Northern Nevada Outreach – WE NEED YOU!

By Cathy Yates, Northern Nevada Outreach Director
Nevada Veterans Advocates (NVA) are volunteers who complete 20 courses either all online or in combination with workshops offered at NDVS NVA conferences held annually.  Once a person has completed the NVA training they become certified and receive a certificate and a shirt that designates them as an NVA.

In Northern Nevada, we are fortunate to have more than 150 NVAs, many of whom volunteer to help at outreach events such as the Fallon Cantaloupe Festival, the Office of Military and Legal Aid events held at the VA Hospital and the Douglas County Health Fair.  However, that number is not enough to reach more than 180,000 veterans living in Northern Nevada with many of them in rural parts of the State.  At every event, we find veterans or family members who are unaware of the many benefits available to them or who haven’t taken advantage of those benefits.

Anyone can become an NVA and regardless of whether the person has time to volunteer at events, the knowledge gained by taking the courses is beneficial.  Some of the topics offered are; Suicide Prevention, VA Pension, Veteran Legal and Financial Services, Unique Veteran Populations, Nevada State Veterans Homes.

The next NVA conference is April 6-7, 2019 at Harrah’s in Reno.  This conference will offer 13 of the 20 courses in the NVA online course. There will be complimentary coffee and snacks each day!

For more information about the Nevada Veterans Advocate program, contact Justin Prazak at 775-321-4719 or prazakj@veterans.nv.gov.