Sarpy County Veteran Services

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign Werner to our next episode of the Werner Enterprises Veteran Podcast. It's been a while since we've done one. I think our last one was July of 24 where we were prepping for the 50 mile march. That was a great episode. Quick update and then I'll introduce our guest that's in the studio with us today. We've got a couple fun events coming up. This year we are walking in Omaha's Patriotic parade for the fifth time. It's the fifth annual parade. We've participated every year that it's been downtown Omaha. Our goal is to have as many people show up from Warner in a red T shirt supporting everyone that's deployed for that patriotic parade. It's over Memorial Day weekend. Stay tuned for more details on that. We're also going to host our annual Independence Day cookout. That's always a fun time where we meet at the Driver Pavilion here in Omaha for those of you that are here. And we'll have burgers and dogs and just enjoy the camaraderie. So this year we also have a larger team than we did last year. The first year we did it was 20 for 50 mile march was 23. We had three people walk with us on team Warner, 2024 we had seven people walk with us on Team Warner. And this year it looks like we're going to have upwards of 12, maybe more walk with us for this year's 50 mile march. So stay tuned for additional details on that. So with all that said, Kendra is in the studio with us today. Kendra is an Air Force veteran, prior small business owner slash interior designer, a paralegal, a bailiff with Douglas county, and then now a veteran service officer with Sarpy County. Yes, that's quite the range of skills. [00:02:04] Speaker B: Yeah, it is. [00:02:05] Speaker A: So let's start at the beginning. Talk to us about your time in the Air Force. [00:02:10] Speaker B: So I joined literally I was in the delayed entry program and the 911 happened and believe it or not, my mom's like, do not go. You do not have to go. And I said, no, I'm going. And so I enlisted in 2001 as Security Force member and my first station was Mountain Home, Idaho. And I was there for the entire duration of my enlistment of five years, deployed to Kuwait in support of the war, which was a very impactful time in my career. And met my husband while I was in the Air Force. He also was security forces and he had did 15 years of service time. And I got out in 2007 when our son was born and my husband Stayed in at the time. And my reasoning for getting out was to just nobody else was there to raise their son. We deployed every nine months out of every year. And so it's not, I mean, I miss it. I'm not going to lie to you. I miss it. A lot of my friends are getting to the point where they're retiring and I'm like, man, I still got a few more years now. [00:03:31] Speaker A: Yeah, I've heard Mountain Home is awesome from a base perspective as far as if you like to be outdoors, if you like to do outside stuff. [00:03:38] Speaker B: 100%. Yeah. [00:03:40] Speaker A: Yeah. So all five years. [00:03:41] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:03:42] Speaker A: Mountain Home, that's awesome. [00:03:43] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:03:44] Speaker A: So Mountain Home deployed to Kuwait, what year? [00:03:48] Speaker B: 2000. [00:03:49] Speaker A: 4004. What were you doing in Kuwait? [00:03:51] Speaker B: We were the center security for the KCI International Air Base. And so we were basically the port where everybody would come in in country and then go out from there. So we did a lot of flatline security, external security, and it was, I. [00:04:07] Speaker A: Mean every jet that we were using in Desert Storm was probably frequenting either into or out of. [00:04:13] Speaker B: Yes. [00:04:14] Speaker A: The country. Through Kuwait, right? [00:04:15] Speaker B: Yeah. So 100. [00:04:16] Speaker A: Busy, busy, busy flight line. [00:04:18] Speaker B: Yep, yep. [00:04:19] Speaker A: Good stuff. [00:04:20] Speaker B: Busy from, from all coalitions. Really. Yeah, because we had Brits come through and yeah, the, the Brits do do. [00:04:29] Speaker A: War differently than we do. [00:04:30] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:04:31] Speaker A: So met your husband. Yeah. Did you, where did he move after Mountain Home? Did you guys stay home the entire time? [00:04:38] Speaker B: He actually, so he was in for 15 years and he did his entire stint in Mountain Home except for he did two years in Korea. [00:04:46] Speaker A: That's pretty rare. [00:04:47] Speaker B: Very rare. Yeah, it is. But again, you know, in a sense it's, it's a non nuclear base. So if you have, like myself, I lost my security clearance and basic training because I passed out and so I couldn't become a nuke cop. And so. [00:05:03] Speaker A: Oh, bummer. [00:05:04] Speaker B: I know, right? And so I'm like, that's a good thing but a bad thing because it does limit your bases where you can go. And so in a sense, you know, I think that's kind of why I stuck there. And if you don't ask to get out, you're pretty much going to stay there. A lot of my leadership did a decade or two there and then now there's civilians there. So it's kind of one of those niches. If you get