Kentucky.

Tonight, as we prepare to observe Veterans Day.

I'm Marvin Bartlett.

This week's observance is a time to recognize theservice, sacrifice and commitment of America's veterans.

Though it's something we shoulddo every day of the year.

For many, former service members, the transition to civilian life can bring new challenges from finding employment and securing stable housing to mental health care, health services and other important resources.

Tonight, we'll take a look at the programs, organizations and services working to support veterans across the Commonwealth.

We'll discuss the issues veterans face.

Examine where progress is being made and provide information that could help veterans and their families connect with the assistance they need.

We'll also talk about waysall of us can honor and the uniform.

We have a distinguishedpanel to help us with that conversation.

Joining me are Whitney Allen, a retired U.S.

Army lieutenant colonel with 25 years of service, including three combat tours.

He's now commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Veteran Affairs.

Doctor Silas Session, senior, a retired U.S.

Army major and executive director of the Office of Kentucky Veterans Services.

William BJ Thomason State, commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Molly Bode, founder and executive director of Kentucky Valor, a nonprofit thathelps veterans transition into the workforce.

And Phyllis Abbott, founder and executive director of Veterans Connect, a nonprofit organization thatprovides housing and other support services for women veterans.

We thank you all for coming in.

I look forward to this conversation.

some numbers first and see how the militaryservice is woven into the fabric of Kentucky.

We now have an estimated about 235,000 veterans in the state, 27,000 of those are women.

That's a number that has gone down because we're losing veterans.

Of course, as they get older and fewer people are enlisting in active duty.

We have more than 7200 people right now, and more than 13,400 in people to servenow.

And in the future.

This is a hard thing to do,is to ask you each to describe what you do in a nutshell.

But I want to start out letting you tell me about your various organizations.

The main mission, and then we'll get more deeply into that discussion as we go along.

And I'm going to start with you, Commissioner Allen.

And I know it's very hard to say briefly what the Kentucky Department of Veteran Affairs does, but give give it your best attempt.

>> Yes, sir.

Thank you for inviting us here tonight.

I run an women who serve our veterans, and we provide 24 over seven wraparound services for benefits, long term care, legacy, legacy, love, and, you know, just great service, right?

>> And you have so many offices that specialize in things.

One of those is the Office of Kentucky VeteransServices doctor session.

Tell me about that.

>> Sure.

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of have three main areas for the Kentucky Veteran services.

We have a benefits division where we have about 23 benefits representatives, representativesacross the state.

We also have five state veteran cemeteries that are across the state that give dignified burials to all of our veterans and eligible dependents, dependents.

We also have a programs division where we have a women's veterans department.

We have a wounded and disabled department that helps with mental health and other issues.

We have a a jobs department where wehelp with employment and under employment.

And we have also have a homeless Veterans Department, Department.

I also assist the Commissioner as far as I'm the co-chair of the organization.

He led.

He leads called the governor challenge focuses on suicide prevention.

I'm also Commissioner Allen's delegate at the Commission on Mental Health, and I lead his faith based initiatives.

And I am the lead of the Jefferson County Suicide Mortality Cooperative Agreement in Jefferson County that we're closing out.

But I take pleasure of leading this for Commissioner Allen.

>> Yeah, a lot of resources fall under your department, for sure.

>> And, sir, you know, that is a lot.

tied.

And I would like to say that Silas is well rounded with our veteran officer, veteran centers run by Chris page.

And then executive director Lilly Pattersonwith our legal office.

So we are very spread out, but it isa great organization that people are very passionate and they love serving veterans.

>> Absolutely.

It takes a lot of people.

We'll talk more in detail about that.

We've all heard of the Foreign Wars, but I'm not sure everyone understands what that organization is all about.

Mr.

Thomason.

>> Well, mostly we concentrate on helping veterans in our communitiesthroughout our department.

We help the veterans, families and our community overall.

Anything from they have needs of access ramps to their house, any kind of financial issues they have coming up, such as, you know, they come hard on utility bills once a month or what have you.

We try help them out as best we can.

Right now, I believe we have 13, 13,500 members in the Department of Kentucky.

Of that, we have 13.

They're divided into 13 districts and 79 posts.

So all of our posts, they try to help their communities out as best they can.

>> Yeah.

The newest organization represented here todayis Kentucky Valor.

You're the founder,Molly Bodey, and I know valor stands for something that's an acronym.

>> Itis, stands for Veterans Accelerated Licensure, Occupational recruitment.

And our program is an initiative of Kentucky Science andTechnology Corporation.

What my team does is travel to military bases all over the country.

And sometimes internationally, to help market what opportunities exist for military families here in Kentucky.

We have a program that helps military members capitalize on their military experience, so it's directly applicable to civilian occupations here.

And then we pair them with a Kentucky employer for a great job.

>> All right.

Ilook forward to hearing more about that.

And PhyllisAbbott, you are the founder of Lady Veterans Connect.

I know you do many things there,too.

What is your main mission, however?

>> Our main mission is providing housing for homeless women veterans.

Our women veterans in transition.

They don't necessarily have homeless, but they just need a quiet place to recuperate from some traumas in their life.

And then we also dothe other events with womenveterans throughout the state.

>> Very good.

