News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Many folks in Sisters proudly display yellow ribbons and magnetic car stickers reminding us to "Support Our Troops." Yet, once they have returned home from their service overseas, it becomes all too easy for all of us to take the ribbons down, the stickers off and go about life as usual.
Central Oregon Veterans Outreach (COVO) is on a mission to change all that.
The non-profit organization is the only one of its kind in Oregon. Founded and operated by veterans, many of them with combat experience, COVO understands the unique needs, requirements and challenges of those who have served their country under the most trying of circumstances.
With "A Hand Up - Veterans Helping Veterans" as their creed, COVO is active in providing a broad range of assistance to its clients and the Central Oregon veteran community-at-large.
While many combat veterans return home and appear to reintegrate into society unaffected by their experiences, COVO's staff understands many men and women at some point discover they need help. Whether it's navigating an overly complicated and overburdened VA system in pursuit of education, health care or vocational rehabilitation benefits or seeking professional help with post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD), COVO is the veteran's administrative comrade-in-arms once they have come home and shed their uniforms.
COVO co-founder and current director-at-large Robert Bryce gives one example of how the organization is working on behalf of veterans. On January 25, COVO will be providing manpower and logistical support in concert with an extensive effort to locate and accurately count the county's homeless population - including the percentage of local homeless veterans.
"We're mustering people to go out into the (rural) camps," said Bryce, who added that such remote locations are not often known about, much less visited.
Jim Gunn, a member of both COVO and the local Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) chapter, is a primary organizer of the upcoming count.
"We'll be delivering food, emergency blankets, sleeping bags and that sort of thing," he said. "Any volunteers would be appreciated."
Gunn wants to hear especially from "anyone with knowledge of the camps," whether these are in Sisters, Bend, La Pine or Redmond-Terrebonne.
For those interested in volunteering, Gunn may be reached at 504-9531.
Spearheading COVO's individual casework is Stuart Steinberg, Chief of Operations for the organization.
He helps veterans navigate the shoals of the Veterans Administration bureaucracy.
"The (VA) bureaucracy is not particularly forgiving," said Bryce.
Many veterans are at first frustrated then overwhelmed by the demands of "the system."
With Steinberg at the helm, COVO enjoys a high rate of success in reversing veterans' cases originally denied or correcting oversights often caused by improperly prepared paperwork or inaccurate historical documentation. COVO is currently handling roughly 70 cases with veterans seeking services who fought in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and most recently Afghanistan and Iraq.
Bryce says the new generation of combat veterans is starting to show up in COVO's work.
"We're encountering them," Bryce said. "They're already fighting their demons. These young guys, we want to capture them before they're living out in the bush."
One means of "capturing" the most challenged segment of the veteran population is COVO's "Home of the Brave."
The transitional residential housing facility located in Bend is designed to provide safe and secure housing, as well as other benefits and opportunities, to veterans who have fallen through the cracks.
Five veterans presently reside at "Home of the Brave."
According to Bryce, before being identified, located, qualified through an extensive screening process and then given a hand up by COVO, the veterans "were all homeless...living in camps or out of their cars or in low-end motels with no fixed address."
COVO is seeking to expand its transitional housing program to include a 32-bed, stable housing facility. The organization is also a strong supporter and advocate of a proposed "one-stop" veterans health care unit in Central Oregon, a proposal spearheaded by Bend resident and ardent veterans advocate Lieutenant Colonel Dick Tobiason (Retired).
Currently run by an all-volunteer staff and board of directors and president pro tem, the organization is conducting a search for a full-time, paid executive director.
COVO is committed to expanding its service officer base (for example, Steinberg is a certified Vietnam Vetrans of America (VVA) service officer).
The organization has recently moved into a larger and more easily accessible office area.
Robert Bryce stepped aside as COVO's president on January 1 in order to focus on the organization's future administrative needs.
Greg Walker, a recently retired Special Forces veteran of both the war in El Salvador and Iraq, is presently serving as the organization's president pro tem.
Anne Philiben serves as COVO's vice president.
COVO is a non-profit organization funded by private donations and grants.
For more information visit http://www.covo-usa.org, call 383-2793 or visit their offices at 354 N.E. Greenwood Ave. Suite 113, in Bend.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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