Resources:

Additional Resources

Coalition for Iraq + Afghanistan Veterans (CIAV)

The CIAV is a partnership of organizations working to provide services and support to Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom veterans and their families. It is comprised of some 45 agencies nationwide brought together by a common funder, the Iraq Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund.

See below for assistance on issues that affect servicemembers, veterans and their families.

Awareness

  • The In Their Boots program with the Brave New Foundation is a documentary series about the impact the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are having on people here at home.

Education

  • ARNG Federal Tuition Assistance provides financial assistance to part-time ARNG soldiers in support of their professional and personal self-development goals.
  • The GI Bill offers many educational benefits for veterans and their families. See this official site from the Veterans Administration for benefits information.
  • The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation provides financial assistance in the form of scholarships to children of current or former Marines in their pursuit of higher education, with particular attention being given to children whose parent was killed or wounded in action.
  • The National Military Family Association provides information on children’s education including successful transitioning to new schools, impact aid funding, tuition for servicemembers and families, and other resources.
  • The Scholarships for Military Children Program was created to celebrate the role of the commissary in the military family community. Dependent unmarried children under age 21 (23 if enrolled as a full time student) of active duty personnel, reserve/guard and retired military members, or survivors of deceased members, may apply for a scholarship. You must be planning to attend a college or university on a full-time basis.

Employment

Financial Assistance

  • The California National Guard Financial Assistance Fund (CNGFAF) provides short term grants to CA National Guard members and/or families impacted by OIF/OEF deployment.
  • The National Veterans Foundation has outreach services that provide veterans and families in need with food, clothing, and transportation.
  • The Pentagon Federal Credit Union’s Asset Recovery Kit (ARK) provides emergency loans and professional financial counseling to our country’s brave military men and women to help them avoid the trap of payday lending. Their Military Heroes® program provides wounded soldiers with services that the Defense Department cannot offer due to budgetary and regulatory restrictions. These unmet needs — identified by military Command, the Military Severely Injured Center, and others, include activities such as child care for families of hospitalized soldiers, emergency financial support, support for military families and retirees rebuilding their lives after natural disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, patient and family lounges in Walter Reed Army Medical Center, etc.
  • The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society provides interest-free loans or grants to meet emergency needs including emergency transportation, funeral expenses, patient care, housing needs, disaster relief, child care, vehicle maintenance, and other unforeseen emergencies. They also provide budget assistance to help servicemembers and their families review and understand their monthly budget and make recommendations for improvements. Contact your nearest NMCRS office and ask for an appointment to review your budget.
  • The Sentinels of Freedom four-year scholarship was created to benefit qualified members of the U.S. Armed Forces severely injured in the line of duty on or after Sept. 11, 2001. The program helps them readjust to civilian life and prosper in their hometowns or new communities, and includes with housing, household supplies, career-placement assistance, adaptive vehicles, educational opportunities, and financial mentorship.
  • USA Cares provides military families with financial support, including assistance to wounded warriors and families, preventing home foreclosures and evictions, and assisting with basic needs during financial crisis.
  • The Veterans of Foreign Wars Foundation’s Unmet Needs Program seeks to alleviate the stress on the family while a spouse is deployed through mortgage assistance, home repair, transportation assistance, help with medical expenses, etc.

Health

Housing

  • Fisher House Foundation, Inc. donates “comfort homes” built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers for families while the military members recuperate.
  • Homes for Our Troops helps severely injured servicemen and women and their immediate families by coordinating the building of a new home or adapting an existing home for increased accessibility. All services provided are at no cost to the veterans they serve.
  • Operation Homefront is establishing “Operation Homefront Villages,” rent-free and fully furnished apartment units, near Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio and Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. Priority placement is given to wounded service members within six months to two years of medical discharge or retirement, wounded service members receiving treatment at local military hospitals, veterans within six months to two years after discharge who may be pursuing higher education and are unable to afford housing. They also help through the process of modifying and renegotiating mortgage loans to create reasonable mortgage payments to ensure that families stay in their homes.
  • The Pentagon Federal Credit Union’s Dream Makers Program offers grants for down payments to first-time homebuyers of modest means who valiantly work to protect our country’s national security.
  • Swords to Plowshares offers transitional and permanent housing, regular meals, as well as intensive group and individual counseling.
  • Tides Center in San Francisco is partnering with the California Department of Veterans Affairs to offer “The Pathway Home,” a treatment and counseling program for OIF/OEF veterans, on the grounds of the Yountville Veteran’s Home.
  • Veterans Village of San Diego offers a variety of residential services which include alcohol and drug treatment centers.

