TO THE EDITOR:
I am writing as a concerned citizen about a gap in services regarding veterans of the Armed Forces in the State of Ohio. The specific rule, Ohio State Veterans Service Commission Rule 5901.08, acts as a barrier for Ohio veterans to access much-needed services.
“Each applicant for financial assistance under sections 5901.02 to 5901.15 of the Revised Code shall be a veteran, an active-duty member of the armed forces of the United
States, or the spouse, surviving spouse, dependent parent, minor child, or ward of a veteran or active-duty member of the armed forces of the United States, who has been a bona-fide resident of the county in which application is being made for at least three months.”
According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans’ nearly 20 percent of the homeless population are veterans who served their country.
Ohio has the sixth-largest veteran’s population in the country, and according to the Cherry Street Mission, a local homeless shelter, an estimated 30,000 vets experience homelessness in Ohio annually.
I have been instructed that when the rule was adopted in 1994, it was an effort to prevent duplication of services. However, 18 years later in a much more technologically sophisticated society, tracking services provided to Ohio veterans electronically should be much more feasible.
By decreasing the amount of time required for veterans to access services, and properly accounting for services provided to each homeless veteran, Ohio can become a national leader in the fight to serve those who have served us.
Please contact one of your state representatives to endorse this important initiative!
Sen. Edna Brown
(614) 466-5204
Ohio Senate 1 Capital Square
Columbus, Ohio 43215
sd11@ohiosenate.gov
Sen. Mark Wagoner
(614) 466-8060
Ohio Senate 1 Capital Square
Columbus, Ohio 43215
sd02@ senate.state.oh.us
Rep. Michael Ashford
(614) 466-1401
77 S. High St
Columbus, Ohio 43215
district48@ohr.state.oh.us
Rep. Teresa Fedor
(614) 644-6017
77 S. High St.
Columbus, Ohio 43215
district47@ohr.state.oh.us
Rep. Barbara Sears
(614) 466-1731
77 S. High St.
Columbus, Ohio 43215
district46@ohr.state.oh.us
Rep. Matt Szollosi
(614) 466-1418
77 S. High St.
Columbus, Ohio 43215
district49@ohr.state.oh.us
Thank you for your support.
Robert Roether,
Chairman,
Remembrance Inc.
P.O Box 12435,
Toledo, OH 43606
(419) 270-2655
