Mission
To marshal all necessary resources to all service members, veterans and their families to ensure their success, with a target on homeless veterans, veterans at risk of homelessness and veterans reintegrating into the community.
History
In late December 2009, Palm Beach County Commissioner Jeff Koons requested that a Task Force of concerned citizens and agencies be developed. The initial order of business was to identify current veterans programs, the gaps in services and needs of veterans including housing, employment, health, and training. The Task Force also initiated a review of the resources available to the veterans and their families such as the VA, HUD, private funders, non-profits and any groups or agencies already assisting this population.
The first meeting was held on February 16, 2010 at the Community Services Building at 810 Datura Street, WPB with Commissioner Koons opening the first meeting. It became apparent to the Task Force Partners that the very nature of a Task Force was to resolve issues and then dissolve. The Task Force Partners recognized immediately that the issues are vast and ongoing and thus the renamed Palm Beach County Veterans Coalition (PBCVC) was renamed.
Since inception, the PBCVC partnerss defined and finalized a Mission Statement after careful consideration of our purpose. In June 2010, the PBCVC held a Workshop with PBC Board of County Commissioners’ briefing the board on services provided by partners and the gaps remaining in the community. The board also commented about concerns they had regarding health issues, unemployment and housing of returning veterans to the community.
In July and September 2010, the PBCVC was invited to participate in the Florida BrAIve Coalition meetings, blending participants and forming partnerships. The PBCVC meeting held on November 9, 2010 helped continue to move the process of narrowing the gaps in services with the focus on developing a PBCVC web page with links to partners and calendar of events in the community.
*Note: Meetings are now held on a bi-monthly basis with the focus centering on continued partnership building, education and networking.
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