Legal Assistance

  • The National Veterans Legal Services Program assists OIF/OEF active duty and servicemembers and veterans with disability discharge issues or with obtaining VA benefits.
  • Swords to Plowshares has an Iraq Veteran Project that provides free legal representation for VA claims and military discharge reviews, as well as social services and benefits counseling. Services are available to all Global War on Terror veterans, former active duty servicemembers, Guard and Reserve; with any type of discharge.

Mental Health

For immediate or emergency assistance, please call:

Both hotlines are free and confidential.

  • The Coming Home Project offers free services such as psychological counseling, workshops and retreats, training for care providers and community forums which address the mental, emotional, spiritual, and relationship challenges faced by veterans and their families.
  •  ONE Freedom offers one-day workshops, weekend retreats, and care provider trainings aimed at teaching how to effectively respond to prolonged stress and provide a framework for understanding issues for returning veterans and their families.
  •  The Swords to Plowshares drop-in center provides mental health services, including counseling for drug and alcohol problems and post-traumatic stress disorders, case management and referrals. Their outreach and prevention programs target veterans who suffer from unemployment, poverty, medical problems, substance abuse, and social isolation.
  •  Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) offers peer-based emotional support, grief and trauma resources, seminars for adults, Good Grief Camps for children, casualty casework assistance, and crisis intervention for the surviving families of fallen service members, regardless of geography or circumstance of death.
  •  The Tides Center in San Francisco is partnering with the California Department of Veterans Affairs to offer "The Pathway Home," a treatment and counseling program for OIF/OEF veterans, on the grounds of the Yountville Veteran's Home.
  •  Vets4Vets is a place for veterans of today's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to use peer support to help each other through speaking and listening. Vets4Vets is staffed exclusively by veterans from different services and military specialties.

Military and Veteran Families

  • The Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) provides educational, recreational, social and religious programs and services for military personnel and their families.
  • The Coming Home Project offers many free services such as psychological counseling, workshops and retreats, training for care providers, and community forums which address the mental, emotional, spiritual, and relationship challenges faced by veterans and their families.
  • The United Through Reading Military Program allows deployed servicemembers to read to any child in his/her life (e.g. son or daughter, younger sibling, younger niece or nephew, grandchild) through video.
  • The Scholarships for Military Children Program was created to celebrate the role of the commissary in the military family community. Dependent unmarried children under age 21 (23 if enrolled as a full time student) of active duty personnel, reserve/guard and retired military members, or survivors of deceased members, may apply for a scholarship.
  • The California National Guard Family Program offers services focused on encouraging the well-being of the family, including: State Advocacy Program, Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP), Emergency Placement Care, Family Member Employee Assistance Program, Relocation Assistance Program, Emergency Financial Assistance, Food Locker, Family Referral and Out Reach, and Consumer Affairs and Financial Assistance.
  • The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund has a Handbook for Families of a Deceased Servicemember to assist survivors which summarizes the resources available from military, government and private institutions, and discusses issues surviving family members are likely to confront.
  • The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation provides financial assistance in the form of scholarships to children of current or former Marines in their pursuit of higher education.
  • The National Military Family Association provides ample resources for topics such as spouse employment, childcare, education, and housing services.
  • Our Military Kids provides grants for enrichment activities and tutoring to foster and sustain development during parent deployment.
  • The Salvation Army’s Liberty Program in Los Angeles helps OIF/OEF active duty, veterans, Guard, Reserve, and their families by providing: individual, group and family counseling and a variety of services for children.
  • The Sesame Street Workshop offers free bilingual (English and Spanish) multimedia kits designed to support military families with children between the ages of two and five who are experiencing deployment, multiple deployments, or a parent’s return home changed due to a combat-related injury.
  • The Veterans of Foreign Wars Foundation’s Unmet Needs Program seeks to alleviate the stress on the family while a spouse is deployed through mortgage assistance, home repair, transportation assistance, help with medical expenses, etc. Operation Uplink provides free prepaid phone cards to active-duty military personnel and hospitalized veterans.
  • Zero to Three’s Military Projects provide resources to strengthen the resilience of young children and their families who are experiencing separation or grief during deployment or loss.

Military Sexual Trauma

Recreation

  • Cause USA organizes recreational and entertainment activities for service members injured in any military theater.

Substance Abuse

  • New Directions provides outpatient services from the agency to 800 veterans each year, and 225 veterans receive round-the-clock care at four different residential treatment centers. New Directions is located in Los Angeles, Ca.

Women’s Issues

  • New Directions Women’s Program offers substance abuse rehabilitation, trauma counseling, parenting classes, and job-training. New Directions serves homeless women veterans–as well as the wives, adult daughters and sisters of veterans.