KALAMAZOO — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will locate a Vet Success on Campus program in southwest Michigan jointly hosted by Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Kellogg Community College
The Vet Success on Campus program, launched in mid-2009 as a pilot project, supplies campus sites with an experienced, full-time VA vocational counselor and a part-time outreach professional to assist eligible veterans and their families as they access transition-support services and educational benefits, vocational rehabilitation and employment services.
, disability compensation, life insurance, home loan guarantees, job placement and health care benefits.
, insuring they are prepared for the future and have full access to benefits for which they are eligible. Upton worked with the schools in obtaining a waiver from the VA, which allowed WMU, KVCC and KCC to file a joint application for the program.
“We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the brave men and women of our armed forces. They have sacrificed so much and deserve all the resources to succeed back here at home,” said Upton. “The Vet Success program will be a great resource for our area’s returning student veterans who are transitioning from active duty to life on campus. I applaud the continued leadership of Western Michigan, Kalamazoo Valley and Kellogg Community College in meeting the needs of those students who have so honorably answered their nation’s call to duty.”
The Vet Success on Campus program, launched in mid-2009 as a pilot project, supplies campus sites with an experienced, full-time VA vocational counselor and a part-time outreach professional to assist eligible veterans and their families as they access transition-support services, educational benefits, vocational rehabilitation and employment services, disability compensation, life insurance, home loan guarantees, job placement and health care benefits.
Working with existing personnel who already focus on veteran services on the three campuses, Vet Success personnel will focus on enhancing service to veterans as they transition from combat to college life, something all three schools have already established as a priority.
While Michigan has roughly 700,000 veterans, the 11th-largest veteran population in the United States, it lags far behind in terms of the number of vets who use their educational and vocational training benefits. According to the VA, support services through Vet Success are critically needed to serve younger veterans who, because they have completed multiple tours of duty, will need more support than earlier generations of veterans.