Still Bonuses Available for Ohio Veterans of Afghanistan

While the deadline has passed for Ohio veterans to apply for a bonus for service in Iraq, veterans of the conflict of Afghanistan are still eligible to apply for a bonus. The president has only declared an end to hostilities in that country recently, and a deadline for veterans in that country has not yet been announced. So check the website, or call 1-877-644-6838.

If you have filed for a bonus as a veteran of Iraq, you need all your documentation ready and submitted by June 30

Legit Flexible Work Opportunities, for At Home Work, and Opportunities for Veterans

Everybody seems to look for legitimate work at home opportunities. Flexjobs created a list of the top 100 top flex time and at home employers. Of these is Xerox, which now has a program of at home work for veterans and the spouses of service members. The Heroes @Home program aims to provide home employment for veterans and military spouses.

In the meantime, look out for the scams. Here are some clues.

Free Veteran's Day Meals, 2014 and Free Cat Microchipping in Detroit

Two items: a big list of free and discounted meals for veterans in honor of Veteran's Day 2014 can be found at the Military Wallet. Be sure to read the part about proof of eligibility. The site also has excellent stuff about military benefits and other financial info for veterans.

And the Michigan Humane Society is offering free microchipping for 2000 cats on a first come first serve basis. Microchipping helps positively identify lost pets. For a list of more financial help for pet owners, see these Freemoneyatemybrain entries.

If you live in the Cincinnati area, check out the Pet Alliance of Ohio's Microchip Ohio program, which is starting a pilot program of low cost microchipping in Ohio.

Help for Veterans Looking. to Own a Home

Besides home ownership programs available from state agencies, some private nonprofits are working to provide home ownership opportunities for veterans. Among them is Operation Homefront, which has a program called Homes on the Homefront.  Honorably discharged veterans who are not current homeowners, and who have no felony convictions, may be eligible for a donated home.  For more information, call 210-659-7756.

For wounded veterans, or the Gold Star spouse, Military Warriors have a program, Homes 4Wounded Heroes, which matches donated homes to wounded veterans who need a home and do not currently carry a mortgage.  Besides matching them with donated, mortgage-free homes, they also provide up to 3 years of financial counseling.

Purple Heart Homes Service connects disabled veterans to donated homes, or, in the event that a disabled veteran is living in a home that needs to be modified for the veteran's disability, helps provide those modifications. For new home owners, the veteran assumes 50% of the home's mortgage.

Homestrong USA has many housing programs, but one in particular for veterans, the Homestrong for Heroes.  This is not a gift of a donated home, but counseling and downpayment or closing cost assistance and financial counseling.  For more information, call 877-647-8764.



 

Time Running Out for Ohio Veterans of Iraq. File for Bonus by the End of 2014

The Ohio veteran's bonus is continuing, with a deadline for applying for those veterans who served more than 90 days in Iraq from March 2003 through the end of 2011 coming up. Those veterans, and their survivors, have until December 31, 2014 to file for their bonus.  You can apply online, but if you mail your entry, it must be postmarked by December 31st.

For veterans of Afghanistan there is currently no deadline, and will not a deadline until U.S. involvement is over.

For more information, see the websites or call. 1--877-644-6838.



 

Free Fishing Without a License

Sadly, I just missed it for Ohio, but did you know that many states have at least one day a year when the need for a license is suspended, and you can fish in public waters for free?  An organization called the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation has a full list of free fishing days in various states for the current year. Often, it coincides with National Fishing and Boating Week in early June, but not only.

For veterans, many states offer free or discounted hunting and fishing licenses.  To find out if your state is one, check this state benefit page at military.com and look at the "recreational" benefits. 

All in One Spot for Finding and Applying for Veteran's Benefits

There's a federal website that allows veterans to see state, federal and private resources available to help veterans.  It's the National Resource Directory, which can be searched in general by putting in a keyword and your state, city, or zip code.  Or you can explore some broad subject headings, like housing, education and training, transportation, homeless assistance, and family and caregiver support. 

