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Could you give us a brief overview of the different VetCorps programs you have in the State of Washington.
Well, we have three major components of our VetCorps.
The largest is our VetCorps navigators who serve at colleges, community colleges, and private colleges,
and their duty there is to help veterans go through college and properly utilize their GI Bill.
Then we have another group of veterans who are stationed at the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Lewis,
helping wounded soldiers get re-acclimated to whether they're going back into their own units
or going into civilian life, and doing the follow up on that, and in addition,
helping organize service projects for those soldiers while they're serving.
And then we have a group of veterans who are working with homeless veterans in our VetCorps
out in the community at different community projects.
What were some of the challenges you faced in getting these programs off the ground?
I think some of the initial challenges were trying to find the right group of veterans who would like to serve
in these various capacities.
Obviously with the VetCorps members stationed at the community colleges and the four-year institutions,
a veteran who has used the GI Bill and has worked maybe a little bit in college or outside of college
and knows the value of education,
those kinds of individuals who serve in our VetCorps really have something to offer to other veterans.
They know what it's like trying to balance work and school.
They know what it's like taking various courses that perhaps in the past they hadn't been very well prepared to take,
and then the challenges of trying to balance work and study and taking exams
and taking the right set of classes so at the end of the term
they have something to show for their commitment to education.
What are some things people need to consider if they're starting a program from scratch that will serve veterans?
Well, I think there's a couple things, one,
an organization that can offer as a host site the right kinds of training and supervision for the VetCorps members,
ensuring that the placements, wherever the AmeriCorps members, these VetCorps members are placed,
is a functioning operation; in other words, that there is Internet access; that there is a desk, that there is a phone;
that there is a way to conduct business.
And so making sure that those kinds of basic resources are there for the VetCorps member is essential.
And I think the second thing is, obviously, coming up with the match.
Obviously, AmeriCorps is built on a contribution theory;
that it's just not federally funded but having local funds available to help support the VetCorps member
and the activities that member does is essential.
What advice do you have for establishing intermediary partnerships?
Well, one of the things that I would consider
is the degree to which the organization has the capacity to carry this out.
Obviously you have to have the financial capability, the financial background, the ability to handle federal funds,
and then there also has to be the ability of the organization to have the right type of staff
and the depth of staff background that truly understands this kind of activity;
that it's not necessarily a job but it's an extension of an opportunity for veterans to serve.
And there's something unique about that, I believe,
in term of enabling folks to see this as an extension of their mission rather than just a career choice.
What does someone need to know about working with the existing veteran-serving organizations
and government agencies that deal with veterans?
Well, existing veteran service organizations are dealing with a whole array of veterans' issues.
I think one of the issues that our VetCorps is trying to work on initially
is helping those veterans who have come back from Iraq and Afghanistan,
a younger-age group of veterans, say, than Vietnam-era veterans;
although we do serve some Vietnam-era veterans.
But in the Vet Navigator Program, we're more than likely to have veterans there who have served in Iraq
and Afghanistan, and not very many Gulf War veterans for that matter.
So one of the things is being able to relate to that population and to have veterans serving other veterans.
And I think when you look at the composition of some of the traditional veteran service organization, yes,
they're veterans, but they're veterans from two and three and four generations ago,
so having a group of veterans that can relate to the veterans that are in school right now, I think, is critical.
You have a really good relationship with your State Veterans Affairs Department.
How important is that, and what happens if that isn't something that is possible to forge?
Well, we have been very fortunate in that our State Department of Veterans Affairs has had somewhat of a track record
working on some of these issues;
for instance, we've had a Veterans Conservation Corps that has been in existence for about six or seven years.
So the State Department of Veterans Affairs already has had some kind of experience working with other veterans.
But that is more kind of a one-to-one relationship of a veteran getting experience working in resource conversation.
This is something different.
And so I think what's essential is having a State Department of Veterans Affairs that truly understands
some of the challenges that some of the veterans are going through
and sees this new group of veterans as resources;
veterans who can, with some train and support, serve other veterans
and make that connection to a veteran that I think only a veteran can do.
How do you fold in the military spouses with those and other family members into this effort?
Well, this is our first -- our second year of our VetCorps,
and this is the first year where we have non-veterans, which are spouses and widows.
And one of the things that I was told by one of our VetCorps members that
in the army if you want to get something done, leave it to a spouse,
and I see that in our VetCorps members who are spouses; the energy, the empathy,
the understanding of some of the things that go on behind the scenes that nonetheless impact the family;
that perhaps the spouse who is serving isn't even aware of.
So handling those things and advocating for spouses
and understanding what kind of resources are available for spouses oftentimes is not something that's very well known.
And then lastly, I think, it's spouse serving another spouse, understanding,
being able to understand what that family member is going through, what have they gone through,
and being able to step in and provide not just a sense of empathy but also a strong sense of understanding
and a resolve to help solve the issue.
Do you have any final advice for commissioned colleagues
who are getting ready to undertake similar veteran-focused initiatives?
Well, I think it's -- it's important to start.
We're never going to have all the information.
We're never going to have the most perfect agency, the most perfect intermediary to make this work.
But I'm prompted by some of the words of the late Arthur Ash who defined leadership as something that you look at,
you start where you are, you do what you have, you use what you can.
So there's nothing better than just starting,
and I think people can kind of pattern some of their experiences after us, look at some of the experiences we've had.
But we certainly don't have all the answers.
We're just fortunate enough to be in a situation
and to just be able to start with an organization that had the same kind of mission.
The second thing is that I think it's really critical
to have the program grounded in a principle of veteran serving veteran.
That doesn't have to be exclusive, but I think that has to be a major fundamental understanding,
because there is a sense amongst veterans, amongst them, who want to continue to serve the country in some way.
And so they see this as an extension, perhaps of a mission that in the past was maybe unfulfilled.
So I think there's an opportunity we have here to enable veterans to have a sense of completion;
that they're able to complete a commission; that they're able to serve other colleagues back home.
And I think we all like to know that we made a difference, we made a contribution,
and I think it's so important to see veterans as resources
and veterans as individuals who can serve other veterans and can advocate and stand for them and make a contribution.
Finally what we hear is from spouses and other veterans
that veterans are more likely to share some of the challenges
that they face with someone that they can trust, someone that maybe went through the same situation.
And so having people on the ground as AmeriCorps members, as our VetCorps members,
who come forward with a sincere sense of empathy is so vital in this kind of project, 110 00:10:18,000 and that's what I think we get when we have veterans and family members who are serving.