INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — There are some 400 non-profit organizations and churches in Indian River County providing assistance to those in need. Of those, it’s anyone’s guess as to how many reach out and help veterans. It’s a question the Indian River County Veteran’s Council is trying to answer.
With the end of the Iraqi War and the ending of the war in Afghanistan, the United States military is mustering out thousands upon thousands of veterans, the majority of whom will not have jobs or housing available to them when they return.
“They are literally being dumped,” said Veterans Council President Marty Zickert.
And how many might be arriving in Indian River County remains to be seen.
“We don’t have the slightest idea,” he said. “Do I want to be homeless in Detroit, Chicago or Vero Beach?”
Zickert said the effort to integrate the returning veterans needs to be one of community and county, not of individuals.
“We can’t have Vero Beach versus Sebastian versus Fellsmere,” he said. “It has to be the county (as a whole).”
That’s where the Indian River County Veterans Council is getting involved. There are various committees the council has created to assist veterans with various issues – be they housing, financial, or something else.
But the council knows there are other organizations out in the county that are also helping – not just veterans but others who find themselves in need of assistance. The Veterans Council is now working to identify those groups and establish networks to help veterans specifically.
To that end, the council has hired Bernadette Rednour who has been tasked with contacting the hundreds of churches and organizations, determining what, if any, help they can provide to veterans.
On its surface, the task would appear daunting – phone calls, meetings, emails, and then compiling all the information into a database that the council could use to point veterans in the right direction for service.
But it’s a task Rednour feels is well-within her abilities.
“I know the dance that needs to be done,” she said, explaining that she’s already spent the last 6 1/2 or seven years finding organizations to help her husband, who served the military and came home severely injured from an improvised explosive device.
Her husband, James, wasn’t expected to live. He lives. He wasn’t supposed to be able to walk. He walks.
Rednour officially begins her work with the Veterans Council on June 1, though she’s already started compiling data on her own.
She jokingly said she plans to stalk groups online to hunt down the various programs available. She also plans to go out into the community chatting up people to find out what programs they know of.
“I’m looking forward to getting started,” Rednour said. Her office will be set up at the Victory Center store at the Indian River Mall. And, once the phone service is connected, she can be reached by calling (772) 569-6778.
Organizations and churches that provide assistance to veterans are encouraged to reach out to Rednour to be included in the database.
Zickert said that once the database is complete, the Veterans Council will assess what services are available and determine what more needs to be done.
“We’re in a situation where we don’t know what we need,” Zickert said. “We’re going to figure it out.”