This information is migrating to ebenefits, a VA portal that will allow not only searching, but online searching for one's records, creating documents, filing for benefits, and checking your status for compensation and benefits. These services are for registered users. There's also a jobs section for resume building, skill assesments, and other individualized help for registered users.

If you just want to browse in the portal website, there's still a part of the site that allows browsing for information without registration (of course, your own information is not available without registration).  It has state as well as federal information, and it has benefit information that is open to the general public, but that can be accessed by vets, like home and business loan sources and help for foreclosure.  Like the other sections, non-registered browsers can use the jobs section to search for jobs in either the federal government or private sector.

Latest on the Ohio Veterans Bonus Deadline

As stated previously, a big deadline is coming up for Ohio veterans of the Persian Gulf War, who served between  August 2, 1990 and March 3, 1991.  The deadline for getting your Ohio bonus is indeed December 31, 2013.  However, less know is that the bonus deadline for other Ohio veterans is different.  According to this fact sheet, the deadline for veterans that served in Iraq between March 19, 2003 and December 31, 2011, is not until December 31, 2014--a full year later.  And if a veteran has served in Afghan since October 7, 2011, they can file for their Ohio veteran's bonus until 3 years after the President declares and end to U.S. involvement in Afghanistan.  That deadline has yet to be determined as of this writing, of course.  While the size of bonus is determined by length of service, the maximum a veteran can get is $1,000 for in-country service in either Iraq or Afghanistan. 

For more information on eligibility requirements, see this page.  To talk to someone about the details, contact the Veterans Bonus Program at 1-877-OHIO VET (1-877-644-6838), or call your county veteran's office.

Veteran's Educational Benefits on the State Level

In other posts, we note that aid to veterans is not only given out at the federal level.  In Ohio, emergency help is also given out at the county level.  Likewise, many states have state veteran bureaus and aid of their own.  And there may be other forms of help, like help in paying for higher education.

The American Legion website has done a roundup of state-level educational assistance for veterans.  It outlines which state agency provides the assistance, and what qualifications you have to meet to get it.  I did notice one thing--while poking around for other stuff, of course--is that there is a program I had not heard of for Ohio veterans.  That's the Troops to Teachers program to transition interested veterans into careers in teaching by offering stipends to help defray the cost of getting teacher certification. If you are a veteran with an interest in teaching, you may want to check it out. 

Roundup of Veteran's Day Meal Discounts, Courtesy of the Military Wallet

Happy Veteran's Day, 2013.  Here's a list of meal discounts on Veteran's Day 2013, courtesy of the Military Wallet website.

Unemployment Compensation for Veterans

As a general rule, you can't get unemployment compensation if you have had a voluntary separation from your employer.  But there's an exception for military personnel.  Even if you have a voluntary separation from the military, you may be eligible for unemployment comp from the state in which you reside under certain circumstances.

For one, you have to have been received an honorable discharge, and had served at least 90 days.  You can receive benefits if you left before the end of you hitch if there were certain circumstances that required a discharge, like medical need or pregnancy or hardship.  And, of course, you have to meet the other requirements for unemployment compensation in that state, such as being fully or partially unemployed, looking and being available for work, and checking in periodically.  You apply at your state's employment office.  For more information, see this entry from stateside legal.

Ohio Persian Gulf Veterans Need to Apply for Their Bonus by December 31st

Ohio voters created a bonus program for Ohio Persian Gulf veterans in 2009, but eligible veterans and service members who do not apply by December 31, 2013, will miss out on money they deserve.  Veterans who served in war zones may get a bonus of $100 per month, up to a maximum of  $1000.  Those in non-combat locations may get up to $50 a month to a maximum of $500.  Family members of veterans killed in action, or from injuries or illnesses that happened in service, may be eligible for a bonus, too.  The bonuses are not subject to state or federal taxes, either.  Bonuses take up to eight weeks from application to receipt.

