready to serve our community and care for our Veterans.
- Good Samaritan Network of Hamilton County, which always needs our assistance and volunteers to care for all of Hamilton County residents. They are always there 24/7 caring for those in need.
- VFW & American Legion Posts shared their needs and ideas on what has worked and not worked in gaining members and getting the public into their Posts.
Everyone spoke openly about the needs of our Military Veteran community and how we can do better in delivering the resources they need to help them live a more fulfilled life here at home. It opened the floor many times to very productive brainstorming sessions in which everyone eagerly participated. The enthusiasm displayed during these brainstorming sessions was awesome to see from everyone, so we agreed to continue having these meetings at least quarterly. We will look at reconvening this Hamilton County Veteran Organization Coalition around the first of December, possibly combined with a drive for goods and funds so Good Samaritan Network of Hamilton County may help deliver a wonderful Christmas for our neighbors in need.
Besides learning that working together makes us all stronger, we also walked away with a better understanding of all our needs, where Hamilton County is heading as we increase care for our Military Veteran community and how working together will enhance the lives of our Military Veteran community as we move into the future.
As our Military is downsizing and our older Veterans are passing on, our Veteran community is continually shrinking. This means we need each other’s help to survive so we will still be here for our future Military Veteran community.