• By Todd Luck
• Posted Thursday, June 27, 2019

County Report Lists Local Veterans Services

Forsyth County staff has compiled a report on the many resources available to local veterans with information that will be added to the county’s website in the coming weeks.

County commissioners directed staff to evaluate community services for veterans as they consider the role of the county in addressing veterans’ needs. The county had a Veteran Services Office until the mid-1980s, when the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs opened the Winston-Salem Regional Office at 251 N. Main St. This regional office for the state of North Carolina assumed much of the work that had been done by county Veterans Services, since local veterans started going directly to the Veterans Benefits Administration office.

The report said the regional Veterans Benefits Administration office was the most significant resource available to veterans, offering counseling on VA benefits and how to apply, and numerous other services including compensation, education, insurance, loan guaranty, pension, vocational rehabilitation and employment. There's also numerous Veterans Service Organizations located there: American Legion, American Veterans (AMVETS), Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars, National Association of Black Veterans (NABVETS) and the NC Department of Veterans Affair.

Other local resources include:

HARRY Veteran Community Outreach Services, which provides free supportive services for veterans and family members, including assistance filling out claims for VA compensation benefits, individual and group counseling, assistance with utility bills, and referrals for housing and employment services.

Piedmont Triad Regional Council’s NCWorks Career Center, located at Goodwill Industries at 2701 University Parkway, provides information about job vacancies, career assessment, referrals for training services and assistance with resume writing.

The Veterans Resource Center at Forsyth Tech, located in Room 123 of the Technology Building on the Main Campus, offers counseling, academic advising, new student orientation, access to a student success coach and VA benefits information.

Veterans Helping Veterans Heal assists homeless veterans with a residential program that addresses their needs with mental health, life skills and career planning.

Kernersville Health Care Center, located at 1695 Kernersville Medical Parkway in Kernersville, provides primary care services for veterans.

Thank a Vet Discount Program, in which veterans can receive a photo ID card from the Register of Deeds, located on the second floor of the Forsyth County Government Center at 201 N. Chestnut Street, that will give them discounts at more than 100 participating local businesses.

Other services include a veterans mental health seminar held by the Urban League (which is funded by Behavioral Health money from the county), the United Way’s Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness that has greatly reduced veteran homelessness, and Veteran Treatment Court, a program with rehabilitative services that diverts veterans from the traditional justice system.

The report also includes brochures that thoroughly detail federal Veterans Affairs benefits and the many resources offered statewide by the NC Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.