JCI Santa Clarita hosted its second annual Veteran’s Resource Fair on Saturday at William S. Hart Park in Newhall, and according to organization co-chair Jimmy McCoy, it’s a service that’s much needed in the military veteran community.
McCoy, who knows veterans well because he’s a United States Marine Corps veteran himself, with five years out of San Diego and two tours of duty in Iraq, knows veterans need this kind of help.
“The whole goal of this fair is just to get resources in the hands of one of the most stubborn communities you’re ever going to encounter, because that’s what veterans are,” he said. “I got out and didn’t file for benefits for 10 years. What I found out when I finally did start the process is you basically had to be a private investigator and a data analyst to figure out what benefits are out there and what entitlements you should have access to.”
McCoy said he missed out on literally hundreds of thousands of dollars during the 10 years he had no benefits.
JCI (Junior Chamber International) Santa Clarita hosted the event for the first time last year, according to McCoy’s wife and volunteer Kari McCoy. She said this year’s event had doubled in size, offering health and wellness resources, education and employment assistance, financial support and more. McCoy’s wife said she saw the effectiveness of the event firsthand.
“We have a veteran here who doesn’t know anything about how to get disability benefits, and he has back problems from his time in combat,” she said. “We’re making sure that he’s not paying out of pocket for medical costs that are due to him for his service.”
The JCI representatives, she added, were able to direct the veteran to a service provider at the fair to get him set up with what he needed.
At the event to help veterans were representatives from Guardians SCV, the American Legion, the College of the Canyons Veterans Resource Center, Guide Dogs of America, Mental Health America of Los Angeles, Goodwill Employment Support, RAW (Rebuilding America’s Warriors), Veterans Collaborative, among many others.
Also there to assist veterans were Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, and constituent liaison Chris Ward from the office of Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita.
According to Ross Luna, a retired Air Force firefighter who was at the fair on Saturday, he finds these kinds of fairs extremely useful because so many of the resources a vet would need are in one place. He came for a specific purpose. He wasn’t disappointed.
“The thing I was looking for was the new federal resource book,” Luna said. “I found it.”
He and his wife said they got it at Garcia’s table.
Tom Lamog, a guitar instructor for the new chapter of Guitars for Vets in Newhall, which offers guitar lessons to military veterans with the ultimate goal of healing through the power of music, said he signed up two veterans earlier in the day and gave out four applications to others interested in learning more.
Coffee4Vets also had a tent at the fair. That group offers military veterans free coffee, half-priced breakfasts and an opportunity to socialize with other vets from 8 to 10 a.m. every first and third Thursday of the month at the Canyon Country Crazy Otto’s on Soledad Canyon Road. Representatives were busy talking to veterans much of the morning.
“As a veteran myself, you learn you have to take care of your own,” said JCI co-chair Arnold Bryant. “This is a way for us to take care of the ones who have either separated or become sick or got hurt while serving, or who are dealing with mental health issues. This is a way for us to help them, to take care of them outside of the military.”
Along with the resources at the fair veterans could check out, attendees could also enjoy a barbecue and lawn games for kids.
