Bexar County Department of Military and Veterans Services

Bexar County Motivational Monday “You can’t change conditions. Just the way you deal with them.” – Jessica Watson, sailor Bexar County Department of Military and Veterans ServicesLloyd Kuykendoll, MAKendra CookGilbert LaurianoRay Herrera, MAMARK S. CasonChristopher WhittemoreKaryssa Henry, MSIOPJenyl HenrySteven McKeeMichael Cervantes HernandezMarsha CovingtonWilliam LansdonWilliam DelphiaCurt BassGeorge WestfahlMissy Cruz ?

??PROPOSED VA GRANT ?? Today, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs proposed establishing a first-of-its-kind grant program aimed at increasing access to VA programs and benefits. The proposed program would fund entities that provide legal support to help Veterans and former service members access VA programs, improve their military discharge status or characterization of service, and seek a review of a military record before a board of correction for military or naval records. The aim of this new program would be to increase access to VA programs and benefits — including compensation and pension, education, health care, loans, national cemetery matters, and VA character of discharge determinations. Earlier this year, VA amended its regulations on character of discharge determinations to ensure the department can provide services to deserving former service members — including certain individuals who faced discrimination, survived sexual assault or harassment, struggled with their mental or physical health, or faced other challenges while serving in the military. This change opened the door for former service members who had previously been found ineligible to reapply for VA care and benefits. “We encourage former service members with other than honorable discharges to apply for VA care and benefits today. Although VA cannot change your discharge status, we want to provide you with any health care or benefits we can — and we will work with you every step of the way to do exactly that,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. This proposed program is a part of VA’s continued efforts to support and expand access to certain former service members with other-than-honorable and bad conduct discharge statuses. VA has conducted extensive outreach to these former service members in recent years, increasing the number who applied for VA care or benefits. Over the past 10 years, VA has granted eligibility to 75% of former service members with other-than-honorable discharge status, equating to over 57,000 individuals. In certain circumstances, individuals with an other-than-honorable discharge status can qualify for VA programs and services if they receive a favorable outcome through a military service discharge review board, a board for correction of military or naval records, or VA’s character of discharge determination. Key to this new proposed program would be providing former service members the legal assistance they need to navigate these processes. The rulemaking can be viewed in the Federal Register under public inspection, and will be published and open for comment beginning Oct. 2, 2024 (findable by searching for the rule on VA’s Federal Register webpage). VA anticipates a notice of funding opportunity for this grant program to be published following publication of the final rule. #VeteranBenefits U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Texas Veterans Commission Gillespie County, Texas

***VA Claims & Benefits Fair*** Register for this event: Use link, QR code or copy & paste to register. https://lnkd.in/gqCqFsXd Texas Veterans Commission David A. Archuleta, Sr. Michael Cervantes Hernandez Calvin Henry MBA, MIOP Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Amity University NACVSO_OFFICIAL U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Angela Monroe Woellner Tejeda Frank M Texas State Veterans Nursing Home Veterans Resource Team (VRT) Texas Veterans Network Powered by Combined Arms Brennan Avants Brendan Nohsey Andrea O. MARK S. Cason Callsign Muffin Daylen K. Adams Freddy Salazar