Veterans helping veterans
American GI Forum makes sure Military City, USA
won’t forget our brave soldiers
BY RICHARD ZOWIE
B E A CON W R I T E R
Carlos Martinez spent four years in
the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam
Era. When he returned home, he
didn’t like what he saw. Vietnam
veterans weren’t respected after fighting
a controversial war drawing
countless protests.
“Veterans then were badly treated by
the general public and because of that
trend, services for them weren’t readily
available,” Carlos recalls. “This reminded
me of how Hispanic military veterans
didn’t get the services or attention
they needed after World War II.”
In 1972 in San Antonio, Carlos joined
the American GI Forum in founding the
National Veterans Outreach Program
(AGIF-NVOP) to serve veterans hands
on at the community level. Today, he is
the president and CEO.
Carlos estimates that 60 percent of
their clients are homeless veterans,
and that 25 percent are the families of
veterans. The
CEO adds that
many veterans
like to move to
“Military City,
USA” (San
Antonio) once
finished with
their service.
They’re now
seeing an
additional 20-30 veterans per month
come in for services!
Among their programs:
Veterans Service Center: A one-stop place
for the Homeless Veterans Reintegration
Program, Basic Skills Upgrade and
Clothing Closet.
Residential Center for Veterans: Individually
tailored job counseling, employment
services, chemical dependency
counseling, daily meal service and
community reintegration programs.
NVOP also provides housing for
disabled or homeless veterans with
families.
Annually, NVOP hosts a Veterans
Day Stand Down, where they help 500
homeless veterans and individuals by
providing various services from more
than 50 community partners and
nonprofits.
Since 1972, the program has served
almost 500,000 veterans. Included
among them are Seth Jarmon and
Derrick Sanchez.
Seth served in the U.S. Army as a
Veteran residents gather at AGIF’s Residential Center
for Veterans (RCV). The RCV provides 60 single room
occupancy apartments and 80 transitional housing
beds for veterans in San Antonio.
Hawk Missile crew member. After the
military, he struggled with drugs and a
lifestyle which led to prison. Knowing
that substance abuse led to his
homelessness, Seth sought treatment.
After completing rehab, he came to
AGIF for employment. His trust in God
led him to success, stability and becoming
an AGIF Outreach Specialist. Carlos
now describes Seth as a “highly-commit-
Lackland Air Force Base volunteers
serve food to veterans at AGIF’s
2018 Stand Down for Veterans.
A veteran and a GI Forum case manager work
together. AGIF provides job training, interview
coaching and resume writing assistance.
“ I think so often veterans are overlooked. They
sacrifice so much, sometimes everything, and are
given very little to nothing in return for that sacrifice.
The NVOP is a huge resource in our co
mmunity for veterans and their families. They
provide counseling, job training, and family
services to name a few. I think
what’s most important, though, is
that they restore dignity in our
veterans who just need some help.
We need to be supporting that.”
August / September 2019 www.saBeacon.com 12
Elisia Carr, Marketing Coordinator, Documation
/www.saBeacon.com