So how to apply?  Call 1-877-OHIOVET to ask for a paper application, or see this website for links to an online application,  You have to print it out, however, and send supporting documents that prove you're eligible.  Here are the full eligibility requirements.  Please check it out before time runs out!

How to Get a Military Honors Funeral

We have written about getting assistance for the expense of a funeral, and veterans burial allowances.  However, veterans who were other than dishonorably discharged and were killed in combat or served their full tour of duty are eligible for military honors at their funeral.  The basic elements of this are the playing of taps, the flag folding ceremony, and the flag presentation.  These are provided free of charge at the funeral of an eligible veteran. Afterwards, the flag is given to the veteran's next of kin.  If there are no next of kin, a friend may apply to receive the flag. 

Other elements--the caisson, rifle detail, pall bearers, color guard--are available if there are resources. To arrange for military honors at the funeral of a veteran, notify the funeral director.  There must be 48 hours notice for a military honors funeral.

Headstones for the unmarked graves of military veterans are also available as a benefit.   A marker or medallion (to fix on the headstone of a privately purchased headstone) may also be available for those who have died after 1990.  To find out about cemetery headstones, markers or medallions, call 1-800-697-6947, Monday through Friday, 8-5, Eastern Time.

Free Flights for Veterans to War Memorials

We build impressive memorials to the sacrifices of veterans, but those memorials are far away from many veterans, and visiting them is out of their financial reach.  The Honor Flight Network tries to fix this situation.  They offer the opportunity for free flights or bus trips to Washington, D.C. to men and women who served overseas or stateside during the wars to visit the World War II, Korean, and Vietnam War memorials. 

For right now, the priority in scheduling these trips from their network of regional hubs goes to veterans of World War II, and those with terminal illnesses.  Unfortunately, spouses or widows cannot attend due to funding constraints, but guardians (volunteers) go along to help veterans who are disabled.  See this page for a local application.  Here's a page with more frequently asked questions.

More Sources of Emergency Financial Help for Military and Veterans

We've had a posting about emergency assistance for veterans (mostly from state and county sources) before, but have since unearthed some private, nonprofit sources, too.

The Armed Forces Foundation provides emergency funding and bereavement funding for active military and veterans' families. with things like rent, car payments, child care and other basic needs.   If you need to contact them asap, there's a toll-free number for the American Red Cross Emergency Armed Forces Foundation: 877-272-7337.  They also have a page full of other links to organizations that help members of the military and veterans. 

For active duty and veteran members of the Navy and Marines, the the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society helps them and their eligible family members.  This includes indigent mothers and widows of deceased service members (if they have limited resources) over 65, and the ex-spouses of navy and marine members, who were married to them at least 20 years while they were in active service.

The Air Force Aid Society offers emergency assistance to active and retired members of the Air Force and their families, as well as  eligible members of the Air Force National Guard and the Air Force Reserve.  See their website for more information.

Homestead Property Tax Exemptions--in Ohio, and Other Places

"Homestead" exemptions are exemptions on the value of a home to shield the homeowner fromtaxation, or to shield the home from creditors in case of bankruptcy.

In Ohio, the homestead exemption on property taxes are available to everybody over 65, or totally disabled, or the surviving spouse of a qualified homeowner who was at least 59 at the date of their spouse's death.  It shields $25,000 of the market value of the home from property taxes. At one time, there was an upper income limit for eligibility, but that was repealed several years ago.  And while this is a statewide law, you have to apply for the homestead exemption at your county auditor's office.

In Florida, there is a homestead exemption of up to $50,000 for which Floridians may be eligible if it's your permanent residence.  There are also exemptions for the disabled, blind, widows and widowers, and disabled veterans--all the links are on this page.

In Texas, those over 65, disabled, or a partially or totally disabled veteran may also qualify for an exemption on their principle residence.  More detailed information on Texas property tax exemptions here.