stuck, you get stuck. [00:05:28] Speaker A: It's not a bad place. No, I would love to get stuck something somewhere like that. [00:05:31] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. [00:05:33] Speaker A: Okay. So how'd you get from Mountain Home to Omaha? Walk us through that Path. [00:05:37] Speaker B: So I am actually a Lincoln native. I was born and raised in Lincoln. My entire family is still in Lincoln. In 2009, my husband, he succumbed to his battle with PTSD, and our son was two at the time, so I moved home to be with family and to help raise him. And he is a. Or was. He quit. Played very competitive hockey, and we started him at the age of four. And Omaha has a better hockey program, so that's why we moved to Omaha, was for hockey. [00:06:15] Speaker A: That's awesome. [00:06:15] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:06:17] Speaker A: I'm sorry to hear about your husband. I can't imagine going through that alone. So the move home makes total sense. [00:06:25] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:06:25] Speaker A: Not that it makes any of that pain and any of that sorrow go away, but I can't imagine not having a support network. [00:06:32] Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, 100%. And when they say it takes a tribe, it takes a tribe, you know, And I just have one son, and I know that there, you know, there are families out there and widows that have, you know, multiple children. And I honestly, I give them a hand because it was hard enough with just one. And he's a great kid. I love him. Like, he. Honestly, he wasn't a hard kid to raise, but, you know, when you're dealing. I mean, just to be frank, I want to say the first four years after his passion is a black hole for me, I really, really don't remember a lot. And so, in a sense, I'm glad that my family was there, because I know, you know, when I was going through that hard time, they were there for me, you know? And it's not to say my military family wouldn't have been, but, again, it's still different. Yeah. [00:07:21] Speaker A: It's family is family, and the military family definitely does and can and step in and do good things, but it's not the same as mom and dad or sister and brother. [00:07:31] Speaker B: Yep. [00:07:32] Speaker A: Stepping in and being able to help out with you, but not also your child. [00:07:36] Speaker B: Yep. 100%. [00:07:37] Speaker A: That's awesome. What's your son's name? [00:07:39] Speaker B: His name's Denver. Okay. And he just turned 18, so. And he played very competitive hockey growing up and then decided his junior year he was done and didn't want to play anymore and decided he wanted to join the Marines. So he's been to MEPs, and unfortunately, he got denied because he had two hip surgeries and a broken elbow. Playing hockey. [00:08:09] Speaker A: From hockey. [00:08:10] Speaker B: From hockey. So he's waiting on a waiver, and we'll see if that comes through or not. But if it doesn't, then he's off to MMI which is Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, because he's really, really gotten into motorcycles. So that's his thing. [00:08:26] Speaker A: Yeah. At least he has a backup plan. [00:08:27] Speaker B: He does. And, you know. You know, and when you go back to things with his dad and stuff, I have found in the last year, his coping mechanism, you know, you go. And you don't realize how kids grow up, you know, without a parent and how they cope with it. You know, each kid copes with something on their own. And he really, really has embraced. He started a nonprofit. We're in the process of getting it legally legit called Stronger Than Suicide. And his whole mission in that is to actually be there for those who have lost somebody to suicide as well as be there for those who have those same mental struggles themselves. And his main focus is educating others as to how to treat a kid who's lost a parent to suicide. Because he said that he always felt like he was being treated differently, and that's what was hard for him. He never wanted to be treated differently. And so that's kind of his main focus is just really being there for other kids. Like, he went to Omaha Christian Academy his freshman sophomore year, and there was a young kiddo who had just lost his dad. And Denver, I think it clicked for him, and he was really able to be there for him at that time. And so that has become Denver's mission and how he's coping and becoming a man himself. And he started this, the Stronger Than Suicide, and he's now turned it into a bike group. And so they go on motorcycle missions, and they're. Our first actual fundraiser is for the 50 mile march. [00:10:19] Speaker A: That's awesome. [00:10:19] Speaker B: So, yeah. [00:10:20] Speaker A: Very cool. Yeah, very cool. It's. It's unfortunate that he ever felt a need. [00:10:26] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:10:26] Speaker A: To do that. Right. That's a terrible thing. But the fact that. Good came out of it, for sure, is awesome. [00:10:32] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:10:32] Speaker A: Period. Very cool. So that's your connection, right, to the military. It's obviously very strongly rooted with your story, with your husband's story. And. And you