Well, we want do not want this discussionto be all doom and gloom, but we do want to get to the mental health issue right off the top, in case there's anyone watching who feels they're in a crisis situation.

That's a big thing that you all have to deal with.

So and we're told by the U.S.

Department of Veteran Affairs that we're losing 18 veterans a day to suicide.

That's a staggering number.

I know that's something you work with, doctor session.

Why is that number so high?

>> It's many compound reasons.

When it comes to the different situations that not only veterans but Kentuckians deal with, with folks are dealing with issues when it comes to, you know, the funds that they have as faras taking care of their families, you know, others the trauma that they've they've had in their lives, including not only deployments away from the United States, also natural disasters like the National Guard has been very out front in assisting with like the, the, the Western Kentucky tornadoes and, and the floods, things like that.

I mean, when it comesto the the difficulty of the military employment for the reserve forces and some of the personal things they have to deal with with their their civilian deployment.

I mean,some of thosethings are very tough for, for, for Kentuckians to deal with.

And the National Guard.

And when it comes to the active duty, many of them, you know, especially at Fort Campbell, they have to be on at a moment's notice to deploy anywhere in the world.

I believe the So with those multiple challenges and just other things that they dealwith when it comes totheir family, I mean,itbrings a lot of.

Challenges when it comes to theirmental health.

Again, some people, they have employment, but they don't have enough.

You know, they and we call that underemployment.

So that adds another layer of difficulty.

So with the rising of all of these are bringing a lot of strain for veterans.

And non-veterans.

So another issue is the some struggle with substance abuse.

And it's not always recreation.

Some people had surgeries due to injuries from a deployment or other accidents.

And, you know, some of the medication that they were prescribed has caused them to be addicted on those things.

So the combination of the mental health issues and also substance abuse is, is a serious problem when it comes to the weighing in on the mental health and how that affects coworkers, families, and people who provide services to them.

When itcomes to vicarious trauma or secondary trauma.

>> And we want to put a number on the screen.

This is the crisis line.

This is what people can get.

Call and get help immediately.

It's nine, eight, digits immediately.

You will not go through any kind of a phone loop.

You will not be passed around from person to person.

You'll get immediate help.Commissioner.

You may have also have some thoughts on why so many veterans have these feelings of depressionand loneliness.

>> Doctor session definitely covered those challenges.

And one thing we have to understand this is longterm.

This is nothing that we can just throw a lot of money, a lot of resources, and problem.

And it's also generational, but BJ as well as Silas was serving, we see the same impactfor Vietnam veterans.

We see the same impact for Desert Storm veterans, current veterans as well.

It just challenges in life.

And and when you have you spent most of your life being dependent on.

>> Yeah.

And we'll also mention that number nine, eight,eight is a crisis line for anyone, not just the anyone who's watching and feels suicidal thoughts or any feelings of depression can call that number.

It's also a prevalent problem among women veterans, isn't it, Phyllis?

>> It is, and one of the reasonsit is with women veterans is we're finding when they comeout of the military and they go into a civilian job, they have a hard time connecting with the other women that's working there because they've experienced things that the other women cannot imagine.

In many cases, if they'vebeen deployed.

And so they feel isolated.

And that leads to a lotof depression and withdrawing from working even.

And then theybecome homeless because they haven't been able to cope with that situation and getthe help that theyneed.

And we try to provide that for them.

>> Yeah.

And you mentioned connections, Mr.

Thompson.

That's kind of what your organization is all Connections.

Somepeople may just think of the VFW as a social club.

You're a whole lot more than that, aren't you?

>> Oh most definitely.

We we try to outgrow or definitely leavethe stigmas behind us of smokefilled bars with.

Angry veterans that, you know, don't really careabout things.

We try to put it more to where we're connecting these veterans to where programs and things that can help them, like down in southeastern Kentucky right now, the KDE VA, along with the VA Kentucky National Guard, Home Helpers, different organizations, VFW, DAV, AmVets, we have coffee musters that we're doing in individual counties such as Pulaski, Laurel, Rockcastle, McCreary, clay, Madison, Lincoln, that were veterans at least once a month cancome and talk and, you know, discuss someof the things that are going on in their life and try to work out a few things as far as nine, eight, eight, I can personally say, even when I work for the jail, we had a veteran that was going through issues and we dialed it for the veteran, and they got right to somebody's life.

It wasn't like they had to go through a bunch of numbers.

So it does work, right?

>> Anyone can answer this question, but is there a stigma to asking for help?

And if so, how do we get past that?

>> Yes, it is a stigma because like myself, like Silas, who served for 20 plus years, we were trained doctor Higgins probably mentioned in her in her tape interview, 20, years.

Everyone depends on us.

We can't take a knee because if we take a knee, we seem to fail other people and we learn to become independent.

So that is a stigma.

That'swhy it's great to have veterans service organizationslike the VFW and American Legion and Navy Vets, and having services such as Doctor session is very important, as well as finding employment and women veterans as well.

I, I like to say that the VA has come a long way.

For example, there's a women's specialty clinic now in Louisville at the Robley Rex.

We're finally figuring out both at the federal and the state and teammatesthat women are valuable and they carry a lot of hats.

So we have to understand and respect that.

And, and adapt and change.

