Health
As with all veteran benefits, your County Veterans Service Office can assist you
with any questions you may have. Please find the contact information for your County by clicking below:
Federal
Suicide Prevention Hotline
The
Department of Veterans Affairs Health Administration has teamed up with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to ensure
that veterans in emotional crisis have access to free 24/7 counseling with trained counselors. To connect to the Veterans
Hotline call the Lifeline number (1-800-273-TALK) and press “1.” A chat service is also available by going online.
Contact Information: 800-273-TALK
(800-273-8255)
Medical Centers
The Veterans Health Administration is home to a large integrated health care system
consisting of 153 medical centers, in addition to numerous community-based outpatient clinics, community living centers, Veterans
Centers, and domiciliary care. Together, these health care facilities provide comprehensive care to more than 5.5 million
veterans each year.
Veterans Health Administration Medical Centers provide
a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics,
pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition most medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty
services.
State
Ohio
Cares
Ohio Cares is a collaboration of state and local agencies
supporting the behavioral health of returning OIF/OEF veterans and their families. The purpose of this program is to enhance
the services available for military personnel and their families and to complement the services available through the VA.
Local
Legal
Assistance As with all veteran benefits, your County Veterans Service Office can assist you with any
questions you may have. Please find the contact information for your County by clicking below:
Patriot Program
The PATRIOT Program is a pro bono program that provides
volunteer lawyers and special counsel from the Ohio Attorney General's Office to assist military personnel and their families
with various legal issues including exercising their rights under the Service Members Civil Relief Act and the Uniform Services
Employment and Re-employment Act of 1994 (USERRA). Legal assistance is available for wills, powers of attorney, and living
wills. Reserve & National Guard personnel and their dependents are eligible for this program.
License
Plates
Military/Veteran License Plates
Ohio's Bureau of Motor Vehicles has many military/veteran license plates
available to eligible veterans.
Loans
As with all veterans benefits, your County Veterans Service Office can assist you with any questions you may have.
Please find the contact information for your County by clicking below: See County Veterans Service Offices
Federal
VA
Home Loan Guarantee
Description:
VA home loan guarantees are issued to help eligible servicemembers, veterans, reservists, and unmarried surviving spouses
obtain homes, condominiums, residential cooperative housing units, and manufactured home, and to refinance loans.
State
Ohio Heroes Program
Description: The Ohio Housing Finance Agency offers all the benefits
of their first-time buyer program to Ohio veterans at a ¼% lower interest rate. To be eligible you must be a/an Active
Military, Active Reserve, or veteran first-time home buyer who meets the income and sales price requirements and qualifies
for the loan requested. Firefighters, EMTs, Paramedics, Health Care Workers, Police Officers, and teachers also qualify.
Linked Loan Deposit Program
Veterans receive special preference through Ohio Treasurer Office which provides
a two percent interest rate reduction for small business.
First Time Home Buyer Program
Veterans who may have owned a home during the past three years qualify under
OHFA First Time Home Buyer Program.
Medals & Awards
As
with all veteran benefits, your County Veterans Service Office can assist you with requesting issuance or replacement of military
service medals, decorations and awards. Please find the contact information for your County by clicking below:
Military Injury Relief Fund
As with all veteran benefits, your County Veterans Service Office can assist you
with any questions you may have. Applications for this fund may be completed at any of the 88 offices. Please
find the contact information for your County by clicking below:
Military Injury Relief Fund (MIRF)
Grants
money to individuals injured while in active service as a member of the armed forces of the United States and while serving
under Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom. To be eligible the service member must have proof of injury
(injury must have occurred while serving under OIF or OEF). MIRF is exempt from Federal Taxation and, effective August
21, 2008, is exempt from State Taxation. Eligible Service Members / Veterans may apply EACH fiscal year (July
1-Jun 30)
Veterans Home
The Ohio Veterans Home Agency is a State of
Ohio establishment comprised of two facilities, a home located in Sandusky, Ohio (approximately 60 miles west of Cleveland)
and a home located in Georgetown, Ohio (approximately 45 miles east of Cincinnati). The Georgetown Home is a licensed nursing
home providing two levels of nursing care – standard care and special care (Alzheimer/ Dementia). The Sandusky Home,
in addition to offering standard care and special care in its licensed nursing home, also offers Veterans Hall (DOM), a domiciliary
for those who are able to function in an independent living situation, and DOM+ for those requiring very limited assistance
(supervised care) but who do not require the level of care provided to nursing home residents.
Regardless of which level of care required, all residents have the freedom and convenience of a small community as well
as the comforts of a home-like setting. The Ohio Veterans Home Agency offers a quality of life, which emphasizes privacy,
encourages independence, provides comfort and security, and meets social needs.
As
with all veterans benefits, your County Veterans Service Office can assist you with retrieving your records and updating your
discharge information. Please find the contact information for your county by clicking below:
The Ohio Department of Veterans Services has discharge papers from the early to mid-1900's to current for
those veterans that enlisted from Ohio and requested a copy to go back to the state. We also record wartime bonus records
prior to 1993.
A request form will need to be completed and sent to:
Ohio
Department of Veterans Services
77 South High Street, 7th Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215
OR
it may
be faxed to 614-728-9498
Recreational Benefits
As with all veteran benefits, your County
Veterans Service Office can assist you with any questions you may have. Please find the contact information for your
County by clicking below:
The Ohio Department of Natural
Resources offers the following benefits to qualifying veterans:
Free Hunting License
100% disabled
veterans (most benefits apply if veteran is permanently & totally disabled per the VA) & former POW are eligible.
Free Fishing License
100% disabled veterans (most benefits apply if veteran is permanently & totally
disabled per the VA) & former POW are eligible.
Free Registration
of Watercraft
100% disabled veterans (most benefits
apply if veteran is permanently & totally disabled per the VA) & former POW and Medal of Honor Recipients
are eligible.
Free Camping at Ohio State Parks
100% disabled veterans (most benefits apply if veteran is permanently & totally
disabled per the VA) & former POW are eligible.
Small Business
As with all veteran benefits, your County Veterans Service Office can assist
you with any questions you may have. Please find the contact information for your County by clicking below:
US Small Business Administration
SBA’s Office of Veterans Business Development
is responsible for acting as a liaison with the Veterans business community, for policy analysis and reporting, and for acting
as an Ombudsman for Veterans in Small Business Administration programs. They also provide business training, counseling
and assistance, and oversee the Federal procurement programs for Veteran and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned small businesses.
Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC)
The PTA centers help Ohio's businesses sell goods and services to local, state
and federal governments. In addition to services like marketing, one-on-one training and help with information resources,
the Ohio PTA Centers offer: bid-matching services, product and procurement histories, military specifications, and trade events
where Ohio firms can meet government buyers. These services are provided at no cost to Ohio businesses.
1st Stop Business Connection
The 1st Stop Business Connection, a program sponsored by the Ohio Department
of Development's Small Business Development Centers and the U.S. Small Business Administration, provides FREE state-level
information needed to get started or continue on your entrepreneurial journey.
Linked Loan Deposit Program
Veterans
receive preference through the Ohio Treasurer’s Office which provides a reduced rate for small business loans.
Bonus
Program
The State of Ohio has begun accepting applications from veterans of
recent military conflicts for recently approved bonus payments. The bonus is available to Ohio military men and women
who recently served in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq, plus those who served in Operation Desert Storm in the early
1990s. For more information call 1-877-OHIO VET.
