While Veterans Day is marked with patriotism and parades, it also represents a year-round mission to ensure veterans receive the benefits and support they deserve.
Olajuwon White, director of Alachua County Veteran Services and a Navy veteran himself, helps veterans navigate the often confusing world of VA benefits and other available resources in Alachua County.
White shared the challenges veterans face after leaving the military, how his office supports them and how the community can help. For White, it's the dedication and the human stories that make Veterans Day more than just a holiday.
WUFT News reporter Heather McKenzie sat down with White for an interview. This Q&A has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Q: What inspired you to work in Veteran Services, and what drew you to advocate for veterans?
A: I'm a service member myself, so I'm a veteran. I served in the Navy as a medic. That really kind of jump-started my interest in serving, but also growing up in a small town, that was really the foundation for me serving the community, serving my public. Once I was discharged from the military, I came back home to Alachua County and really thought that there was a need for more education, advocating for those benefits.
Q: And what type of services do you exactly provide here?
A: At our office, the mission is to provide services to veterans and their families when it comes to applying for their earned VA benefits. So the benefits can range from compensation and pension, which are monetary benefits. Compensation is benefits that are because of conditions that were caused or aggravated by the service. The pension is a needs-based benefit. We also assist when it comes to our surviving spouses if they're needing benefits as well. We apply for education benefits, health care benefits, and any type of benefit that the VA provides to veterans and their families, our office is their advocate for those benefits.
Q: Do a lot of veterans in Alachua County know about your office here and the services you provide?
A: Yes. We have about 17,000 veterans in Alachua County, not including our student veterans, but this is just the home county veterans. Aside from the claims, we provide services, collaborations, community outreach, and engagement. So we're really kind of deep into the community. So the veterans know that we're here to assist them when it comes to these benefits and services.
Q: What would you say is the most common challenge you see among veterans in this transition?
A: The most common issue is just understanding the benefits itself. You know, the Department of Veterans Affairs is such a large entity. It's just the veterans having an understanding of those benefits. And so again, that's why our office is here to help them navigate and understand those benefits.
Q: Coming into Veterans Day, what does your office have planned or do specifically in Alachua County?
A: One of the biggest events we have is the Alachua County Veterans Day Celebration. And that is in partnership with our Veterans Memorial Committee. We come together at the Freedom Memorial Park, and we put together a huge celebration for our veterans. So we have family-oriented events that start about 9 a.m. At 11 a.m., we start our formal programming with our flag-raising dedication, honoring those veterans and the Gold Star families. So it's a huge celebration just from the county standpoint.
Q: Do you see any extra support during the time of Veterans Day?
A: We have our community support services here in Alachua County. Social services provides any social services support. We have our Alachua County Housing Department and also our crisis and victim services. They're on site to offer any mental health or counseling assistance that might be necessary. So that's the county standpoint. We have partnerships and work directly with the VA Medical Center. We have our Volunteers of America organization. I mean, all the organizations really come out to support. We have our hospice that comes out. We have Three Rivers Legal Services. So a lot of partnerships come out and support us during this time.
Q: How do you feel the overall community does in honoring Veterans Day and veterans?
A: I've been in this community for almost 20 years, and Veterans Day, I mean, I can see we're really supported and respected in Alachua County, starting from the county commissioners when it comes to their proclamation, the support that they give us for this office, you know, because the county commissioners fund this office. So they do recognize the importance of us having education and being entitled and having those benefits for us. The community really just stretches out their hand. Anything that our veterans need, we can make a phone call, and they really come together to wrap around our veterans and their families.
Q: How can everyday citizens make a difference for veterans in the community?
A: Well, definitely just honoring the veterans, just thanking them for their service or volunteering or just maybe being a listening ear. A lot of us veterans, when we return home, things have changed. So again, it's just good to have a good listening ear or just knowledge of any resources or services that can be provided.
Q: Do you have any recent success stories that stand out, or someone or a family that has been helped by your office in a positive way?
A: So in one particular instance, we assisted a surviving spouse. The veteran had passed away from conditions that were caused by the service, and so the spouse was having a hard time trying to get her rightful benefits, just because of the VA process and the VA paperwork, and the specific wording that it takes for the VA to understand certain conditions.
We worked closely with the surviving spouse but also the medical examiner to help them understand, hey, this is the proper condition that should be recorded on the death certificate. So the medical examiner worked with the office, and they were able to update the death certificate to reflect the proper manner of passing so that the spouse can receive those earned VA benefits for her comfort and financial stability.
Q: Overall, how do you think we commemorate, and what do you think the community does in general in the U.S. for veterans?
A: Well, I think they do a great job of having our ceremonies and just remembering and thanking us for our service, because it's less than 1% that do join the military. So returning home to a big world, everybody doesn't maybe understand, you know, but when it comes to celebrating our veterans and having support, I think we do a really great job of being there for the veterans and having those resources once they return home.
Out of the nation, I think it's 29 states that offer county offices, and so Florida’s one of them. So we're thankful to have those resources here. Like I said, for myself, it was a huge benefit. Coming home, the VA is a big world. We don't know exactly what's what, but having someone to help guide us and navigate those benefits was a godsend for me.