had parents that served as well, right? [00:10:48] Speaker B: My dad, he was in the Navy. He was a Seabee. [00:10:50] Speaker A: Okay. [00:10:51] Speaker B: And then his dad was a. A baker in the Navy. And then my other grandpa was in the National Guard. So we kind of. If Denver ends up going in, we have four years of lineation there. [00:11:04] Speaker A: Very, very cool. Yeah. My. My family has a similar story. Several generations long of joining ours is the Air Force, but it's still that multi generational thing. It's cool to get to say that. Oh, yeah. My Grandpa and my father and my brothers and sisters also did this. Very small percentage of America gets to say that, so. Very cool. [00:11:28] Speaker B: Yeah. When you think of 1% of our. Our country is actually military. It is. [00:11:33] Speaker A: Yep. Very small percentage. [00:11:34] Speaker B: Y. [00:11:35] Speaker A: So, okay, so got out. What were you doing for work? Walk us through that. [00:11:42] Speaker B: So I actually, when I got out, I was able just to be a stay at home mom. [00:11:47] Speaker A: Okay. [00:11:47] Speaker B: And in a sense that's really what Denver needed. And then when he started going to elementary school full time, I realized I didn't feel like I served a purpose. I was sitting at home all day. So at that time I decided to utilize my GI Bill and I went to do some assessments or whatever and you know, it came back up law enforcement. And I didn't want to do that anymore as a single mom. So I said, you know, I still love the law. And that's when actually coming and doing paralegal studies and being an attorney, which I really, really didn't want to do. I like being. Putting the pieces of the puzzle together. You know, I don't. I didn't really ever have a desire to be an attorney. So I went to College of St. Mary's and they have an ABA approved program for paralegals. And I did. I think this is just probably the militariness. I did the four year program in two years. I just treated it like my job. [00:12:46] Speaker A: Awesome. [00:12:47] Speaker B: Yeah, I just treated it like my job and got it done and, you know, realized I really, really liked it. So I went on and I got my master's and worked for a couple law firms as a paralegal and then got picked up to be a juvenile court Douglas county bailiff. And I did that for about a year. And then. [00:13:10] Speaker A: How was that? [00:13:12] Speaker B: I actually loved it. [00:13:13] Speaker A: Really? [00:13:13] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:13:13] Speaker A: I can imagine. It has to be one of the toughest jobs in the world. [00:13:18] Speaker B: So, you know, innocent. So in that, in that respect, I was more of a courtroom manager, you know, but dealing, I will tell you, dealing with kids and in the juvenile court system, it was an eye opener because I am very naive to what goes on. And you know, Denver and I are in our little corner in our hole and there's so much out there. And I really, really was naive to, you know, the juvenile system, whether it be kids that are, you know, staying with foster parents, you know, other agencies out there that really. Or the dhhs, you know, that are there to protect those kids. But still there's, you know, there's still a disconnect. [00:14:07] Speaker A: Right. [00:14:07] Speaker B: And in a reality, you Know, just trying to fix that system. But I obviously was a very small piece, so it was just a courtroom manager, in a sense, is what those bailiffs are. But it was pretty cool. I actually did really love it. [00:14:22] Speaker A: That's awesome. Very cool. So from there, you went to Sarpee county for your current role as a vso, Right. What's a vso? [00:14:32] Speaker B: So a VSO is a Veteran Service Officer, and I am a county Veteran Service Officer, which means that I am not a VA employee. I am actually an employee of Sarpy County. And so when a veteran comes to our office, you know, needing assistance for their benefits or anything like that, those services are free to the veteran. They are actually paid for by the county. And so sometimes it gets confusing because people think that we're directly linked to the va and we're not. We just have our accreditation through the va. [00:15:06] Speaker A: So you're linked in the sense that if I have a VA file, if I give you permission, you can pull it. Right. But not linked from a compensation perspective or an employment perspective. You work for Sarpy county, correct? Serving Sarpy county veterans primarily. Right. I live in Douglas county, right next door to Sarpy County. Do you see Douglas county as well? [00:15:29] Speaker B: We do, yeah. We can actually see any veteran. I mean, I've actually am currently helping a veteran that lives in Texas right now. And it's because he originally started in Sarpy county, moved to Texas. Texas. And his VSO is too far away. So it's either he communicates with them remotely or he goes to the office that he knows. And so he came to us and we're working his claim and everything remotely. There is some difficulty with that. You know, some of it's communication because, you know, you can't communicate everything by email effectively rather than an office visit. But we can work with literally anybody that is a veteran. We