And I original question about the numbers, why is that?

It will take a while to get those numbers down, but we're in different situations now in a different posture that we can tackle this problem.

>> All right.

>> I can add a little on that question as far as a challenge for for anyone who may be watching, the sad reality is the the stigma piece is getting better.

us that struggle with that stigma, we do end up reaching out for help sometimes, but sometimes it's too late.

So I would like to challenge us.

And this, this, this can befor anyone.

If there's a situation, there's no harm in asking for help.And please reach out.

Sometimes when you wait too late, there might be some situations that you deal with that could have you would just just reach out to individuals that that wants to help.

And when it comes to the VA or in Kentucky, we have mental health community centers.

There's a, there's a, there's a website find help now Kentucky.

You can find mental health assistance in multiple places and other organizations that want to assist.

But again, when youwait too late, sometimes it's too high of a risk.

>> Right?

>> That'schallenge my veteran brothers and sisters, check on your teammates.

As we're always assume, hey, BJ is doing good, but sometimes you need to pick up the phone and yell at them for a minute, you know?

But I call and yell at him, but but no.

I challenge my brothers and sisters out there to also check on your buddies, make sure they'retaken care of.

>> Very good, good information.

Well, you mentioned a moment ago that the VA way.

That also is true for facilities.

There was a time when maybe the facilities didn't have the best reputation.

Maybe they wereovercrowded.

People thought they were updated.

But the state has really stepped it up in a lot of facilities, including the new skillednursing facility down in Bowling Green.

We now have fiveskilled nursing facilities for veterans, and that newest one just opened five weeks ago there in Bowling Green.

It's a $53 million facility.

That was decades the making.

Laura Rogers was there for theribbon cutting.

>> Gave proof through the night.

>> Today is a dream come true.

It's a dream that has taken almost 30 years, maybe a little over 30 years to come to fruition.

[MUSIC] >> That dream is the official opening of the Robert E Spiller Bowling Green Veterans Center.

>> It's a story of hope, faith, hard work, perseverance for a whole lot of obstacles.

>> State Representative Michael Meredith of Oakland has championed this project for many years, but the origins of it date back to the 1990s, when Colonel Robert E Spiller began advocating for a veterans nursing home in Bowling Green.

>> We have a lot of veterans in Warren County, and of surrounding counties.

>> It's a testament to what can be achieved when all levels of government federal, state and localworkwith community partners and set partizanship aside for the greater good.

>> That includes navigating a budget shortfall of $16.63 million.

Meredith's House Bill two and 2023, signed by Governor Andy Beshear, closed that funding gap.

>> The veterans deserve the very best in this community, andI'm glad that after a lot of work, we delivered.

>> This is awesome.

If you had to describe it spaceship, this would be the new enterprise.

>> The $53 million facility has 60 private suites and 152 employees.

>> I have some amazing people, team members.

We're going to live out that mission, which is to care for our veterans and who deserves it more than our veterans.

>> The center's first hire was Administrator Jason Gumm, who's operated long term care facilities for >> We're using ratios like our ratio would be 6 to 1 patients in the private sector, you might seeten or 12 to 1.

So we're probably going tohave more people, more staff to be able to provide the quality service that we're looking for.

>> It is beautiful inside.

There's going to be so much dignity living here.

All, everything modern that you wouldwant in afacility to make sure it can everyone's medical needs.

>> Those needs include rehabilitation and physical therapy, but also recreation and social engagement.

>> It's more than community.

It's family.

It's family.

>> We asked the commissioner about the importance of long term care for the military community.

>> Our veterans serve, you know, three years, 30 years, the years of combat, peacekeeping, mission andtraining really takes a toll on the body.

And many of them comeback and serve in their community and live full lives.

But then there's a point in life where mama, sisters, friends can't take care of grandpa anymore.

>> They're excited that if the time comes when they need this level of service, that their loved ones are going to be close by, andthat's what we should be delivering.

>> The center will accept private pay, Medicare and Medicaid.And are admitted, they can become VA certified.

>> This is a promise made and a promise kept to the veterans of SouthCentral Kentucky.

>> For KET, I'm Laura Rogers.

>> The state's other skilled nursing facilities for veterans are in Hanson, hazard, Radcliff and Wilmore.

Commissioner, you were there.

You were in that report.

You had to be very pleased with what you saw there.

And and this is serving a part of the state that needed something like this.

>> Yes, yes.

And it is an excellent example of the Bowling Green community, how they come together to take care of veterans and their families.

>> Yeah.

Well, talking about facilities, let's talk about the facility over in Winchester.

Phyllis, that that you helped found.

Thisis a facility specifically for women who need transitional housing.

Tell us about it.

>> Sure.

We can have at capacity 32 women veterans living there.

We've never had that many.

They seem to come and stay 4 to 6 months and then they're ready to transition, hopefully back into society.

We help them as much as we can, give themsupport when they leave there.

I had a lady from North Carolina was with us last year, and when she came to us, she came with a lot of baggage.

Actually, we picked her upfrom jail when she was released from jail in March of last year no money, no ID and no telephone.

And they were getting ready to puther out on the street with nothing.

And fortunately, one of the jailers knew about us and gave the information to her aunt.

And so they called us and we went and picked her upimmediately.

