LA GRANDE – For current and former members of the armed forces, financial, medical and social resources can seem difficult to access. However, the Center for Human Development (CHD) is working to rectify this resource disconnect and bring contacts and opportunities directly to the veterans of Eastern of Oregon with the Veterans Resource fair.
In keeping with its namesake, a primary focus of the fair is to provide veterans with as easy access to diverse support and resources as possible. It’s also hoped that the fair will allow networking between resource providers and community partners, creating better veteran services and a more coherent support system moving forward. To facilitate this gathering of providers and coordinators, the CHD is working with Veterans Service Officers (VSOs) from Morro, Grant, Umatilla, Wallowa, Malheur, Union and Harney counties who in turn are asking their various contacts and community partners to attend the fair. The Walla and Boise branches of the VA will be in attendance. As best put by Union VSO Brian Blais:
“The Big thing is connecting them with folks like me. The main point of it is we help them access the benefits they’re entitled to, like filing disability claims or signing up for healthcare through the VA. The big component is hooking up with us because as VSOs we typically know all the resources in our county and so we can be that touch point to then refer to those other services.”
The fair itself is, according to Blaise, “the first
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