just ask if you are coming for county specific benefits, because each county does have specific benefits that you go to that county because those are, you know, allotted per population. So when we have county aid, it's based off of the population of Sarpy County. So if we give some of that aid to a Douglas County. [00:16:33] Speaker A: Great. That makes sense. [00:16:35] Speaker B: You know. Yeah. [00:16:35] Speaker A: What are some of the benefits in Sarpy for in this space, as an example? [00:16:40] Speaker B: So it would be the county aid we have, you know, and that aid is there to assist with utilities, rent, car payments. You know, if we have a veteran that is financially strapped, you know, they can come to us. [00:16:54] Speaker A: And so emergency funding type of situations. Okay. [00:16:57] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:16:57] Speaker A: I had no idea that was out there from the county. [00:16:59] Speaker B: Yep, it is. [00:17:01] Speaker A: So what's your demographic? Are you seeing post 911 veterans? Are you seeing pre 911 veterans? Are you seeing the full gamut? Who does the VSO serve most often? [00:17:13] Speaker B: We see everybody. And I will tell you my, in my specific experience in my office, we have a lot of Vietnam veterans that are coming in and we have a lot of post 911 veterans. We have very few in between. And I think a lot of those in between that are called peacetime veterans, a lot of them don't come in for benefits because they don't feel they deserve them because they weren't, you know, part of an actual war time. But in reality, you know, there are benefits out there for everybody. But they just maybe, maybe not as easy to get to because you don't have those presumptive conditions, but those that, you know, have served in the wartime and, you know, in country and stuff like that, we do see quite a bit from, and rightfully so, they do have more conditions. [00:18:08] Speaker A: Speaking of presumptive conditions, the PACT act changed a lot. And my uneducated definition of the PACT act is it's our attempt to fix living next to burn pits forever. Right? I mean, there's a lot of other stuff, radiation, X ray techs, all that stuff that is tied in there. What are your thoughts on that? Can you explain the pack deck and how it it benefits with a presumptive? [00:18:35] Speaker B: Yes, I personally, you know, as a veteran myself, that benefits from the PACT act as well as being a vso, it has made filing your claims so much easier because, and it not only, you know, is the post 9 11, but it's also the Vietnam veterans that are benefiting from it, from Agent Orange or the Camp Lejeune, you know, the Blue water exposure, stuff like that. Because if we can prove that you were in country by your orders and you have this long list of conditions that are now presumed, there's your benefit. If you don't have that presumptive condition and you don't have that location and time and country, we have to go a different route to prove your connection, which becomes frustrating and daunting to the veterans and they a lot of times don't end up filing for it. And so that's where I always tell them, you know what, we'll help you, we'll do the work for you. It might be a little bit harder, like getting an access letter, you know, that links that diagnosis and your condition with your service, but it doesn't mean you won't get it. But the PACT act has really, really made it easier. And I just hope, you know, every year like this last year they've added a few more conditions and I just hope that they start, you know, continuing adding the conditions that they're seeing because there's a reason for it, you know. [00:20:01] Speaker A: In my thought process. So I got out two years ago and I was quick to get paperwork on file with the va just primarily out of a. Hey, I don't, I don't feel like garbage right now. I don't feel that I need a disability payment. I, I don't like that word in that context. But I wanted to get paperwork on file so that later in life when 30 years has passed, I don't have to go back and find that paperwork. Easier for me to find the paperwork now in the digital age than it is for a Vietnam era vet to find paperwork. I can't imagine having to find a set of orders from Vietnam today to hope to get some benefit. Most of mine are electronic and are kept by dod, but also I have electronic copies of all mine. So I was quick to file due to the fact that I didn't want to be responsible solely for keeping all that paperwork. So that's a. And it's a bureaucratic process to file. You have to follow certain steps. For the most part, it's. If you follow the steps, it's reasonably well laid out. [00:21:05] Speaker B: Right. [00:21:06] Speaker A: Nothing is not well documented, I think is the best way to put it. [00:21:11] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. And, and I will say that that was very wise on your end to do that because you know, what we call. Those are the BDD claims and those are veterans that are getting out and they actually go and they file their claims within six months of getting out of the service. And literally those claims have every single condition that you have ever had in your time in service and they file for them and then