Community Veteran groups from 10 states gather to share best practices

What makes a Veteran-friendly community? Most will tell you it takes support from non-profits, interest from government officials, the backing of regional employers and a whole lot of hard work. That’s what Community Veteran Engagement Boards (CVEB) do across the country—they bring everyone together to solve local challenges for Veterans and their families.

While every community has their own unique challenges, there’s likely a CVEB or other coalition or collaborative who’s already tackled a similar problem and can share what worked and what didn’t.

That’s why the Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS) and VA teamed up to put on the 1^st Eastern Region – CVEB Inaugural Convening in Richmond, Virginia. Community Veteran groups from 10 states collaborated to share their experiences and bring promising practices home.

“Community Veteran Engagement Boards are critical for a healthy Veteran community because they tell us not only what is needed, but what isn’t working. Once state, federal and local groups start talking, we stop duplicating efforts and begin solving what really matters for our Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors,” said John Boerstler, chief Veterans Experience officer at VA.

In addition to Virginia’s Department of Veterans Services staff, national and local VA hospital and benefits office leadership attended to learn how to better support CVEBs and partners in their areas.

Recently, VA launched the VetResources Community Network (VRCN) to connect community partners, CVEBs and other Veteran serving organizations with each other and local VA facilities. New and old community efforts are encouraged to collaborate with the VRCN so they may be connected directly with their local VA points of contact or any relevant national efforts, like the quarterly VRCN Community of Practice hosted by the Veterans Experience Office.

Any organization interested in their Veteran community are encouraged to join an existing CVEB or consider building a new one. VA has tools, templates, examples, a community of practice and even a playbook to support and sustain your Veteran-friendly community.

To learn more about the VRCN or CVEBs, please email VAVEOCommunications@va.gov to request a consult.