Originally published: . Volume 10, No. 3. Source pages: 5.
Louisiana Second State in Nation to Open Veterans Centers LaVetCorps Resource Centers to Open in Fall 2019
On February 13, Governor Edwards and Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs (LDVA) Secretary Joey Strickland signed a Memorandum of Understanding with higher education leaders for the development of a new statewide campus veteran center initiative, called the LaVetCorps Program. The gathering took place at Baton Rouge Community College.
The 30 new resource centers will begin opening at higher education institutions across the state in the fall of 2019. Louisiana has about 284,000 veterans.
According to a report from LDVA, the LaVetCorps mission is to empower veterans, families and campus communities to support the veterans returning home from active-duty military service and to gather resources to help them make a successful transition to college and to their local community.
“The men and women who selflessly dedicate their lives to secure the safety and freedoms of our state and nation deserve every opportunity to prepare themselves for the transition to civilian life, and I’m proud of the partnerships that will help them continue to achieve their goals,” said Gov. Edwards at the signing. “This initiative will benefit both veterans and communities and thereby our state.”
Participating in the LaVetCorps initiative are the Louisiana Board of Regents, Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS), University of Louisiana System, LSU System, and Southern University System. The initiative includes the four Louisiana public college systems and Xavier University of Louisiana.
“The Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs is committed to partnering with agencies that can help us develop innovative ways to help our veterans make a streamlined transition into college life,” said LDVA Secretary Joey Strickland. “These men and women are not your typical college students. They have seen and done things that most cannot relate to, but we at the LDVA can, and we are finding ways to help them be successful in their academic studies through these LaVetCorps vet centers.”
About 8,300 Louisiana college students are veterans.
At the signing of the memorandum, LSU President F. King Alexander said five years ago officials concluded that LSU had about 50 former service members on campus. However, after opening a veterans center two years ago school officials realized they had many more, up to 500, ex-soldiers at LSU, reported the Advocate. "They are on our campuses," Alexander said. "They just don't have a place to go."
According to reports, the LaVetCorps will cost about $520,000 per year. Federal grants are expected to provide $320,000 and the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide $200,000.
Sullivan said about 6,000 students attending community and technical colleges served in the military, with about 1,400 graduating last year.
At each LaVetCorps veteran resource center, an LDVA- trained LaVetCorps navigator, who would also be an AmeriCorps service member, will serve as a peer mentor to student veterans in transition, work to increase student veterans’ access to their earned federal and state benefits, and work to build a vibrant on-campus veteran community. LDVA LaVetCorps navigators will provide training and support to college faculty, staff and administration to increase awareness of student veterans’ needs and veteran culture. LaVetCorps navigators will also organize community service projects benefiting both on- and off- campus veterans.
This spring, the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs will post job these LAVetCorps navigator job opportunities on its website, www.vetaffairs.la.gov. LDVA hopes to fill these 30 positions with veterans and/or their dependents by August 2019.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.