August 1, 2011 – American Forces Press Service

Retired Army 1st Sgt. Renee Floyd wasn’t about to let a disability stop her from realizing her dream of having her own business.

Applying 21 years of experience as an Army mechanic, she launched BRF Mobile Lube Service in Phenix City, Ala., in 2009 and began traveling to people’s homes and businesses to provide convenient oil changes and maintenance services.

But her big break came last month, she said, when she attended the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans With Disabilities at Florida State University. The nine-day EBV crash course is part of a program designed to help participants get their businesses off the ground or enhance ventures they have started.

Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management in New York was the first to offer the program for veterans disabled as a result of their military service since Sept. 11, 2001.

Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla., launched its own program in 2008. Now, a consortium of seven universities around the United States participates, anxious to help disabled veterans make their dreams of entrepreneurship a reality.

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July 29, 2011 – American Forces Press Service

A government office dedicated to protecting service members and their families from financial predators and pitfalls officially opened for business this week.

As the military arm of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Office of Servicemember Affairs is intended to strengthen military families financially and to serve as an advocate on their behalf, explained Holly Petraeus, who was tapped to head up the new office in January.

“Military families have special challenges,” said Petraeus, wife of Army Gen. David H. Petraeus. “There are 50 different states with 50 different laws, and military personnel may not be aware of the protections in the state where they live.”

These challenges are compounded when frequent moves and deployments are added into the mix, she said.

The office will work to ensure service members and their families receive the financial protection and education they deserve through a threefold mission, Petraeus explained. First, it will ensure military personnel are given a quality financial education, she said, “so they’re wise to consumer issues and can avoid the pitfalls out there.”

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Posted: Jul 26, 2011 9:58 PM EDT Updated: Jul 27, 2011 10:25 AM EDT
By Taylor Kearns, www.wistv.com
COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) – iPhone apps can help you do everything from shop for groceries to tutor your child. Now, there’s a tool for veterans, with a series of new apps to help those suffering with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder deal with their symptoms.

Psychiatrists call PTSD a disease as widespread as it is hard to see, one that can be even more difficult to treat. “A lot of these men and women come back home and find their lives are getting smaller and smaller because they’re hyper vigilant,” said Dr. Deborah Leverette. “They don’t want to do anything that might spark the memory.”

Leverette says that includes talking about it, but education can go a long way to let sufferers know they’re not alone and not without help. She says that could be the biggest benefit to new apps released by the Pentagon intended to help all trauma sufferers deal with their symptoms.
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By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 26, 2011 – The Department of Veterans Affairs today announced nearly $60 million in grants aimed at preventing homelessness among veterans and their families, with particular focus on veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.
VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki announced the awards, the first to be presented through VA’s new Supportive Services for Veteran Families program. The grants will go to 85 nonprofit organizations in 40 states and the District of Colombia to serve an estimated 22,000 homeless and at-risk veterans and their families.
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Nearly $60 million in homeless prevention grants awarded nationwide

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki has announced the award of nearly $60 million in homeless prevention grants that will serve approximately 22,000 homeless and at-risk veteran families as part of the new Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program. This initial $60 million award will serve veteran families at 85 non-profit community agencies in 40 states and the District of Columbia under VA’s new homeless prevention initiative.

“This new homeless prevention program will provide additional comprehensive support to veterans who have served honorably, and now find themselves in a downward spiral toward despair and homelessness,” said VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. “This program expands our capacity to act before a veteran becomes homeless and to target the problem of family homelessness. These grants would not have been possible without the extraordinary partnerships forged with community organizers who are firmly committed to making a positive difference in lives of veterans and their families.”

The SSVF Program, a critical element of VA’s plan to prevent and end homelessness among veterans, will promote housing stability among homeless and at-risk veterans and their families. Under the SSVF program, VA awards grants to private non-profit organizations and consumer cooperatives that can provide a range of supportive services to eligible very low-income veteran families. Supportive services include outreach, case management, assistance in obtaining VA benefits, and assistance in obtaining and coordinating other public benefits. Grantees will also have the ability to make time-limited temporary financial assistance payments on behalf of veterans for purposes such as rent payments, utility payments, security deposits and moving costs.

More information about VA’s homeless programs is available online at http://www.va.gov/homeless. A list of award recipients and details about the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program are available online at http://www1.va.gov/homeless/ssvf.asp.