Addressing Homelessness and the Value of Resources: Supporting Brevard County’s Veterans
By Space Coast Daily // October 16, 2022
Florida’s Space Coast is one of five communities across the country included in the 2022 Class of Great American Defense Communities. “Our military needs America’s defense communities to support them,” said ADC President Bob Ross. “We selected Florida’s Space Coast because they are a region that consistently goes above and beyond to support service members, veterans, and military families living in their community.”
As the state of Florida is home to the third largest veteran population in the nation, supporting veterans is of the utmost importance when honoring their time spent serving. From the local and statewide resources available to how homelessness has been addressed, here’s how Brevard County’s veterans are supported.
Local and Statewide Resources
When ensuring that Brevard’s veterans are supported as much as possible, it’s important to highlight the numerous resources that are available — both at the local and statewide level.
The Brevard County Veterans Services Team, for example, provides direct assistance to all of Brevard’s veterans and families so that they can receive the full benefits earned by the veteran’s military service. The team further aids in ensuring that eligible surviving family members receive the benefits they’re entitled to as well.
According to Military.com, Florida State Veteran benefits encompass a variety of aspects, including financial benefits. The site states that in regard to the homestead exemption, Florida resident veterans with an honorable discharge and who are 100% permanently and totally disabled, as well as quadriplegic veterans, are exempt from paying property tax on their residence.
While it’s also noted that unremarried surviving spouses may also be eligible, the site goes on to state, that veterans who are permanently and totally disabled or are legally blind may be exempt from real estate taxation depending on income.
Disability compensation through the VA is another resource. However, due to how the VA rates disabilities (which involves listing disabilities in order of severity and combining them using “VA Math” to arrive at a rating), utilizing online tools such as a disability calculator can aid greatly in determining an estimation regarding monthly compensation based on an individual’s circumstances.
Working to Eliminate Homelessness
When looking at ways to support Brevard County’s veterans, addressing homelessness is just one issue. The National Veterans Homeless Support (NVHS) is just one prime example of this. According to the organization, there were approximately 1,800 homeless veterans living in Brevard County when the NVHS was founded in 2008.
As of January 2018’s Bi-Annual Point in Time Count, however, it’s noted that the population had been reduced to less than 300, highlighting an 88% reduction in just 10 years.
In more recent news, there were 119 total homeless veterans in Brevard County as of 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s point-in-time count data. The number includes both sheltered and unsheltered homeless vets.
While such a reduction in the homeless veteran population is largely due to the NVHS programs, it’s important to mention that the program also works “with veterans and their families on the verge of homelessness to prevent them from losing their homes,” according to George Taylor Jr., CEO and president of the Brevard-based nonprofit.
Supporting the country’s veterans is a great way to honor their time spent in the service. For Brevard County vets, organizations such as NVHS in addition to the local veterans service team (as well as resources on a larger scale) work to do just that.
