Warrior Gateway Supporting Student Veterans of America at National Conference

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Mike

Members of the Warrior Gateway team will be attending “The 4th Annual National Conference presented by Student Veterans of America,” December 8-10, 2011 in Las Vegas, NV. This will be a great opportunity to connect with student veterans, their families, and the organizations and institutions assisting them. To see the event schedule, register, and learn more information, click here.

Opening remarks and guest speakers include: Eric Shinseki, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Col. David Sutherland, Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Kevin Schmiegel, Vice President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The conference theme is “Combating Veteran Unemployment,” which is a predominant issue right now for veterans nationwide. One of the conference highlights will be the career fair on Friday, which will involve Student Veterans of America partnering with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and RecruitMilitary to bring employers from across many different sectors together that want to hire veterans. Top tier employers will be in attendance, such as veteran friendly employers Booz Allen Hamilton and General Electric. Attendees are encouraged to bring multiple copies of their resume and employers are asked to bring national and local job opportunities.

We will provide a live feed from the event through social media, so stay in touch! If you are attending, or know someone who is, please connect with us. We are excited to network with as many student veterans, military families, and other organizations as we can.

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Warrior Gateway will be supporting veterans continuing higher education and employment next week at the 4th Annual Student Veterans of America National Conference in Las Vegas, NV. http://www.warriorgateway.info/?p=2958

Warrior Gateway Announces the G.I. Network: A Nation of Support. One Network

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Mike

VETERANS TO BENEFIT FROM PARTNERSHIP AND INNOVATION BETWEEN NON-PROFITS, GOVERNMENT

Washington, DC – Today, Warrior Gateway announces the G.I. Network: A Nation of Support. One Network, the largest free network available designed to connect hundreds of thousands government programs and vetted non-profits, with the millions of veterans in the US.

Available in January 2012, the G.I. Network will connect veterans and their families with more than 220,000 government and non-profit organizations as well as with each other. The G.I. Network has been piloted over the last year with several Warrior Gateway non-profit and government partners to provide a collection of free tools and services to help veterans and military families find and connect with education, employment, health and wellness programs.

“Warrior Gateway has a history of providing innovative technology solutions designed to help veterans and their families,” said Devin B. Holmes, CEO of Warrior Gateway. “Veterans tell us that there are too many disconnected resource websites. The G.I. Network is the game changer that solves this problem. It provides a solution to network all those resource websites and help people connect in a meaningful way. Developed in response to the Joining Forces initiative, the G.I. Network helps each of us connect with veterans and their families in our communities.”

The G.I. Network will launch in January 2012. For more information about participating and to be notified of the public launch, please visit: www.GINetwork.org.

About G.I. Network: A Nation of Support. One Network.: Publicly launching January 2012, the G.I. Network connects hundreds of thousands non-profits and government programs as well as millions of veterans under one network. A program of Warrior Gateway, the G.I. Network harnesses state-of-the art technology to create the largest free network for today’s veterans to connect in their local community.

Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook!

New VA bill established to assist post-9/11 veteran caregivers could fall short

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Devin

On 5 May 2010 President Obama signed the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act, Public Law 111-163. The bill, first of its kind, intends to provide direct assistance to veteran families. However, recent press releases indicate that the bill is in distress. Many articles are quick to fault the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) after the organization missed the 31 January 2011 deadline to start carrying out provisions of the bill, and before that, the 1 November 2010 implementation plan milestone. The VA signed the long-awaited implementation plan on Wednesday 9 February, but the contents of that bill may be falling short of its mark. For instance, only about 10 percent of the intended post-9/11 caregiver population (est. 850) are said to be eligible for assistance.

New benefits – restricted to caregivers of the critically wounded and seriously ill of the post-9/11 veterans – outlined by the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010, include: monthly stipend (based on the average home healthcare costs in the veterans hometown), health care coverage, travel expenses (including lodging and per diem while accompanying veterans undergoing care), respite care, and mental health services/counseling.

Among those supporting the bill are the following political figures:

Sen. Daniel Akaka (HI)
Sen. Richard Burr (NC)
Sen. Patty Murray (WA), Chairwoman, Senate Veteran’s Affairs Committee
Rep. Jeff Miller (FL), Chairman, House Committee on Veteran Affairs

While some of the enhancements are currently available, many will require an issuance of regulations, whereas others will remain unavailable. To date, the VA has given no timeline as to when the services will be available to caregivers. However, under the law, the VA must report to Congress within 2 years about the possibilities of providing the enhanced benefits to all post-9/11 caregivers.

The Warrior Gateway can assist those that are affected by the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 by providing veteran caregivers a place to find assistance services located in their hometown. The free-of-charge Warrior Gateway directory currently has over 100 caregiver assistance organizations available for veterans of all eras.

Please feel free to post comments about this blog and suggest other topics you would like to see covered by the Warrior Gateway Government Relations Blog.

Helping Homeless Veterans

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Devin

Servicemen and servicewomen put their lives on the line to keep American safe; their fight does not always end when they come home. Soldier On, a non-profit organization is honoring those who serve America by providing shelter to homeless veterans.

On Tuesday, August 24, 2010, Soldier On purchased the Western Massachusetts Regional Police Academy on Westfield Street in Springfield, MA, for $1! They plan on converting the building into studio apartments for homeless veterans to live.

Soldier On has been helping homeless veterans since 1994. With time the organization has moved beyond just helping provide shelter, they have set up Veterans Village projects where former homeless veterans are given the chance to own a home.

If you are currently looking for shelter in the Massachusetts area, visit the Warrior Gateway. If you know of other services that provide veteran assistance add them to our Directory.

To view the original article, Editorial: Bay State Honors Pledge to Veterans, click here.

New Pilot Program to Help Chronically Homeless Veterans

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Devin

The Department of Veterans Affairs will pilot a new program in Denver, Colorado and four other cities to help decrease the number of homeless veterans.

The program is funded with a $33 million grant, that will create a 40-bed program for unceasingly homeless veterans over the next five years.

In about 18 months, the Denver program plans to house many veterans. They have yet to decide on a building where they will provide shelter. The area will also provide therapy and treatment to veterans in the program. Other services available within the residential treatment area will include job skills training, medical and mental health help and assistance with addictions.

“We do not want men and women returning from Afghanistan and Iraq to find themselves homeless and on the streets,” said Barbara Poppe, Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.

Other cities that plan to be involved in the pilot program are San Diego, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Miami.

If you are currently looking for shelter in the Colorado area, visit the Warrior Gateway. If you know of other services that provide veteran assistance add them to our directory.

To view the original article, Denver gets new pilot program to help chronically homeless veterans, by Colleen O’Connor click here.