WEEOC in Du Quoin launches veterans initiative
As cars crowded into the Western Egyptian Equal Opportunity Center parking lot on Thursday afternoon for the weekly food pantry distribution, a small group of veterans sat in their cars off to the side, filling out surveys on what they most need help with.
It could be food security, help with collecting their VA benefits, finding veteran-only discounts on purchases and services, or getting a better understanding of veteran trauma, combat stress and PTSD, among other needs.
Veterans in Perry County are being asked to participate in a new initiative called Reaching Rural Veterans, that is being hosted in Du Quoin by the WEEOC food pantry as a likely place to find veterans. It started Thursday, as people who came through the food pantry line were asked whether they or someone they know are veterans who could use help.
Every time they got an affirmative answer, the participants were handed information from community resource outreach organizations. Veterans who came through the line were asked to take the survey.
"It's all about helping us know more about rural vets," said Rena Sterrett, a community outreach specialist with the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University, which developed Reaching Rural Vets and tried it out first at counties in Indiana and Kentucky. They were so successful at learning about the needs of veterans in those places, they have expanded the program to five trial counties in southern and central Illinois.
Sterrett drove five hours from West Lafayette on Thursday to help WEEOC initiate the program, which will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month during the food pantry, from now through November.
Each month Ashley Greer and her team hope to reach more veterans, and connect them with local services that fit their needs. Greer is the community service coordinator for WEEOC in Du Quoin on Washington Street. Addressing a military family's needs for food, shelter, employment, and access to VA benefits is an important step in establishing stronger bonds between community organizations and the military and veteran population, they say.
According to a recent American Community Survey, there were nearly 1,400 male veterans in Perry County in 2019, and 94 female veterans. Sterrett said that makes Perry County a good place to expand the Reaching Rural Veterans initiative. Moreover, they wanted counties with at least 100 low-income candidates, and Perry County fits there, too.
Both Greer and Sterrett say veterans can be reluctant to request help, as they prefer to be the ones doing the helping. But Greer encourages them all to come, saying there is plenty of food and assistance for everyone who needs it.