it goes through the process and probably 75% of them get denied. But you still have that documentation now that it was in your record. And like you said, 30 years down the road, you can rely back on that. What I always tell people, you know, some people get discouraged when they get conditions and they get a zero percent connectivity. Well, that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's that they're acknowledging it. They're acknowledging it. You got a service, but your conditions right now aren't severe enough to warrant a rating. But when those increase, all we have to do is go ask for increase and there's no need to sit there and prove the connection. Because they already accepted it. So. [00:22:16] Speaker A: Yeah, arthritis is a great example of that. Something that gets worse with time. Yeah. Yeah. So it's a. It's a. The benefit. The DoD or the VA benefit is a fascinating world. And there's a lot of people out there that do what the VSO does, but they charge a ton of money. They do for it. And if that's the right path. Right. It. Every. Every case is different. [00:22:41] Speaker B: Right. [00:22:41] Speaker A: But there's a lot of options like the VSO that come at no cost to the veteran, that are worth exploring and worth knowing about. [00:22:48] Speaker B: Yes. Yes, 100%. And, you know, and that's. We do have veterans come in. Last week, I had three veterans come in who, you know, hired outside counsel to do their claim, and unfortunately, they really messed their claim up, and then they were coming back to us to fix it, and sometimes they feel like that's their only recourse. I have to get a lawyer. Well, you really, really don't. You know, we can help you. We can help you all the way up to the federal, you know, veterans appeals court. And then at that time, okay, you might want to get an attorney. But then once it gets to there and it gets remanded, come back to your VSO and we'll help you again. So there's. There's. I think, at different parts of your claims, an attorney is. Is a great move for you, but some people jump on that bandwagon right away because they feel the VA system so daunting, and I don't think that they realize what a VSO is or does for them, too. So. [00:23:52] Speaker A: So VSOs can be helpful, like we've talked about with disability through the rating. The. The dis. The VA rating system. [00:23:59] Speaker B: Yep. [00:23:59] Speaker A: What about health insurance? There's a lot of veterans that are out there that have access to health insurance or health benefits through the va, but if simply not filed, can the VSO help with that stuff? [00:24:11] Speaker B: Yeah, so in a sense, we have limited access to be able to help. So let's say. I mean, I actually had a veteran in this week that he has private insurance. And I said, well, I said, have you ever been seen by the va? And he goes, nope. And I said, well, would you like to be in the VA healthcare system? I said, because if, you know, you want to drop this private insurance off, so you're saving that monthly, I said, we can register you in the VA health system here, and then you just go through that process. And depending on the percentage of your connected disability, depends on how much your healthcare is because it is off of income based. It's off of your ability to pay. So if you're somebody that makes 60,000 a year and you don't have any connected disability, you're gonna have a copay, but it's gonna be far cheaper than a private insurance. But if you are somebody that, you know has 50% disability, it's 100% free. You know, your prescriptions are free, all your visits are free. If, you know, if they can't see you. Which, by the way, I do believe RVA Hospital was rated well for a while, was number one in the country. But I think it's right around the top five in the country. And so if, if they can't see you within 30 days, you get care in the community. And to me, that's just a service. You can't, you know, if it's, if it's there for you to utilize it. [00:25:44] Speaker A: Yeah. It might not be as convenient as private health insurance. [00:25:47] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:25:48] Speaker A: And I don't want to use the word easy, but it's probably the best way. It might not be as easy, but if you're in the system, it's a benefit regardless of rating. There's some dependencies there, but I use both. I have private health insurance through Warner Enterprises, but also have. I have an annual exam. My annual physical on Friday this week, I go in for labs tomorrow and I go in for my physical. I don't have a need to pay for that through my private health insurance because it costs more money. [00:26:16] Speaker B: Yep. Yep. [00:26:17] Speaker A: I can. There's. There's always the, the fear of the VA not being top quality. We do have one of the best here in Omaha. But an annual physical can be done by an md. Any. Any md. It's not like they're doing brain surgery. [00:26:32] Speaker B: Right, Right. And Sarpee county has a brand new med clinic. [00:26:35] Speaker A: That's where. That's where my physical is phenomenal. [00:26:37] Speaker B: I love it. I. I'm telling you, I. So I have tricare from my husband because basically I have his retirement benefits and I still opt to