Getting Four Years of College, But Paying a Lot Less

In snooping around for a cheaper college education, sometimes stuff is hiding in plain sight.  There's a real problem with debt run up to get a four-year degree, and the impact it leaves on the debtor's lives.  While I've written about student loans and possible remedies for them, another path is to not dig that debt hole. 

The Ohio Board of Regents website devotes a whole page to low-cost pathways to getting a four year degree in Ohio through community college/university partnerships, in which universities accept all the credits gained through less expensive community colleges.  And if you are a veteran, many colleges now accept military experience as university credit.  On this page, you can find out what military experience transfers directly to college credit for participating universities around the country, and what previous college classes will be credited with at participating colleges. In fact, there's a page that Ohio has a page dedicated to high school students which can tell you what your advanced placement test exams translate into (credit and class-wise) among the public colleges and universities in the state system.  There's also a page to convert high school career/technical courses to credit, and college-to-college credit (within the state of Ohio).  There's lots of ways to get a four year degree without four years of major college debt.

Check out your own state's department of higher education for more information on your own state.  Contact the school you want to attend to see what classes you can "test out of" with advanced placement testing.  If you are a veteran, check your university for the office of veteran's support and resources.  While all universities are different in what they accept and credit, the American Council on Education has recommendations for military experience credit, and it might give you ideas of what to expect.

Faster Processing for Social Security Disability for Wounded Warriors

Did you know that soldiers who have service-related disabilities received after October 1, 2001 can get speeded-up processing of their Social Security disability claims?  Of course, "speeded-up" is a relative term when you're talking about Social Security, but every bit helps.  This question and answer page deals with Social Security disability claims and how they relate to wounded veterans.  It tells you exactly what information you need to provide to get the "expedited" processing of your forms.  It also tells you under what circumstances a disabled veteran is eligible for Social Security disability and Medicare, how Social Security relates to Tricare (the health insurance program for uniformed troops and retirees which can be a supplemental program for disabled veterans who receive Medicare), and work eligibility while receiving disability benefits.  It also has information on benefits for the dependents of the disabled.  For more information on filing for disability, check out this disability starter kit.

More Housing Assistance for Veterans

This weekend, I learned of two more programs to help veterans get housing.  One is in northwest Ohio, and involves the joint efforts of Jaftak Realty and Toledo Area Ministries.  Jaftak has donated mobile homes for veterans who are financially unable to buy their own housing.  The requirements are: veteran status, clean criminal record, at least 18 years of age, with a monthly income of at least $1,000 a month.  They are down to the last 10 homes or so, and are looking for veterans to which they can donate the homes.  Call toll-free 877-850-2143 for more information.

I've also learned about the charity Homes for Our Troops, whose mission is to provide free adaptive housing to the most seriously wounded of the troops that have received their wounds in wartime after 9/11/01.  We've already written about the adaptive housing grants available to disabled veterans.  If you can qualify for that, Homes for Our Troops will pay the rest of the cost, so that honorably discharged veterans can get the home free.  See this site to see if you are qualified. If so, you can fill out an online application.  If you need more help or information, call or email Laura Butler at  vetinfo@homesforourtroops.org or 508-823-3300. 

For Veterans in Who Need Free Help Managing Their Affairs--A Representative Payee Service

In all the talk about respect for the services that veterans have given their country, many still struggle with the afteraffects of war.  Some, due to injury, mental illness or substance abuse, are not able to manage their own money and live on their benefits.  Some don't have family to help them manage their affairs.

In Toledo, the Toledo Community Foundation has funded a program to match veterans in need of help in managing their money with a representative-payee. This can be for veterans with severe mental or behavioral problems, or those who need help transitioning to civilian life.  St. Paul's Community Center already provides this service to other clients who need help with their Social Security benefits, and now provides it for veterans.  For more information, call 419-601-5658.

What if you receive veteran's benefits, or Social Security, and need a service like this?  You can see if your area has a 211 online directory for human services, and search for "representative payee services."  You can also check the nearest regional VA office to see if there are representative-payee services available for veterans, or call the nearest social services office to see if this is offered.