Due to the current economic environment, some Guardsmen are returning from deployments to find their civilian job has been downsized or completely eliminated. The Army National Guard (ARNG) has implemented several initiatives to help Soldiers during this time of transition. The most familiar of these are the pre -deployment and post -reintegration programs, which consist of informational events and activities for the members of the Armed Forces, their families, and community members. These events were created to facilitate access to services that support the health and well-being of our military men and women through all phases of the deployment cycle. While these programs, as well as the ongoing Yellow Ribbon events may offer assistance to returning service members with employment and benefits needs, VeteransPlus is answering the call to fortify those same benefits with financial education, financial counseling, and ongoing financial literacy services. VeteransPlus believes such outreach events will be greatly enhanced by including financial education and emergency assistance. These wars have physically, mentally, and financially affected the men and women who have served our country and their immediate dependents. A majority of these Veterans are suffering from not only physical and mental health-related challenges, but also financial crises such as identity theft, credit card debt, and loss of income.
As a non-profit educational organization, VeteransPlus is committed to providing the information necessary to address and improve our Veterans’ financial circumstances. While VeteransPlus is dedicated to improving the financial circumstances for all Veterans, our current economic environment magnifies the importance of our services for Veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) and their families. These men and women are searching for financial wellness services that will help them establish a better quality of life as well as a sound financial future.
The VeteransPlus program has three primary goals: (1) establish partnerships with Veterans organizations to provide financial education wellness options and support for OIF/OEF Veterans, active military personnel, and family members related to pre-deployment, deployment, post-deployment and family readiness challenges; (2) deliver rehabilitative education and counseling services to Veterans and their families who are committed to gaining control over their personal finances; and (3) provide tools and one-on-one counseling services to assist with strategic financial decisions that result in long-term positive financial behavioral changes.
VeteransPlus has partnered with National Foundation for Debt Management (NFDM) to provide financial education and counseling programs at no cost to Veterans and their families. NFDM is also a 501(C)3 organization and is a US Department of Housing and Urban Development approved Housing Counseling Agency. NFDM offers programs and services that address the most critical consumer education issues facing this target population: monthly budget development, personal savings commitments, home purchase planning, credit education, debt reduction, financial stability improvement, and both short and long-term financial goal setting.
NFDM is an organization founded to help people better understand their personal finances and take control of their financial lives. For over a decade, NFDM has provided thousands of consumers with information and education on financial matters and provides ongoing personalized counseling to those who require the Foundation’s help to achieve relief from crushing debt. NFDM’s certified counselors and financial literacy educators work with countless groups throughout the community to teach financial awareness from the most basic individual budgeting lessons to more advanced skills necessary to manage family finances, pay off debt, and improve credit standing. NFDM is committed to educating individuals on money management, budgeting and appropriate use of credit. They are proud to provide professional, non-biased and confidential services as they assist families and individuals to understand, build, control and protect their financial futures.
On average, NFDM provides financial literacy education to over 8,000 seniors, 2,000 adults and 1,500 students, and conducts over 1,000 one-on-one counseling sessions per year. NFDM also has the resources and scalability to manage multiple grant funded national education initiatives. NFDM’s mission statement includes “education, discipline and commitment to a sound financial future.” This mission drives NFDM’s counseling efforts and its community outreach. Their decade of services have resulted in providing financial education programs such as individual debt management solutions, credit education, budget management, savings initiatives, reverse mortgage counseling and foreclosure prevention methods.
In addition to the direct counseling, VeteransPlus has played a vital role in the implementation and verification of other programs offering financial assistance to Veterans. By providing budget counseling and a benefits check-up to applicants for USA Together’s multimillion dollar, donation-supported emergency assistance program, VeteransPlus is verifying the need for financial assistance and validating USA Together’s mission. VeteransPlus is able to insure that financial assistance is not just a donation of funds, but includes education to address financial wellness beyond the initial request for help. In discussions with the National Guard Bureau, it is our understanding that no such mechanism currently exists to couple mandatory financial education with emergency financial assistance provided by the National Guard to its members.
In 2008, The Florida Department of Veterans Affairs reported that the state of Florida is home to 1.7 million Veterans making it the second largest Veteran population in the nation. Of that number, nearly 118,000 are OIF/OEF Veterans (Florida Department of Veterans Affairs 9/30/09). In Florida, and across the nation, Veterans who served during a time of hostility are eligible for government provided healthcare and educational benefits. For many years, these programs have been vital to the returning military workforce in assisting them with re-engaging in a healthy and educated life path. VeteransPlus has designed a pilot program for Florida to fit the needs of Veterans and their families while emphasizing self-empowerment and self-esteem.
In order to maximize financial opportunity for Florida’s returning members of the National Guard, VeteransPlus proposes a partnership with the State of Florida and the Florida National Guard to conduct focused outreach to Veterans and their families.
While this outreach will specifically address the needs of National Guard members, with the support of the State of Florida, VeteransPlus could greatly expand and enhance its outreach within the state. VeteransPlus proposes a more focused outreach in Florida to include rural areas affected by deployment. This additional support would significantly impact Florida Guard members and their families and ensure greater economic potential for all Florida’s Veterans.
On a grander scale, VeteransPlus proposes that funds be made available to hire, train and certify additional financial counselors to focus solely on Florida’s returning service members. To further enrich this program’s effectiveness, VeteransPlus would work with Florida’s Agency for Workforce Innovations (AWI) to recruit and train Veterans for these counseling positions. As VeteransPlus was created by Veterans for Veterans we believe that Veterans counseling Veterans will offer the best possible approach for lasting financial wellness.
National Foundation for Debt Management, Inc. 