Making Connections in the Community
Live music, food and family fun brought more than 1,000 Texas Veterans and their families together on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in April at Houston’s Vet Fest 2024.
Staff from the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center were front and center at the event, educating Veterans about PACT Act benefits, assisting them with enrollment information and just taking the opportunity to thank them for their service.
“Participating in events like VetFest allows us to meet Veterans where they are in the community and bring them into the VA system,” said Cornelius Blackshear, transition patient advocate in the Houston VA’s M2VA program. “As an Army Veteran myself, I know how important it is for us to connect to Veterans face to face to offer them our resources and welcome them to our VA family.”
VetFest 2024 was sponsored and organized by Combined Arms, a Veteran nonprofit and provider of a highly advanced and user-friendly technology platform for Veterans and military-connected individuals. John Smith, Combined Arms Southeast Texas Regional Manager and a Marine Corps Veteran, said bringing together Veteran resources and forming partnerships between Veterans service organizations in the Houston area to connect Veterans to their resources was the goal of the event.
"Texas is home to 1.7 million Veterans who have served our country, and at Combined Arms we mean business when it comes to connecting Veterans to everything we have to offer in our state,” Smith said. Combined Arms runs the state’s program called the Texas Veterans Network
"Over the past two years, the Texas Veterans Network has connected more than 40,000 veterans and their families with the necessary services,” Smith added. “It’s so rewarding to see how much impact we can have on their lives, just by connecting them to services like those at the VA.”
Groups like Camp Shield, the Texas Veterans Commission, and Wounded Warrior, in addition to the VA’s Veterans Benefits Administration and Vet Center staff, were among the more than 25 organizations in attendance at VetFest. Veterans who came to the event had a chance to mingle with other Veterans and physically access resources they may not be able to easily find.
Bryan Bradford, an Army Veteran from Montgomery County Texas, was thrilled to attend the event along with his wife, Lizzie and their six children, all under the age of 12.
“When I got out of the military eight years ago, I remember hearing a lot about Veteran benefits but I have to admit I just wasn’t listening that closely,” he said. “I came to VetFest because I am a big fan of Bryan Martin’s music and I wanted my kids to hear it. I’m leaving here with so much more than I expected. I’ve been paying out of pocket for health insurance and today I found out I’m eligible for VA health care. What a big financial relief!”
Services Veterans could access at VetFest included assistance with filing disability claims and help locating medical assistance. Smith says for Veterans trying to access benefits, being able to see groups in person in one place can often be quite beneficial. Air Force Veteran, Monte Simons, agrees. He heard an advertisement for VetFest on the radio and said he was very impressed with the event.
"It is so valuable for me to talk to somebody, not on a phone and not on a website,” Simons said while enjoying some barbecue and camaraderie with his fellow Veterans at the event. “I just moved to Houston this past Christmas and I had no idea where to find all these services. Now I’m good to go!”