Veterans affairs undergoing revamp to improve outreach efforts

Improving social media and providing information around benefits are cornerstones to Jasper County Veterans Affairs’ plan to connect with clients. More than 2,500 military veterans live in Jasper County and veterans service officer Keith Thorpe said at Tuesday’s board of supervisors meeting the VA has a great difficulty trying to connect with them.

“A lot of these vets don’t know about the services we provide or that we even exist,” Thorpe said.

This lack of veteran engagement with the department can stem from a combination of limited public awareness and many veterans difficulties in dealing with military agencies in the past. Supervisor Brandon Talsma, a veteran himself, agreed with this assessment and shared some of his own experiences.

“I was out for more than nine years before I discovered Jasper County’s VA office,” he said.

So, in addition to the services the department already provides, the VA will be working with its new secretary, Alyssa Flood, to refresh and manage social media and new outreach efforts.

Flood, who has a background in graphic design and has worked with several veteran non-profits in the past, will help the department create a new plan to connect with local veterans.

“We’re happy that you’re here, and I’m sure that Keith is happy you’re here,” Talsma said.

One of the new programs is a social hour put on by the VA at PJ’s Deli, which allows veterans to meet the Jasper County service officers, commissioners and other veterans. The meeting will take place from 10 to 11 a.m. Nov. 6 at PJ’s Deli in Newton.

All pastries and refreshments will be provided by the VA office. Flood hopes the event will just be the first of many put on by the department in the next few months.

“Ideally, an event like this will move from town to town throughout Jasper County,” Flood said. “A lot of our current outreach work is centered around Newton, so getting out into smaller communities will be very important, especially for vets who are disabled or unable to travel for long distances.”

Flood has already put up a new Facebook page where information about events and services will be posted and readily available to the public.

And while new programs might be coming to the VA, it doesn’t mean that its current work will suffer for it. According to the quarterly report given during the Supervisors meeting, the department is currently providing transportation to several veterans to and from medical appointments in both Des Moines and Iowa City.

The VA also provides various emergency assistance programs to veterans and their families for clothing, food, shelter, medical expenses and utility bills. Other programs also offer financial and pension counseling services.

Contact Abby Knipfel at 641-792-4687 ext. 6531 or aknipfel@shawmedia.com