Veteran Service Center holds cookout

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - The Volunteers of America - Dakotas hosted a cookout Wednesday to spread the word about resources available for veterans facing challenges.

Veterans in need of assistance are able to reach out if they are needing help for a number of things.

The Veterans Service Center with Volunteers of America - Dakotas is where help can be found.

“Veterans are more likely to be homeless than regular civilians when they come out of the service,” said the Director of Veteran Services for VOA, Ben Klusmann. “A lot of times, they are in a place where they don’t have any connections, so when they get out of the service, they don’t really know where to go from there. Being able to supply services that not only help them find housing and help them find employment but also have resources for them to get connected at the VA, get connected with disability services, with mental health counselors, with job coaches, with anything like that, it’s imperative because when they’re in service, they are told what to do the entire time.”

The services they offer help veterans in our local area.

“Housing was a big thing because, at one point, I was homeless. They were able to get me into one of the Berakhah Houses, which is another VOA area, and then got me into housing, and then married me up with a case manager at the VA itself,” said Veteran Mark Eshelman.

If you need assistance, the VOA-Dakotas Veteran Service Center is the place to start.

To learn more, visit voa-dakotas.org/our-service-areas/homelessness.

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