Message from the Director – November 2020

To my fellow veterans, families, and veteran advocates:

In 2020, we’ve had to modify many veterans ceremonies in the interest of safety.  Unfortunately, this included cancelling the wonderful Southern Nevada Veterans Day celebration held for over a decade at the Southern Nevada State Veterans Home.  In lieu of this in-person event, NDVS is celebrating with veterans and their families across the State with the release of a State of Nevada Veterans Day video. It will be unveiled the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 11 on the NDVS YouTube Channel, the NDVS website, and posted on our social media pages. Thank you to Governor Sisolak, the Korean Consul General Kyung Jae Park, Nevada National Guard Major General Ondra Berry, Chairman Bill Bauman of the Nevada Veterans Services Commission and numerous others, including State Commanders from Veterans Services Organizations, who made this project possible by contributing their time to submit video messages. While a video can never truly replace our time-honored traditions of parades and in-person events, we are thankful to be able to celebrate Veterans Day with our family of veterans.

I am often asked how our team is doing as we enter our eighth month of the pandemic.  Our memorial cemetery teams remain dedicated to supporting families struggling with loss, and our veterans service, outreach, and program officers continue to find innovative ways to support veterans and their families under very challenging circumstances.  Staff members at both State Veterans Homes continue to aggressively fight this virus—and I am impressed each day by their courage and dedication.  Unfortunately, like all of us, our clinical staff is at risk for community transmission of COVID-19.  So to help us keep the virus in check and out of our veterans homes, please do your part by wearing a face covering and social distancing when you are in public places; each of us must do our part in this battle against the coronavirus.

The fight against the virus is tough, and so is the fight to battle the effects of isolation.  The statewide NDVS Family Connection Task Force is helping us improve connections between veterans, their families, and the residents of our State Veterans Homes.  I am excited to share some of these ideas, especially our Heroes for Heroes program with University of Nevada Reno’s (UNR) NEST (Nevada Ensures Support Together) Collaborative.

I want to share with you that in October, NDVS launched a revamped Benefits and Services section on our website with subpages on Education, Employment, Health and Wellness, Housing and other veteran benefits. This effort began two years ago with a team of UNR interns. It Is wonderful to finally have all the work that went into these pages go live. We have also recently updated the Donate section of the NDVS website, our COVID Resources page and the Suicide Prevention pages.  Please check out our website!

Looking ahead to 2021, we are making plans to host quarterly virtual events on relevant topics for veterans, including a Discharge Upgrades seminar in January, followed by specific VA and Nevada benefits. Plus, we are working on tasks outlined by the Legislative Symposia for the 2021 Nevada Legislative Session which convenes in February.

As always, please take care of yourselves, your families and each other by checking in frequently and keeping your sense of humor during these trying times. Please know that NDVS remains committed to helping veterans and their families in every way we possibly can.

Respectfully,

Kat Miller