And she sent me a message the other day and she said, she's doing really great.

Now she's back with her mother.

She is so happy that wewere able to help her get her Social card or birth certificate.

All those documents she had to have so she could even get access to herbank account again.

So she's doing really well.

We're really pleased with that.

>> Incredible.

You yourself, you're not a veteran, but you have a heart for them.

And this is a labor of love for you, isn't it?

>> It is true, yes.

>> So you had some good news this week.

You are also wanting to expand into some cottages for women.

Tell me about that.

And about the good news.

>> Okay.

Well, it's dream of mine for some time.

For having a cottage for women veterans who are domestic violence issues, particularly with small children, can have a safe place tolive.

And we have designed cottages for them.

We can have eight on our property and we have a benefactor who pledged $500,000 this week to build the first two cottages, and then Fred Doster, who did the train ride for veterans that could not go to Washington.

He is also us to honor women veterans on Veterans Day.

So if anybody's interested inthat, he still has, I think, a few seats left.

If anybody wants to attend, be great.

>> Okay.

Check your website for that information.Yes.

Tell us what that is.

>> It's he's doing it's a fundraiser for us, actually, he pledged to doing this for us before we knew about the 500,000.

Actually, he doesn't know out about it when he hears this program this week.

But he is just doing a luncheon, and he's had different peoplein the community, different organizationsthat have done some sponsorship level of 250 to $500.

And I think 1 or 2 has done $1,000.

So each one of thosehelps us now to get our zoning done.

Our our sewage system in our electrical watering, all those things to be prepared ground.

>> Aslady veterans.

Connect.org.

Yes.

Okay.

For more information.

What's also important to keep lawmakers and and the governor informed about the needs and wants of veterans and to make sure the various programs are running smoothly.

That's why there's a governor's advisory board on Veterans Affairs.

I had a chance earlier today to talk to the advisory board chair, Doctor Robin Higgins, a lieutenant colonel whose service included assignments in Afghanistan, Germany, and Korea.

Doctor Robin Higgins joins us from her home in northern Kentucky.

Thank you for being with us.

>> Well, thank you for having me, Iappreciateit.

>> First, we wanted you tojust talk to us about the governor's advisory board on on Veterans Affairs.

What is it?

What's your main mission?

>> Well, the Governor Advisory Board was Chris.

That's 4305.

And what we're responsible for is advising the governor through the Commissioner of Kentucky, Department ofVeterans Affairs, on those issues that veterans on throughout the Commonwealth aremost concerned about.

So we do focus groups, or wetry to do a little bit of focus groups to find out what issues veterans want us to take back to the governorthrough the commissioner.

>> How often with the governor and lawmakers?

>> Well, I'm in touch with the commissioner quite often.

I mean, I can justpick up the phone and call him at any given time.

I don'tspeak directlyto the governor, unfortunately, but I do have some lawmakers, some state representatives and senators that I can just pick up the phone and call them at any time and express whatever concerns veterans bring to me or to the directly.

>> Are there current concerns you'd like to seethe legislaturetakeup in the upcoming session?

>> Well, there's several concerns, butI think there are two that are primary focuses right now.

And one of them is the property tax exemption for service connected disabled veterans.

And I know that that issue is not anythingnew, but my vice Chair, have been working on this legislation or the piece of legislation for, I think, about two and a half, three years now.

We do have a sponsor for it, but I don't know exactly what the House bill is going to be numbered during the upcoming session in January.

I think the numbers change on those.

Every session, sowe'll haveto keep an eye on that and track that and see if we can get momentum on that legislation.

Also, we are interested with the women's veteran Coordinating Committee on forwarding a House bill that was presented, I think, about two years ago or so with Representative Pamela Stephenson.

And that's to have a formal women veterans Appreciation Day.

So we want to keep track of that one as well.

>> Yeah.

I know you have done a lot of work with the women veterans in the past.

Are there some other concerns specifically women veterans?

>> Yes.

Dina Porat, who is the women veterans administrator for Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs.

Unfortunately, she couldn't join today, and she is an absolute subject matter expert on women veterans program here throughout the state.

And I feel very fortunateto be able to sit on that committee.

But there's a few initiatives.

And if you don't mind, I'd like to just, you know, Yes, we have something that Dina implemented.

I think going on two years now, and that's the women Veterans Ambassador program.

So currently we have about 33.

I think it's about 37 ambassadors, women veteran ambassadors across 44 of the 120 counties in the state.

And what we have charged these women with doing is in your counties, the counties that you represent, to go out those women veterans and find out what concerns they have and make sure they know about the benefits and those benefits and things that they have earned throughtheir service.

>> So in the past, you may have hadyou, you had the women had to come to you, but now you're going after them.

>> We're going after them because we have been told there are about 27,000 women veterans in the state.

And in database, we only have about 500.

So we know that wehave a lot of work still to do to find out where the remainders of those women veterans are.

And there's so and it's, it's critical that we contact those women veterans because, you know, that there are strength in numbers.

We want to make sure that all the benefits that they have earned are implemented and that women veterans know that it exists out there for them.

>> I may have interrupted you, as you were talking about some other initiatives.

>> Well, yes, we have, and I'm excited about this.

