Pueblo Veteran Event Gathers Resource Providers Under One Roof

Veterans in Pueblo County will be able to review information on career advancement, grants and updates to claims services at a single event, keeping them from having to search separately for each resource. The gathering aims to close the gap between veterans who need assistance and the programs designed to help them.

The Veterans Community Update is held annually in Pueblo. Organizations operating in the county set up together at one location so service members can ask questions and learn what is available to them.

Bob McLaughlin, Executive Director of Mount Carmel Veterans Service Center, described the purpose of the gathering. "To bring like-minded people together that want to help with the main goal and educate, inform, and motivate," McLaughlin said.

Jacobo Varela, Director of Veterans Upward Bound, said his program helps veterans return to school. He said veterans often cannot find out about these programs because of how people now receive information. "It's just really hard to get the communication out that these are here. People are not consuming media in the same way," Varela said. He said he has watched people move from homelessness to earning six-figure incomes after finding support.

Varela also said the conversation about what veterans need must continue. "It's good to have that conversation and have a continuing conversation because these things and the dynamics in the community change all the time," he said.

McLaughlin stated that the event's goal is to make sure no one is missed. "Make sure that nobody falls through the cracks, that our veterans that need assistance can get it, that our veterans that want to give assistance can also do that as well," McLaughlin said.