use the VA care. I absolutely love my provider in Sarpy county. And, and you know, even outside emergency care, you know, I was in a pretty serious motorcycle accident back in September and I went. I was actually life flighted. And the two emergency room visits that I had and my helicopter, my life flight were all covered by the VA. That was almost $100,000 that the VA covered. [00:27:16] Speaker A: I didn't realize you. That was. Shoot, we just finished walking 50 miles. Yeah, we did. What happened? Can I ask, so. [00:27:23] Speaker B: Sure. So Denver and I were on a poker run and we were some small town in Iowa, and to be frank with you, I really don't remember what happened. I passed out. Yeah. But we were coming around a curve and that's all I remember. Nobody else was there. Denver was a little bit too far ahead to see me, and he noticed. He was a little ways away and noticed on Life360, I wasn't moving, but could see my little thingy or whatever in a field. And so he rode back. He said it was probably about 10 miles back that he rode back and. And I was. I. Again, I don't remember in this. So I'm going off of what he tells me, but I was sitting in some farmer's field with their dog. Their dog found me. [00:28:10] Speaker A: Wow. [00:28:11] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. [00:28:13] Speaker A: So passed out, though. Their dog found you passed out and then you got life flighted. [00:28:17] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. [00:28:18] Speaker A: Wild. [00:28:19] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. [00:28:20] Speaker A: Motorcycle crashes are not something people survive from. [00:28:22] Speaker B: No. And commonly. [00:28:24] Speaker A: Right. [00:28:24] Speaker B: No. And I. And I feel like, because I did go off to this in the field or whatever, I. Yeah. [00:28:29] Speaker A: You're a lucky son of a. [00:28:31] Speaker B: Very much so. So I haven't ridden by myself since. So we'll see. What kind of bike it was. My son's. I actually got it for him for his senior graduation gift. It was a Sportster. [00:28:43] Speaker A: Okay. [00:28:44] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:28:44] Speaker A: So you got him a bike and then you wrecked it. [00:28:46] Speaker B: I did. [00:28:46] Speaker A: There's a lot of good family jokes there. Down later in life. [00:28:49] Speaker B: Oh, trust me, he does not let me forget on a daily. So. But that actually sparked his love for building the bikes because he rebuilt it so. [00:28:57] Speaker A: Awesome. [00:28:58] Speaker B: Yeah, he did. He rebuilt it. Yeah. [00:29:02] Speaker A: What about education benefits? GI Bill? You mentioned using the GI Bill. [00:29:05] Speaker B: Yes. [00:29:06] Speaker A: I'm assuming you can open the door to the right people to talk to about GI Bill benefits and all that stuff. [00:29:11] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:29:12] Speaker A: Still have those benefits. [00:29:13] Speaker B: Yes. And 100%. And, you know, as a VSO, so we're not the expert in that area, but we do definitely have the context to be able to send them to where they need to go. As well as, you know, we have Nebraska residents. You know, if you have 100% connectivity, Nebraska waives your tuition for state schools as well as, like, the community college and stuff. And so we, you know, can help them figure out what they need to do for that. Their dependents. Because if you have it a percent, your dependents also receive that tuition waiver. And so we can definitely help point them in the right direction when it comes to actually say, applying for those. I tend to direct them to the actual school because they have the military liaisons there on campus, so. And they are far better suited with the knowledge than I am. [00:30:02] Speaker A: Good deal. [00:30:03] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:30:05] Speaker A: So getting involved in the community. Let's talk a little bit. I know you're involved in a group called the. Is it the Omaha alliance for Veterans? Omaha Veterans Alliance. I mess up the title. Give me your two cents on that organization real quick. [00:30:19] Speaker B: I am telling you, I am mind blown by this organization. I absolutely love it. I have been able to help two veterans so far. And it's, you know, again, it's. It's. Its purpose is to, I guess, widen our arms and our ability to reach different benefits for veterans within our community. And there are services that are out there that necessarily Sharpie county can't do, but if I have that reach, I can help them in other ways. And my first experience with the organization, I had a veteran come in and he was trying to refinance his house, and he got the VA loan, but then realized his foundation was bad. And the VA said, sorry, we're not gonna be able to prove it because your foundation needed to repair it first. And he's like, well, I can't repair it without getting my loan. And I reached out to this group, I kid you not, in five minutes, I had 20 replies, and they. We have Habitat for Humanity offered to step in and take care of his foundation. That was a $30,000 bid that they offered to take over over the course of five minutes. Five minutes. Yeah. And then I had another loan officer