And like I said, I wish Dina was here to talk about it more in depth.

But some of the initiatives that we have undertaken is we're looking at having we don't have it specified yet, but a roadway or a highway in Frankfort Way, and that would for us increase the public profile of women veterans and let everybody know that women have served and women deserve to be recognized.

Womenveterans deserve to be recognized.

And so we're looking for a roadway.

Hopefully some place in Frankfort that we can put signage.

And we already have a design for the sign that says women Veterans she deserves.

So we've talked to a few representatives about it, and I know that the commissioner has talked to the mayor in Frankfort about it.

And I think we're on the road to approving that.

We just need to find the roadway where the sign is.

The signage is going to bein place.

>> Very good.

And talking about design.

And also folkshave been designing a license tag for women veterans.

What can you tell me aboutthat >> Oh, this is excitingtoo.

And I know that I sound like I'm just really hyped about it and veryexcited to say that we have a design for women veterans license plate.

In the past, women veterans could get, you know, a veteran's license plate, their standard license plate, and then we'd get a little red sticker that you could put onyour license plate that designated you as a woman veteran.

Now we design, and we are ready to go forward withthis women veterans license plate.

So for those folks thatare out there, they can go to Kentucky Department ofVeterans Affairs, go to the Women Veterans Program, and there should be the design of that license plate there for you to take a look at.

We know that we are going to need roughly about 500 women veterans per year to purchase that us to be able to keep it and maintain it.

>> All right.I understand that couldbe available maybe as soon as December.

You've had a 25 yearcareer in themilitary.

What would you say to young women who who may be thinking about a career in the military, both about the the challenges and the benefits?

>> Well, I've actually had over 28.5 years, and I know thatI'm aging myself whenI say that, but when I see young women out there, you are even contemplating or thinking about it, just do it.

But I would say, do your research and do your homework and find out what branch of service do you think is more compatible with you and what military occupational skill set do you think would be compatible with your desires?

I went into the Army Signal Corps through Eastern Kentucky University.

I had no idea what I was getting into because I just kind of fell into the program.

I loved ROTC, and as you can tell, I loved serving.

But I would I would say, do your homework to find out what branch of service you would like to serve in and what your military occupational skills shouldbe.

>> In closing, we are going to celebrate Veterans Day coming week.

If you had one message that could reach the veterans who are listening, as we approach that holiday,what would it be?

>> Oh, first and foremost, I would like tojust say to all veterans, thank you for your service.

And I would also like to thank the family members for their support of their service member, because I can tell you from personal experience that it would not have been to serve if I did not have the support of my family and my friends.

So that is first and foremost, and I would also encourage veterans throughout the Commonwealth to be your own best advocate.

If there is something that you would like to see done throughout the state, that would enrich in your life or make life better for you as a veteran and for your family members, then out to your state representative, your senator, your, your state representatives, your legislators, and let them know what you want done.

As a veteran in this state, you know, I know that previous administrations in this current administration says that they want tomake sure that Kentucky is the most veteran friendly state in the union.

And I would say that I love that idea, but I want slogan.

So every single veteran in this state has a stake in that, and they have skin in the game to make Kentucky the most veteran friendly state in the union.

So be your own best advocate.

>> Well, we echo those words of gratitude, and we thank you for joiningus from Northern Kentucky.

There, doctor Robin Higgins.

>> Thank you.

>> Thank you somuch.

I appreciate >> And Commissioner Allen, you were beaming there as we listen to that interview.

There's a lot to be happy about there.

>> Yes sir.

ChairpersonHiggins, my coordinator his coordinator Dina Porat.

Mick Nicole Hausman, they've been rockstars and they've been advocating for women initiatives and benefits at the national level all the way down.

So paraphrasing, paraphrasing the governor a little bit, Kentucky for women veterans is anymore.

It's a destination.

So I'm outstanding with all of those initiatives that they've come up with.

And everyone will be excited to see what they produce by the time March comes around.

>> Yeah.

Phyllis Abbott, I know youheard a lot in there.

That's pleasing to you too, including this, the work of the ambassadors program.

>> Yes.

I think it's areally a will help women veterans because connection is one of the bigproblems they have.

And this gives them an opportunity to connect in a Nunn not like going to the VFW, American Legion.

Sorry about that.

But it's a place where you have a cup of coffee and you relax and you're just enjoying each other.

We do those once a month in Winchester for all veterans, and it really works.

It helps to alleviate depression, make new friends, and just have a place to.

They knowthey can come and connect.

>> Yeah.

Let's turn now to employment.

And it can be difficult forsome people to go from military life to civilian life and be looking for a job.

Let's bring Molly Bodi in with Kentucky valor.

Whyis it so hard for someveterans to enter theworkforce?

>> I would say the top reason is probably translation.

Knowing how to translate your experiences, your skills, your MOS into a a version or a resume that valued by the civilian employer.

We spend a lot of time helping people get from point A to point Z of how to market themselves tocivilian employers.

I think following that would be the lack of a professional network, someone transitioning from the service, essentiallystarting over from zero in the civilian sector.

So, you know, having leaning on resources and talking faceto face with an employer has so much more value than, you know, having to submit piles of resumes that never may make it to the desk of the right hiring manager.

>> Yeah.

