Veterans Café Serves Up Connection and Community in Westerly
By Justyn Charon, Public Affairs Specialist
Sometimes connecting a Veteran with support begins with a meal, a conversation and a seat at the table.
Veterans gathered in Westerly Aug. 19 for the latest Veterans Café, continuing a statewide effort to bring Veterans together through food, conversation and connection.
The Veterans Café is hosted by the Rhode Island Office of Veterans Services in partnership with Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island. The organizations have partnered on the initiative since 2017, using shared meals to promote connection while helping Veterans learn about services and resources available to them.
VA Providence helps bring another piece to the table.
Our participation gives Veterans an opportunity to connect with VA representatives and learn more about VA health care, enrollment and benefits. Previous Veterans Café events have similarly included VA Providence enrollment staff and Veterans Benefits Administration representatives to answer questions and provide assistance.
The informal setting is part of what makes the Café valuable.
Not every Veteran first connects with VA through an appointment or formal resource fair. Someone may come for lunch and camaraderie, ask a question during a conversation and leave knowing about a service they didn’t realize was available.
The Café also addresses something less easily measured: connection among Veterans.
Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island’s programs are designed to address both food insecurity and social isolation, while the Veterans Café creates a Veteran-centered setting for that same spirit of connection.
Thank you to the Rhode Island Office of Veterans Services and Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island for continuing to host these gatherings, and thank you to the VA Providence employees who supported the Westerly Café and helped Veterans connect with the care and benefits they earned.
A meal may bring someone through the door. The connections made around the table can last much longer.