NSU’s New Center for Veterans Assistance – Here to Serve Those Who Served

Ft. Lauderdale (Davie), Fla. – Thousands of men and women are returning home after serving their country in the U. S. military. For them, returning home can mean navigating their civilian work-life with a very different set of challenges. The newly created Center for Veterans Assistance at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is making a concerted effort to help ease their transition back into the community.

NSU’s Center for Veterans Assistance is designed to provide and/or assist returning veterans and their families, with obtaining a comprehensive, holistic array of services to help them reintegrate successfully into civilian society. With funding from the United Way of Broward County, all active duty service members, veterans and their family members in the tri-county area are eligible for services, all free of charge. Available services include mental health counseling, family therapy, psychological/psychoeducational testing, and vocational assessment.

In addition to these services, the center will work in tandem with other university efforts dedicated to empowering the veteran population, such as NSU’s newly created Veterans Law Clinic. The Law Clinic will provide pro-bono legal assistance on cases such as landlord-tenant cases, consumer matters, domestic relations, and state/federal misdemeanors, among others.

The Center for Veterans Assistance also collaborates with a number of community partners who refer veterans in need of services to the university:

• Veterans of Foreign Wars, Stone of Hope Project
• Ft. Lauderdale Veterans Center
• Workforce One Employment Solutions
• The United Way of Broward County
• Senior Volunteer Services

The university has a 30-year history of working with veterans. NSU also has more than 1,000 current students who either are actively serving in the military or who are veterans, and the university’s location in South Florida positions it as a veritable hub for veterans.

• According to a 2009 report issued by the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs, by 2020, Florida is projected to be home to the largest population of veterans in the nation.
• Today, more than 120,000 veterans live in Broward County alone.
• The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics pegs the unemployment rate for Florida veterans aged 18-24 at more than twice the 11.9 % average unemployment in Florida (numbers as of January 2011).
• Returning veterans are at an increased risk for becoming homeless.  It is estimated that 26% of all homeless adults are veterans (Washington et. al, 2010).
• Particularly among female veterans, rates of homelessness are rising.  According to Washington et. al (2010), women in the military are three to four times more likely than civilian women to become homeless.  Unemployment upon leaving the military is one of the strongest predictors of homelessness for women veterans.

For more information about NSU’s Center for Veterans Assistance, visit: www.nova.edu/humanservices/veterans or call 954-262- 8299.

Media Contact:
Felecia Henderson, NSU Office of Public Affairs
954-262-5315 (office), 954-383-4695 (cell), fhenders@nova.edu