Veterans Spotlight: Carson City Health and Human Services is a resource hub

If you need help and don't know where to turn, Carson City Health and Human Services (CCHHS) probably has the answer.

Besides offering a host of services — from medical to housing and employment — CCHHS also acts as a referral source to community services as well as a hub where service providers and clients connect.

"We're like a one-stop shop," said CCHHS Workforce Program Manager Ana Gregg. "We have a little bit of everything."

CCHHS programs and services are open to anyone to apply for, said CCHHS Human Services Division Manager Mary Jane Ostrander.

The agency does not have any specific program exclusive to military veterans, she said, but services are open to veterans, too.

"Anything that we do is open for veterans," she said.

Veterans are first referred to the Northern Nevada Veterans Resource Center in Carson City, Ostrander said.

"We work closely with the Veterans Resource Center," she said. "If they are unable to assist a veteran for whatever reason, then we would step in. This goes for any of our services."

Service areas where CCHHS typically sees the most veteran clients include housing and employment, Gregg said, especially if veteran service providers are experiencing an overflow of clients.

This helps veterans access services more quickly.

Carson City agencies are working closer together, Ostrander said, to provide a whole package to residents in need.

CCHHS meets local housing needs through federal Housing and Urban Development programs, Ostrander said.

"Many times the most vulnerable happen to be a transient veteran who has been homeless for months and might have some disabilities," she said. "This puts them up higher on the assessment list. When a housing provider has availability, it's the most vulnerable first that we need to house. Many times that is the veteran."

Homelessness, in fact, is a common problem among many veteran clients seen at CCHHS, Gregg said.

"Many of the vets we see are homeless, so they have no type of identification," she said. "No social security card, no birth certificate, no DD-214."

Gregg said that in order for a veterans service provider to assist, they require proof of military service.

The Department of Defense form 214 is the civilian equivalent of a driver's license, Social Security card or birth certificate, she said, because it opens doors to veterans services.

While veterans service programs get the referrals from CCHHS, the department still plays a significant role in helping veteranas obtain the proper documentation to qualify for those services, Gregg said.

Proof of service, she said, is an essential first step to starting any service benefits a veteran qualifies for.

For the homeless or transient client, identification is usually lost somewhere along the way, Ostrander said, so CCHHS assists in obtaining these documents.

But foremost for the veteran client, Ostrander stressed, CCHHS serves primarily as a point of navigation. This most often means leaving with a plan in hand to help them get back on their feet.

"Navigation is the big role that we play for veterans," she said. "They come in here and usually at first visit they are walking out with a case plan that includes resources. They are walking out with steps to take, and they can always come back for a follow up."

However, Ostrander said not everything may be covered by the service provider a client is referred to, and that's where CCHHS can help to fill any gaps in needs.

This can be crucial for veterans who have grown weary of the Veterans Administration (VA) health care system and are at the point of abandoning their medical needs, Ostrander said.

"We try to make sure they are getting connected to medical services that they want or need to," she said, "because sometimes a lot of vets get frustrated with the VA hospital process, and they just give up."

Ostrander said CCHHS can assist veterans in getting connected with a VA representative or social worker who will help them through the system.

Some employment needs not covered by a veteran referral source can also be met by resources through the CCHHS Workforce Program as well, Gregg said, particularly finer details like interview clothing, garments and footwear needed for a job, as well as job-specific equipment.

She said the Workforce Program offers work readiness seminars that help to educate and prepare job seekers.

Other times, the Workforce Program may be helping a veteran client learn the complexities of completing online applications or writing resumes, Ostrander said.

"You're not showing up on a job site with that tool box anymore," she said. "It's tough for somebody who hasn't done a desk job and is used to working outside of an office setting. A lot of that's new to them."

Ostrander and Gregg both said that the comprehensive resource and referral services available through CCHHS make all the difference for their clients, including and especially military veterans, many of whom have already run the federal gamut and been through the rigors of trying to secure veterans services.

"For somebody like a veteran, there's a sense of pride and a feeling that they don't need the help," Ostrander said. "We are just giving them another option of somewhere else to come."

To help bridge the gap that many clients — especially veterans — may feel exists between them and the services available, CCHHS has arranged to bring those resources to the client, instead of the other way around.

For instance, services from the federal Women, Infant and Children (WIC) program can be accesed through CCHHS.

CCHHS is also a hub for the Nevada Department of Welfare and Supportive Services (DWSS), which sends an intake worker over to CCHHS, located at 900 E. Long Street, once a week in order to reach people who would otherwise not come to it for assistance.

"They (DWSS) are processing food stamps on first visit, and people aren't getting sent away to bring documents back," Ostrander said. "They are getting on the phone to verify the income and residency right there. They can get it all taken care of during that one stop."

The Financial Guidance Center and Nevada State Bank also come to CCHHS twice a month, Ostrander said, to provide help and education to residents.

On-site services from these sources include counseling services, credit repair, identity protection, and financial workshops that focus on building and maintaining a budget.

The second of two annual job fairs is scheduled for Friday from 2-4:30 p.m. at the Carson City Community Center, Gregg said, and veterans will be given early entry at 1:30.

More than 40 employers will be on hand Saturday for job seekers. The first event in February attracted nearly 500 applicants, Gregg said.

Gregg said she wants to encourage veterans to attend, because not only do some employers give preference to military veterans, but there will also be a handful of employment resource providers, including veteran-specific organizatons.

"The Veterans Resource Center is there, Western Nevada College is there, and so is Work For Warriors," she said. "They will have tables at the fair."

Moreover, Ostrander said area employers are now coming to CCHHS for hiring events in search of potential employees they can interview and even hire on the spot.

"A lot of the companies coming for the mini hiring events here haven't hired in Carson City before," she said, "because they didn't have an office to do interviews out of."

Gregg said the mini hiring events are scheduled for once or twice a month, depending upon the needs of the employers, and they are open to anybody, veteran or non-veteran.

"They come in, interview and hire on the spot," she said.

Ostrander said this is not only an advantage for the employer, who has a venue from which to recruit out of, but also for the worker looking for a job.

"We are beginning to see more employers offer transportation options" to work locations outside of Carson City, she said.

Through the Workforce Program, Gregg said, a client can get prepared for these hiring events ahead of time and feel ready when they occur.

She said CCHHS ensures a positive, comfortable and welcoming environment to make that happen.

"We are like a one-stop with one-on-one care and one-on-one conversations," she said. "We don't put anybody on hold. That feeling of having a connection and talking to a person is priceless."

Ostrander agreed, adding that it is often the little things that have made the biggest difference in a client's life, and left the greatest impression.

"If they can walk out with nothing but information, they feel empowered and grateful," she said. "That might be all they need."

Oftentimes just being a resource that can help a client make sense of all of the programs available and how they can be of help is the most important role CCHHS can play in a person's life, she added.

"There are so many different resources, and with those resources, there are opportunities," Ostrander said. "At the end, navigating them through those opportunities is a huge value. It's just tying all of those pieces together, which is very valuable because that's the barrier."

Ostrander said CCHHS prides itself on providing value to its clients through efficiency, a key to maintaining the healthy relationships CCHHS has forged with its client base over the years.

This usually means pointing clients in the right direction the first time so they can get their needs met as soon as possible.

"Our best case management doesn't cost us a dime," she said. "It's navigating and putting all of those pieces together for people so that they know where to go and what's available to them out there."

For more information on the breadth of services and programs available through CCHHS, visit its web site here or find it on Facebook.