VETERAN SERVICES
OFFICE OF HUMAN SERVICES AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS ALIGNING BOARD PRIORITIES WITH OPTIMIZED RESOURCES
Goal Statement To assist veterans and their dependents in accessing federal, state and local benefits earned for their honorable military service.
Strategic Initiatives QUALITY OF LIFE ● Continued to support the National Pearl Harbor Day Partnership with Honor Flight Tallahassee and assisted with planning and coordination for the Reunion event (Initiative #2016-31). ● Enhanced partnership with CareerSource to increase job and economic opportunities for local veterans, including participating in events such as Veteran Express, an online event in which local veterans engaged with veteran services counselors on accessing Veteran Administration benefits (Initiative #2018-7).
PEOPLE FOCUSED. PERFORMANCE DRIVEN.
VETERANS HELPING VETERANS ⊲ Facilitated claim actions that resulted in Leon County veterans receiving more than $20 million in benefits. ⊲ Completed 3,647 benefit counseling contacts for veterans and their dependents. ⊲ In partnership with the City of Tallahassee, provided over 125 StarMetro Bus passes that totaled 6,772 trips for low income and disabled veterans. ⊲ Managed the Veterans Resource Center where nearly 75 veterans accessed resources to assist them with employment needs and continued partnering with Career Source Capital Regional to increase job and economic opportunities for local veterans. ⊲ Sent 50 “welcome” letters to all separating veterans who designated Tallahassee as their home of record or as the place they will be relocating to after separation. ⊲ Maintained strong relationships with community partners by attending United Vets monthly coordinating meetings. ⊲ Partnered with the American Legion Sauls-Bridges Post 13 to host the annual Operation Thank You breakfast with over 500 citizens and veterans in attendance. ⊲ Assisted 89 Veterans through the Veterans Emergency Assistance Program, which provides emergency financial assistance to help qualifying veterans meet critical, basic needs such as rent, mortgage and utilities. ⊲ Continued to provide financial support for the Leon County Veteran’s Day Parade in partnership with Vet Events Tallahassee, Inc.
Contact us (850) 606-1940 www.LeonCountyFL.gov/Vets 58 | 2 0 2 0 L E O N C O U N T Y A N N U A L R E P O R T
⊲ Honored veterans by placing Operation Thank You commemorative wreaths on Memorial Day at various memorials in the community including the WWII Memorials located on the front lawn of the County Courthouse, Vietnam Veteran Memorial, the Korean War Veteran Memorial at Cascades Park, VFW County-owned Cemetery, Oakland Cemetery, Tallahassee National Cemetery, Big Bend Hospice Veteran Memorial and Daniel B. Chaires Community Park.
Veterans Day Parade
RESPONDING TO COVID-19 ⊲ Continued to provide essential services to veterans in need before, during and after the Safer-at-Home order in March and April by maintaining social distancing, rearranging seating in the waiting area per social distancing guidelines and providing mask/face covering for all clients and staff.
DID YOU KNOW? All persons serving in the United States military who reside in Leon County are eligible to apply for a grant equal to that portion of their Leon County Ad Valorem property taxes on their owner-occupied residence reflecting the time they served on active duty in direct support of a named United States military conflict or national emergency declared by the President of the United States per Title 10, U.S.C.