BEREA, Ohio — When Jon Reiss of Berea left military service, he knew he wanted to help fellow veterans. The former Army Signal Corps officer is now executive director of the Cuyahoga County Veterans Service Commission, which offers a wide range of programs for men and women who have served in all branches of the military.
“Many vets don’t know about us,” Reiss admits, “but we’re here to help. If we can’t do it, we’ll get them in touch with someone who can.”
Veterans Service Commissions were started in each Ohio county more than 100 years ago. The Cuyahoga County office is funded by a 0.025-mill levy that raises about $6.4 million a year. That money is used to provide veterans with everything from help with mortgage payments to help with Veterans Administration claims.
It is governed by a board of representatives from several veterans organizations, including the American Legion, VFW, AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans and Vietnam Veterans of America.
Reiss said much of the commission’s work involves social work.”Temporary financial assistance is just that temporary,” Reiss said. “It won’t get you where you need to be. We provide long-term assistance. We do what needs to be done to help vets help themselves.”
Some of that help is getting vets in touch with the right VA office or an employment agency. Many unemployed vets are referred to a new state agency, Ohio Needs Jobs.
He said the commission works with the court system, county and municipal, to help vets who need counseling and rehab rather than jail time. Social workers also meet with nursing home clients to see what veterans benefits might apply. And despite the nation-wide issue of poor care at VA hospitals, Reiss said the Wade Park VA medical center is one of the best in the nation. “If you’re a vet, there is no better place to be than Cleveland,” he said.
Reiss, who has been on the job since October 2013, said “nothing is off limits. We try to find help in ways we haven’t even used yet.”
In the future, that will mean locating satellite offices in the suburbs to enable easy access. Right now the commission headquarters is at 1849 Prospect Ave. in downtown Cleveland. Reiss’ staff does make visits to the Wade Park VA Hospital, but he says he’s looking into meeting vets in local libraries, for example, and setting up a mobile office.
“We want to get into the community,” he said. A mentoring program is also in the planning stages. “We want to identify those vets that are not adapting well to civilian life and link them up with vets who are,” Reiss said.
Reiss is no stranger to dealing with fellow veterans. He served in Kuwait and Iraq and was previously the intake and admissions coordinator for the Wade Park Veterans Domiciliary, which provides housing for homeless vets. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Toledo and a master’s from Cleveland State.
The Cuyahoga County Veterans Service Commission can be contacted at (877) 835-1209 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday Friday. E-mail vscmail@cuyahogacounty.us or visit VSC.cuyahogacounty.us on the Web. On Facebook, visit Facebook.com/ccvsc.
