Vets' Community Connections

VCC works to connect veterans, military, their families and caregivers, in a manner consistent with COVID prevention guidelines, to up-to-date, vetted, local resources, with the aim that they will feel connected and supported by their community.

Our top priorities include:

(1) Conduct one-on-one needs assessments with veteran/military family clients and offer tailored connections to community support.
VCC has received a marked increase in military/veteran/spouse requests for assistance managing day-to-day challenges.

(2) Link transitioning military/veterans with local experts to explore new career opportunities.
Personal connections are going to be more important than ever in finding employment in the upcoming months/years and VCC has a wide variety of local experts ready to provide advice and assistance.


(3) Assist veteran/military programs in finding needed volunteers and non-monetary donations.
In the past months many organizations have extinguished their pool of volunteers/non-monetary donations and have turned to VCC for assistance. VCC has aggressively promoted opportunities for community members to give back. San Diego community members are eager to provide support, and there is plenty to do that can still fall within social-distancing guidelines.

VCC addresses transitioning and integration challenges and gaps by providing a channel for veterans, military, and their families to more easily and fully reintegrate into their communities following military service, facilitating their ability to lead happier, healthier, and more financially secure lives. Through VCC, local residents and organizations can offer knowledge or expertise to veterans and their families on subjects such as (a) education opportunities, (b) career paths, (c) recreation and youth sports, (d) volunteerism, (e) neighborhoods and schools, and (f) trusted local business for exclusive veteran/military discounts. By involving the wider community VCC contributes to the greater community having a better understanding of their fellow neighbors who have served in uniform. Additionally, VCC connects veteran/military to the wide variety of government, nonprofit veteran serving organizations and the many additional non-veteran/military specific community resources.

In addition to serving as a backbone connector to community resources, VCC offers additional programming to bridge the military-civilian divide:
• Careers in the Community: A monthly program which introduces veterans, military, and their spouses to local career opportunities, and training/certification programs.
• Volunteers in the Community: An ongoing program which connects San Diegans with volunteer opportunities supporting local veteran and military focused organizations.
• Operation Ally: A program to fill identified gaps in veteran support by involving local businesses.

VCC has been working in San Diego County for over five years with a talented team that brings deep knowledge of supporting veterans, military and their families, and community collaboration. We have strong support from the San Diego community, and approach our work as one core piece of veteran integration which augments with the vast array of other veteran support resources.

VCC utilizes a Salesforce system that enables us to track cases, and metrics.

Increased veteran/military connections to the community by 39% in 2020.
Launched monthly Careers in the Community webinar series to introduce veterans, military and spouses to local career avenues
Launched Operation Ally to involve the business community in filling gaps in veteran support
Launched Volunteers in the Community to connect community members with avenues to support veteran/military focused organizations/programs in San Diego County.