FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 6, 2014
Deborah Lynch
|
Carolyn Ballou
|
Communications Officer
|
VSD Communications Director
|
(916) 653-1355
| |
Veterans Resource Centers to Open in Local Library Branches
Sacramento,
Calif. – The State Library and California Department of Veteran Affairs
(CalVet) announce the opening of a new Veterans Resource Center at the
Whittier Public Library on February 11, 2014.
Veterans Resource Centers will also open in Sacramento, Fresno, Los
Angeles, Riverside and Ventura libraries in the next month.
The
centers, staffed by library volunteers trained by CalVet, will make it
easier for veterans and their families to learn about the state and
federal benefits they have earned through military service and how to
claim them and about the local services available to them.
Recognizing
the need to reach and serve more California veterans, in October 2012,
the State Library, in coordination with CalVet, conducted a pilot
project to create Veterans Resource Centers in public libraries. The
project received grant funding from the U.S. Institute of Museum and
Library Services to open veterans centers in Bakersfield, Redding and
San Diego libraries. Those libraries, now open for over a year, have
served more than 4,000 veterans and veteran families.
California
is home to 1.8 million veterans. An additional 40,000 veterans are
expected to return to the state every year for the next several years.
State and federal benefits can help veterans and their families move
successfully forward in civilian life. Veterans’ benefits can help
veterans begin or complete their education, care for their health, get
job training, find employment, buy or improve their home, and live out
their lives with the dignity and respect they deserve. Some veteran
dependents qualify for benefits as well.
Unfortunately,
many veterans are unaware of the benefits they are entitled to receive
or how to claim them. The library Veterans Resource Centers have proven
to be an effective way for veterans to get the information and
assistance they need.
“Our
partnership with the State Library furthers CalVet’s mission to serve
veterans and their families and gets us into the communities where they
live,” said CalVet Secretary Peter J. Gravett. “We’re very happy with
the results of the three-library pilot. That the project has received
additional funding and is expanding to six more library sites in
California speaks for itself.”
“The
positive results along with an increasing need to help returning
veterans are the reasons that more centers are being funded,” said
Acting State Librarian, Gerald Maginnity. “We are proud to provide
resources to the men and women in the military who have sacrificed so
much for their country.” In addition to Whittier Public Library, centers
will be opened in Sacramento and Los Angeles as well as Ventura,
Riverside, and Fresno Counties.
For a list of Veterans Resource Center library locations and opening dates, go to http:// caveterans.org/resources-for-
This
project is supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of
Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services
and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.
About the State Library:
Founded in 1850, the California State Library is the central reference
and research library for the Governor’s office, legislature, state
employees, and the general public. The State Library administers federal
and state grants for programs in historical preservation, library
construction, civil liberties education, literacy, volunteering, and
broadband connectivity in public libraries. For more information, visit www.library.ca.gov.
About CalVet:
The California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) works to serve
California veterans and their families by ensuring they get connected to
the state and federal benefits and services they have earned through
military service. For more information, visit www.calvet.ca.gov or call 877-741-8532 toll free.
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