Coming to OBB: Veteran Education and Training Benefits

Through the support of The Columbus Foundation's Great Needs Challenge, OASHF is proud to announce that Veteran Education and Training Benefits are set to be added to the suite of applications supported by The Ohio Benefit Bank (OBB).  The Veteran education and training benefits that will be added to and supported by The OBB comes at a time when more and more men and women of our armed forces are returning home. 

Seeing a disconnect between the number of Veterans living in Ohio and the number connected to available education and training programs, staff from OASHF set out to speak with local veterans one on one to get a glimpse as to what is causing the disparity. "When I returned from Iraq in early 2009, I wasn't aware of the programs that were available for me to obtain a higher education," stated 30 year old, nontraditional OSU student Justin Packard, a Veteran of the War in Iraq. "I was able to learn about the programs by looking them up on my own, but when I needed to apply, that is where it got really complicated."

Packard began talking about the lack of help he was given when working with a local Veteran Affairs office, telling of times when he was made to feel inadequate and other times when the red tape around applying for assistance seemed to be too much to bear. "It got to the point that I was technically homeless; I lived out of a White Castle for nearly two weeks."

Justin's story is not unfamiliar, which is exactly why OASHF is thrilled that funds provided by The Columbus Foundation, through the Great Needs Challenge, will enable Veteran education and training benefits to be added to the suite of applications supported by The OBB.