SOURCE: VAntage Point, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
This is where Veterans should start.
VA’s onboarding process can be overwhelming at times. Veterans who have visited a VA outreach booth, VA eligibility office, or have gone through a Transition Assistance Program know that VA has no shortage of technical handouts, benefits books and materials. But, even with all of these resources, Veterans are telling us “Where do I start?”
Now, VA can point all Veterans to the VA Welcome Kit. Click on the link below to check it out:
“The welcome kit is so simple, it’s the way everything needs to work in VA,” said VA Secretary Dr. David Shulkin.
The kit is now available on Vets.gov and will soon be sent to all separating service members as part of VA’s existing welcome home process.
The Veterans Experience Office created the kit using human-centered design principles, including the feedback of more than 150 Veterans throughout the country. The guide will continue to be updated based on additional feedback and information.
The kit was distributed and warmly received at the Student Veterans of America conference in San Antonio, Texas. Veterans commented, “I wish I had this when I got out” and “I’ve never seen something from VA like this.”
While the VA kit does not provide all of the technical information on VA’s programs included in the Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents and Survivors handbook, it does provide a summary and the steps required to enroll in VA services.
Download the kit, print it out and share it and please give us your feedback on it!
Author
Tim Hudak
joined the VA in December 2013 and is on the Veterans Experience Office team. Tim, a Chicago-land native enlisted in the Marine Corps straight out of high school. As an intelligence analyst he deployed to Al Anbar province, Iraq with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363 in 2006 and 2008. After the Marine Corps, Tim used the GI Bill to earn a degree in Intelligence Studies from Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pa., and co-founded the university’s first student Veteran organization. Tim is active in many Veteran organizations.
