Weekly Report 🎖️
TVLC | POW/MIA Bracelet Documentary | VFW Day of Service
Greetings, Team!
Yesterday’s Legal Clinic at Lk Ella was swamped: 20 Veterans and several family members! 20 of us volunteers (including 7 attorneys) hosted, listened, did intakes, consulted, made referrals and initiated responses to the usual VARIETY of legal issues. Social workers and Veteran support groups also offered services. (we need more attorneys volunteering at the clinic, since referrals to other offices are not easy and delay Veterans’ getting answers and the expertise they need). Shout out to Property Appraiser’s Office staff and Wellcare tabling along with Big Bend 211.
More Vets called in again this week or responded online from around the state, and we instructed them to come to Thursday Clinics or, if outside Leon or the State, to look for local Veteran services. Thanks to Susie C. and Omar Guzman-Toro for helping respond to this week’s phone and website calls for help/info (Veterans in prison, NW Fl, etc.). And thanks to Khalid Shafi, Kathy Glasson, Valerie Colson, and Margaret Deciano for the volunteer administrative work at the computer/files table with Susie throughout our Clinic sessions. And thanks to Nancy Daniels and Wayne Sprague for going the extra mile to file an expungement for a Taylor County Veteran.
Despite earlier promises, disappointing talk out of Washington, where Congressional budget work revived the talk about cutting VA programs, which were already placed on an immediate hiring freeze this week. (Not to mention Medicare, Medicaid, SS). Our Tallahassee VA Clinic lost 2 new medical people who were supposed to start working because of the “freeze” and others in line for hiring were told their applications are no longer being considered.
Please let us know about part-time job opportunities for Veterans on subsistence, as well as any emergency housing, shared rentals, etc.
Veterans Treatment Court Monday was the first session for new County Judge LaShawn Riggins. Several Veterans made progress, while only one went to jail; Several mentors came to stand beside some of the Veteran/defendants, but we still need more Veteran Mentors to give one on one contact with the Vets trying to recover from substances or other treatment needs.
What else?
Thank you,
Dan Hendrickson, for the Tallahassee Veterans Legal Collaborative
Good afternoon,
My name is Audrey Shaw and I am a DSU Digital Media Production student at Florida State University. I am currently enrolled in a documentary production class and am interested in doing a documentary on the history of the POW-MIA bracelet, the creation of the POW-MIA Vietnam Veterans Bracelet Memorial in Tallahassee and the impact the memorial has had on the community.
I'm really interested in the memorial, as I drive by it often, and want to share its history and purpose with the community. In doing research, I have found the VVA CHAPTER #096 was heavily involved in the creation, legislature and funding of the project. I was hoping to get more information on the chapter's involvement as well as interview one to three veterans for the film.
If you have anyone in mind I would love to connect with them. For background on myself, U.S. military history and awareness is a passion of mine. While majoring in DMP, I have a minor in history. I also have had the honor of working for the U.S. Army as a Public Affairs Specialist. Linked below are some of my previous works. While these are smaller projects than what this documentary would be, I just wanted to give you a sample of what I can do. While I am passionate about this project, its execution is dependent on it getting picked up within my class.
I just wanted to reach out and see if it did get picked up if this is something you would be willing to work on with my group and I. I am also open to any other stories within the veteran community. You can email me back at this email (ams22y@fsu.edu) and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Audrey Shaw
Video Examples (more available upon request):
Photo Portfolio: https://www.flickr.com/photos/201176534@N02/
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