So a lot of people go right from high school into military service.

They didn't go tocollege.

Maybe they don't have a degree that can be an obstacle.

Absolutely.

But what are some of theskills that you like topush learned in the military?

That remarkable.

>> So servicemembers and veterans alike have amazing skills.

They have leadership abilities.

They are disciplined.

They know how toreport to a chain of command.

They work well under pressure.

They know how to take careof people.

And that's just to name a few.

Those are severalsoft skills that translate well into many civilian careers.

I'd also like to add that military families and military spouses lot of these same strengths.

Military spouses in particular, have an incredible gift of being adaptable.

They have to move and start over every few years in the service.

So I think naturally, both of these populations are, you know, really great fit and have really natural skills that should be valued by Kentucky employers.

>> Yeah.

Doctor session.

You can weigh in on that too about some of the skills that you learn in the military that can translate into world here.

>> AbsolutelyI agree.

I mean, for myself and other veterans, I mean, it just so many opportunitiesyou have in the military as far as taking on the leadership of a project, sometimes you are, you know, creating a new venture, providing new equipment and new and new skills or changing a changing from an old practice or a way of doingbusiness to another business for a particular situation in combat and out of combat.

And those skills are compounded as far as helping make a person very valuable when it comes to the civilian employment.

My challenge to civilian employers is do not take advantage of the veteran.

In many cases, there's highway robbery going on when it comes to a pay for a veteran and sometimes There being under under, highly overused and underpaid.

So I mean, the I mean, there's no perfect.

I mean, you know, there, there are some issues sometimes, but most of the time when you have a veteran, I mean, you have somebody they, they are worth much more than even the best resume.

So pay them, pay them in kind.

>> Molly, whatare some of the pathways that you have have been very good for, for veterans to enter?

>> So I always like to say that we are veteran first.

So we take an individualized approach with everybody that we work with.

We really look at what skills you're bringing from the military, what your interests are, and what is a purposeful, meaningful career for your Post-service career.

So we're dealing with humans.

So that could be a variety of different tracks thatyou can go on.

rightnow, as of today, our top industries that we help people enter are operations and project management, HR, talent acquisition, logistics, and IT and cyber security.

>> I like specific stories.You have a specificexample of someone who was placed into.

>> A job.

>> I doso most recently we were working with a NCO, a noncommissioned officer out of Fort Campbell.

She was introduced to applied for upwards of 65 jobs, unsuccessfully.When we met her, we helped her on the project management certification.

We spent a lot of time with the resume, trying to figure out how it could be understood and valued by the civilian employer, and then matched her with a global real estate entity.

When from when we met her to her job offer was a total of Now she's doing really well with that entity.

She's actually climbed the ranks and is a hiring manager and looking to add more veterans and service members to her team specifically.

>> Okay, how dopeople find Kentucky valor?

>> You can go to KY valor.com and register.

And it's also on ksdk.com.

>> All right.

I know you doctor session, Phyllis.

All of you work with people building resumes, So this is all part of your mission, isn't it?

Making sure people get to these resources.

>> Absolutely.

And speaking of the commissioner's rock star, we have Amanda who lay she is absolutely incredible.

She leads our Monthly Virtual Job fair in this, this, this virtual job platform.

She's also expanded it as a job board.

So this is available for veteran and Non-veterans and employers is no cost.

But this is a super benefit to provide different job openings, different skill sets.

Major companies, smaller companies that that's another benefit for helping veterans, those who are transitioning from the military or those who arelooking for another opportunity to work.

It's a great opportunity.

And I also love the, the, in the in the state of Kentucky, there preference for veterans.

If they fill out their paperwork correctly, you know, five veterans can be guaranteed an interview.

I mean, you do need to interview.Well, and the resumes need needs to work, but Kentucky provides that opportunityfor veterans as well.

>> Yes.And Phyllis Abbott, you're helping people transition from homelessness into a stable life.

And finding employment is a big part of that.

>> True?

Andthe other thing we deal with a lot isa lot of women veterans, when they're active military, have experienced military sexual trauma, and it's finding a healing place from that so they can have sustainable relationships after they leave the military.

And that is one of the biggest challenge I think womenveterans face as a whole.

>> There are so manybenefits outthere and people about a lot of them.

They don't know to ask about them or commissioner.

They think they don't deserve them a lot of times, right?

>> Yes, yes, yes.

It goes back to that stigma for for help as well as and I've met veterans.

I don't need it.

He needs it.

I wait, so I think the biggest problem veterans face in understandingthe benefits, they just don't know or where to go.

For example, if they want to know about their records, they maygo to Robby rex information or even coming to us, which we.

Our job is to refer them to the right individuals, which would be.

The veteran Benefits Administration.So information is probably the biggest challenge, and there's plenty of benefits available for veterans here in Kentucky.

As Doctor Sessions says, when you apply for state government, you're.

If you meet certain standards, you're guaranteed an interview guaranteed a job, butyou're guaranteed an interview.

His benefits division works on claims for free.

You can get it.

Get youup to100%.

Some of the greatstories he.

His team has.

And if you bear with me, I can do it in 45 seconds.

We had a female veteran, Imean widow.

Okay, widow of a veteran comes in about to lose their property, went to a homeless veterans program.