from. I believe it's called Fairway Mortgage, that's in the group, and he offered to step in and take over the loan process and even lower his interest rate. [00:31:42] Speaker A: That's phenomenal. [00:31:43] Speaker B: Yeah. In five minutes, in just one email. [00:31:45] Speaker A: So this. This group, the way I understand it, was founded was just veteran organizations in. In Omaha. It's specific to Nebraska, but it's, hey, what. What are we all doing? And it. The invite went out, thought process was that 10 people would meet in a dark room and talk about veteran benefits in Omaha. [00:32:02] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:32:02] Speaker A: And that initial thought of we'll have five to 10 organizations show up, turned into now 100 organizations, all of them serving Nebraska and Iowa, for the most part, veterans. And it's everything from county employees like yourself. [00:32:19] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:32:19] Speaker A: The VSO to state and federal employees, but then every nonprofit. Nonprofits that focus on Native American veteran burials. [00:32:30] Speaker B: Yes. [00:32:31] Speaker A: To horse equine therapy to service dogs and everything in between. The Omaha community is an awesome place to be. [00:32:39] Speaker B: Yeah. If you're a veteran 100%. Yeah. And, and it also has, you know, veteran owned businesses that help give back and help other veterans, you know, and so like moving veterans forward, you know, and helping veterans, you know, in 50 mile march and all of that, dealing with homeless veterans. I will tell you, until I became a vso, I did not realize our issue with homeless veterans that we have because again, I'm in this little corner and I'm so naive to what's really going on. And being in my position, I probably have one to two in my office a week that are homeless or couch surfing. [00:33:22] Speaker A: It's an underreported number by definition for a couple of reasons. One, most veterans that are couch surfing don't count towards that homeless veteran population, but by definition they don't have a place that they call their own, but they just have a really good friend that lets them stay on the couch for six months. Right? Yeah, but I mean, we can argue about semantics in a, in an English dictionary definition, but that's if you don't have a home that's your own because you can't afford it for whatever reason, whether that come from substance abuse, mental health challenges, etc. But then also the other interesting, frustrating thing, the, the count is always underreported because they do it in January. So they, they count our nation's homeless in January. January omaha saw negative 20 actual degree temperatures. [00:34:10] Speaker B: Yes. [00:34:11] Speaker A: I'm sorry, if, if you're good at counting, you're not going to find the veteran that's not in negative 20 degree weather. So the, the Nebraska number, the Iowa number is always more than what the actual count is because we as a nation, sure, we do it in January. And the count is one thing. It's, you still have to address the problem. And that's again, why the groups like the alliance were formed, is to start addressing those issues. But the problem is real, Very real. [00:34:41] Speaker B: It definitely is. Yep. [00:34:44] Speaker A: All right, we're coming up on the end. What else do you want to make sure you get across as a vso, as a mom, as a veteran? [00:34:54] Speaker B: You know, I mean, honestly, I guess, you know, my whole thing is if you stop and you look at our veterans as a whole, most of them aren't receiving the benefits they are entitled to. And a lot of them sit there and say, somebody else is worse off than I am. And I want to sit there and say that's not true, that no matter what you're dealing with, your conditions are valid and there is a benefit there for you. And I always Stop. And I look at it as you signed that dotted line up until death, and that was a contract that you made with our country, and they made a promise to you in return, and now it's their turn to pay up on that promise. And so I want to sit there and say that no matter how little you think your condition is, that at that moment in time, that's the only condition that I personally am concerned about in dealing with. And so I just really encourage everybody to find their veteran service officer in what county, what state, whatever you're in, just to see, because it's, you know, and also, I know, sidetracked. Those benefits aren't only for you. They're for your family. And, you know, if I have a lot of families come into my office that are looking for those death benefits, but unfortunately, the veteran before them didn't file for any. And so then they're not qualified for any. And so I tell people you're doing this for your family because there are benefits after you leave for them. So it's always. There's always a little bit extra there. But I get. It's a daunting process, but we're there to help you through it. [00:36:42] Speaker A: Thank you. Thank you for coming out today. [00:36:45] Speaker B: Yeah, you're welcome. It was a pleasure. It was an honor, actually. I love it. [00:36:47] Speaker A: That's awesome. Yeah. Thanks for making the time. [00:36:49] Speaker B: Yeah.