Sonoma County Vet Connect works to reestablish in-person connection

It was almost 12 years ago, and Rick Russell was struggling.

The U.S. Army veteran was living in Sonoma but was about to lose his place to live and felt like his options were running out. Someone pointed him toward Sonoma County Vet Connect.

“They hooked me up with food stamps; Catholic Charities helped me pay for a rental,” he said.

Russell bounced back. And now he’s paying back.

Russell now volunteers weekly with Vet Connect, the same group that rallied to his aid nearly a dozen years ago.

“They helped me out so much,” he said. “I thought I should give back to Vet Connect, so I’m a greeter.”

Established in 2008, Sonoma County Vet Connect is a nonprofit organization that works to connect veterans with both government and nongovernment services like Veterans Affairs/HUD housing services, VA Medical access, burial benefits, Alcoholics Anonymous services, and free sack lunches and a cup of coffee.

But the coronavirus pandemic halted the face-to-face portion of the operation, and there was a 16-month hiatus on the Tuesday morning drop-services held at the Veterans Memorial Building on Maple Avenue in Santa Rosa.

Vet Connect was cleared to reopen the doors in July, but the number of vets walking in has slowed to a trickle.

“It’s been a struggle since COVID,” longtime Vet Connect volunteer Russell Ernst said. “Many days we have more vets volunteering than vet clients.”

The connection that Vet Connect has worked for years to foster, and tried to maintain via telephone during the pandemic, is in trouble.

“It’s mostly broken,” Ernst said. “That’s the trouble. People lost that connection.”

Before being shuttered by COVID, the Tuesday morning drop-in sessions would draw between 50 and 60 vets, Ernst said.

Needs haven’t diminished, Ernst said. Veterans are likely in more need than ever because of the pandemic.

Some seek something specific, like housing assistance and advice. Others have questions about accessing medical services. Some just grab a doughnut and cup of coffee and chat.

‘They have been doing this a long time’

On Tuesday, James Holldorf was looking for all of the above.

As a younger man, decades ago, he left the Navy, went AWOL, he said, after 20 months. It left him shy of being able to access benefits.

Because of that, it had been years since he tried to seek assistance through Vet Connect. Encouraged by someone at Redwood Gospel Mission, he tried again Tuesday.

“I need an income,” he said. “I could use a job.”

He has been homeless and wrestled with a drinking problem but has been sober eight years, he said.

His next step, he learned Tuesday, would be to take a bus to San Francisco to begin the process of accessing health care. He felt heartened by the advice.

“They know how to go about it,” he said. “They are professionals. They have been doing this a long time.”

‘They don’t know what to do’

Bill Hoban knows the hurdles that can be thrown up in front of a veteran seeking services.

On this day, Hoban isn’t the only one to say the first answer given to a vet from the federal government is “No.”

“It’s just to wear you down,” he said.

Hoban knows. As a door gunner in Vietnam he was gravely wounded. He’s had multiple reconstructive surgeries to repair his right arm.

“I had to fight with the VA to get my benefits,” he said.

So, today, Hoban works to help others in that fight, and, perhaps, to make it less of a struggle. He, and others at Vet Connect, hope to make it easier for peers and the next generation to navigate the system of support for veterans.

These days, Hoban is a greeter at the door Tuesday mornings and his duty is dubbed “triage.” He finds out what services people need and points them to specific tables or people.

“Sometimes children will come in, parents are having health issues, or someone passes and they have questions,” he said. “Sometimes it’s related to schooling benefits, or benefits from the VA. They have been turned down and don’t know what to do.”

‘It’s better face to face’

While Vet Connect worked during the pandemic to maintain contact with clients, both professionally and personally, there is nothing like opening the doors and letting folks meet up in person, backers said.

The work is more than transactional. It’s a staple of some folks’ week, just to drop in.

Hoban works the door because he likes to see people, likes to connect to familiar faces and give people a hope that they can access services. And sometimes the service is purely social.

“Vets like coming in just to shoot the breeze with other vets,” he said. “It’s better face to face.”

You can reach Staff Columnist Kerry Benefield at 707-526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @benefield.