Unfortunately, we couldn't help wasn't qualified for it.

However, our Homeless veterans program referred to Silas's team.

They looked at a record under the new Pack Actlaw that opens the door for Vietnam veterans to have more opportunities to get their benefits ended up getting the claim.

The team went ahead and researched somemore and connected to her, taking care of her disabled adult son and back, back there that to SSI.

She ended up getting $354,000 in back pay.

Wow.

And a widow's pension.

Now withall that money, she might not be a widow right now, but the fact that she was ableto get her husband benefits and it didn't cost him nothing.

All free.

And that's just passing from one individual in our agency as well as at the federal level.

And among the VA.

And in the combination of partners and Kentucky super.

>> I back in here.

A personal story.

My father was in Korea and had severe hearing loss because of being around a lot of explosions.

He didn't know that there was compensation available forfor a longtime until another veteran told him about it.

He also learned about a device he could put onhis phone that would spell out the text, because he couldn't hear.

And there's so many people that don't go to these organizations looking for help.

They hear about it from right?

>> Oh yeah.

Word of mouth travels far.

That's what we try to do, at least in our organization.

All the other vsos is we try to get the veteran in the right area to go for what they need, whether it's listening devices from the VA, the new metal glasses that arecoming out for those who have vision problems, they're literally all they have to do.

So they're looking in their closet and say, find my blue shirt.

shirts over and you know, it'll tell you, you got your hand on everything.So.

And as far as like records, research and stuff, you know, like where I work, I used to work for one of the congressmen.

That's one thingwe also do is send them out to their local congressman and say, or senators and say, you know, we'reneeding help getting ourrecords.

We're needinghelp changing our discharge, whether it's from general to honorable.

They'll do a getthem to where they need to be.

So we try to, if anything, be, you know, kind of like a seven degreesof Kevin Bacon.

I'm trying to point them in the right direction on where to go for whatever benefit they need.

>> So people worry about the paperwork andthe red tape.

You can help with thattoo.

>> Oh, definitely.

I mean, that's we've went through it enough ourselves.

We kind of know the pitfalls of it.

So we try to keep them from into the same pitfalls that we fell into.

It's the least we can do for our brothers and sisters.

>> Yeah.

And Commissioner, I assume you're trying all the times to to cut back on that red tape and make things easier.

>> Yes.

We try to find ways to get veterans to.

Yes, either one on one services or even inviting all of the major veteran service organization leaders at the state conference every year.

So they all can network so they can point each individual to somebody else.

And the federal VA is using all type of new technology, AI, to speed up processing for claims, making it easily and accessible to access records and all all of us working together to make it happen.

>> Yeah.

Well, another thing we want to do here is we're nearingthe end ofthe show, is talk about ways that that everyday people canthank veterans to show their appreciation and that do that all the time.

But as Veterans Day approaches, it's certainly top of mind.

And one of the ways to honor veterans is to ask them about their stories and then truly listen.

Sometimes the bestthank you is genuineattention and respect.

One veteran who has quite a storyto tell is Frank Blankenship of Waco, Kentucky.

He recently turned 101 years old and is one of only about a dozen known living survivors of the Pearl Harbor years ago.

He talked to our Mackenzie Spink about his memories of that historic day.

>> Frank Blankenship was born in Letcher County when he enlisted in the Army and left home for Hawaii.

It was the first timehe had ever left the state.

>> I was really 15 when I enlisted.

I turned 16 in the military, and it was it was quite.

An adventure for a mountain boy.

>> Blankenship was only there seven months when the war came to Hawaii.

>> I got on the boxing team in Hawaii.

I had one fight before the.

War hit.

And after that it was.

A soldier all the time.

>> As an Army soldier, Blankenship was stationed on land.

On December 7th, 1941.

He says.

At first his fellow soldiers thought the attack part of a practice maneuver.

>> Wedidn't even know they were Japanese fighter planes attacking the island.

We had been on maneuvers up until that weekend, and everybody thought it was the end of the activity.

That was we were going on.

And when it turned out that they were the Japanese.

We were caught with their pants down.

We didn't even have guns.

We had theirguns locked up.

We locked up the guns and the ammunition.

We never kept it in the barracks with us.

We kept the guns there, but ammunition was stored somewhere else.

We were caught with their pants down.

Really.

>> After the Pearl Harbor attack, Blankenship's duty was to protect the island's only form of communication with the mainland.

U.S.

>> My position was KU radio station in Hawaii.

We had to protect the radio station because it was the main communication to the States.

I protected it for about three weeks.

>> For the rest of the war.

Blankenshipwas in a tank battalion wherehe rose tothe technician.

Fourth grade rank.

>> A kid driving a tank was a big thing.

Other soldiers kind of looked up to you.

Me, I was a big shot I'll have to say, I loved being in a tanker.

I stayed.

Four years, a little over four years.

In Hawaii and in the Pacific.

And on those islands, the islands I fought on was Small.

>> While he was still stationed at Pearl Harbor, Blankenship wasa guard for the first Japanese prisoner of war taken in World War Two.

>> One of my duties guarding this Japanese Admiral.

They calledhim Admiral, but he was really just a commander of a. Two man submarine.

And he ran aground on the north shore of Hawaii.

