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Office simplifies veteran needs

The Veterans’ Services Office at UH is working to implement a “one-stop shop” where an estimated 1,200-1,500 veterans’ needs will be taken care of.

It would be the central location where anything pertaining to veterans would be taken care of so that students would only have to go to one place for assistance.

“We don’t mind taking on more work as long as the veterans get served in a way that will eliminate all of the issues that they have been having” VSO program director Allen Grundy said.

The problem the VSO most often hears about is the length of time it takes to process the VA paperwork.

At the start of every semester, veterans who receive benefits must fill out and turn in paperwork to the Office of Registration and Academic Records. Many times it can take up to two months before the student starts receiving benefits.

“It just takes a long time,” Horne, a current student-veteran, said. “They lost my paperwork the first couple of times.”

The VSO is a resource center that helps veterans with any problems they encounter while attending the university.

“They are very helpful and knowledgeable people,” Horne said. “They are always assisting with anything you need. They are great.”

Horne and many other student-veterans go to the VSO because it offers a variety of resources ranging from filing for VA education benefits to getting a ride to the Michael E. Debakey VA Medical Center for medical appointments.

The VSO not only provides resources, it offers a quiet study hall for veterans with a lab area, computers, printers, copiers and phones so they can do school work, look for jobs and keep up-to-date with the latest news in veteran affairs.

The VSO at UH has been in the forefront of veteran resource centers in the state of Texas. The purpose of the office is to help veterans make the transition from the military to academia.

“It’s just like a student coming from high school. If there’s no bridge for support, they’re lost when they get here,” Grundy said. “We try to make that bridge for them to use. They come in here and there’s camaraderie. We have people from all of the military services that can tell you, ‘Hey I did that too, let me show you how to get through this.’”

For more information on the VSO, students can visit the office located in UC suite 268 or online at www.uh.edu/veterans.

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