He wrote a letter to all of us GIS.

>> Blankenship held on to the letter throughout his combatin the Pacific and kept itsafe until 2021, when his son, Mark, and his family delivered the letter to National Memorial in Honolulu for KET.

I'm Mackenzie Spink.

>> Frank Blankenship returned home after World War Two, but later re-enlisted in the Air Force, where he served for 18 years.

He turned 101 on October 16th, and it's hard to believe he's the 101.

You'll neverget a better history lesson than talking to someone like that and hearing their story.

And you want to do that before those stories disappear, let's offer up some other ways that people can comes from a site called Mission Roll Call ten ideas.

Andthen I'd like you all to kind of comment on which ones strike a chord with you personal thank you notes.Of course, that's that'san easy one.

Itshould be an easy one.

And it means a lot to someone to get a personal note.

Support veteran owned businesses, shop, dine, and go to thoseveteran owned companies.

You can volunteer with a veterans organization, attend a veterans event, and we'll have some of those coming up here November 11th.

Offer your skills or services if you're a professional in in finance or legal aid, health care, maybe home repair, anything like that, offer to help.

Spend time listening.

Wetalked about that.

Invite a veteran to coffee or lunch andask them about their stories.

Fly the flag.

There's no one more patriotic than a veteran, and it means a lot to them to see the flag flown in a respectful manner, doesn't it?

Invite a stories, not just with you, but at events, at your school or your church, or some kind of community event.

And, you know, a lot of veterans don't like to talk about the past, but there are others that are just really wanting to tell it.

If someone is willing to listen andthen include them in your everyday activities, you know, if you're just going to take a trip to drive to the library or the post office, ask them to come along or, or to come to some of your community events.

And seems like a simple thing, but just say thank you for your service.

You know, we see veterans with their caps and you can tell what branch they've been in, and it means a lot if you just take a minute, doesn't it?

Doesn't a commander to, to just say thank you.

Yeah, that's ten things.

Anything we could we could do 20 or 30.

Anything you all would like to add about ways to say thanks.

>> Now that's the that covers it.

To be honest with you, your civicduty.

I mean, that's why we fight.

Thank everyone voted, regardlessof who you voted for the other night.

That's why we serve tomake sure that wecan vote, select any leader that we want, and live a pretty much free life of service in this nation.

>> Yeah, Molly,we talk about supporting veteran owned businesses,and that's one of your goals is to make sure there are more veteran owned businesses.

>> Absolutely.

You know, whether business and just going in and supporting them and what they are offering or hiring more veterans, both support the community as a whole.

>> Yeah.

Doctor sessions, that's the dream of a lot of people you work with, isn't it?

>> Absolutely.

>> Moreself-sufficient.

>> Absolutely.

And along with on the employment side, organizations can they can have veterans resource group that that can be a their organization.

And along with thanking veterans for their services, it never gets it's never lost to thank or welcome a Vietnam veteran home.

Those of us who, you know, return for deployments, we have no idea the humiliation they went through whenthey came home.

So that's that's a good thing when it comes to the Vietnam veterans.

But I love your comment regarding religious organizations others truly just allowing veterans to tell their stories at events and having programing specifically tohonor veterans, especially at the, the high school.

Have beento my, my grandson's elementary school in Woodland Elementary in Hardin County.

And we enjoy going to events like that.

>> Yeah.

And have we kind of turned the tide on thatfeeling that people had about Vietnam vets?

People now respectand appreciation when they may not havefelt that back when they returned.

>> Absolutely.

You know what happens for a veteran when they return now is, it proper?

It's outstanding.

But for many different reasons.

The Vietnam veterans did not receive that type of that type of reception and care.

And some of them are scarred due to that.

>> Wright Phillip, we talked about a way to to volunteer.

What are some volunteer opportunities you can think of there at your organization?

>> Wehave all kinds.

Whatever your talent is, wecan use you.

>> Maybe if you're a carpenter, you can help build a handicapped ramp, maybe somethinglike that.

Exactly.

Help people with gardening.

And we talkedabout all those kind of things.

>> And just come and spending some time with the woman veteran and making her feel that she's valued helps.

And talking about the license plate, one of the things I hear women veterans, because they don't wear their caps or jacketsto identify if they're a veteran, is they go like to Lowe's or Home Depot, and they pull intothe veteran parking space and somebody will make, well, you're not the veteran.

Your husband's a veteran.

That really upsets women veterans.

So the license plates hopefully is going to really help that.

>> Yeah.

One thing I noticed when I was putting this panel together is that you all know each other already.So any one of these places can be a starting point for someone looking for resources.

They could contact any of you and you can help them get in contact with the people who can provide the help that they need.

Let's show that those that the crisis line one more time, because that's so important.

Nine, eight, eight and also your way to find a lot of these resources, veterans.ky.gov.

Final thought, Commissioner, as we >> 30s sir, thank you for having us here today to talk about what veterans services are out there and supporting our veterans.

And again, put out a challenge.

My veteran brothers and sisters, to reach out to a buddy.

>> All right.

We thank all of youfor being here.

Those of you who served, we thank you for your service.

We hope you're watching.

Have learned a lot about the resources available.

Thanks for being with us.

Have a good a nice Veterans Day.