The Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s St. Clair County office has received funding to support a grassroots outreach program for the county’s veterans, and organizers of the program are confident that these efforts will point the way to similar efforts in other rural counties throughout the state and nation.

Lee Ann Clark, St. Clair County Extension coordinator, says the funding, which was secured through the St. Clair County Commission, has enabled her office to hire a full-time agent-assistant, Greg Jacobik, to conduct the program for a year.

“For more than a century, Cooperative Extension has been about providing effective, face-to-face outreach to people where they live and work,” Clark says. “And for this reason, we think we are especially well-suited to serve our county’s veterans, especially those in critical need of assistance.”

Clark’s sentiments are shared by St. Clair County Commission Chairman Stan Batemon, a Vietnam-era Marine veteran who also completed a 16-year career with the Alabama Army National Guard and who currently chairs the Veterans Committee of the National Association of Counties.

“We see a perfect match between Extension and veterans outreach,” Batemon said. “And we’re also confident that this program will serve as a model for other outreach programs not only throughout Alabama but also the nation.”

The effort has also earned the full support of Alabama Extension Director Gary Lemme.

“The partnership between St. Clair County, the state of Alabama, and Alabama Extension, which is directed to assisting active military, National Guard and veteran families, reflects our combined commitment to those who provided our nation’s defense,” Lemme said.  “Helping the families of these heroes access Veterans Affairs benefits that they have earned and  providing resources to help them cope with the unique stresses of deployment and returning to home life will benefit not only those directly involved but also the entire community.

“Extension is proud to be part of a pilot project for military, National Guard and veteran families that can be replicated in other Alabama counties. “Jacobik said many rural veterans, compared with their urban counterparts, are often seriously disadvantaged in terms of being aware of the federal and state services available to them.

“There is a critical need to connect veterans within communities, especially in small communities, to resources that can improve their financial well-being and their employment prospects. In many cases, it can be as simple as putting money in their pockets to tide them over as they make their transition back to civilian life,” Jacobik said.

The challenges of transitioning to civilian life often prove even more daunting, if not insurmountable, for those veterans suffering from serious combat-related conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Among those veterans, timely effective outreach can mean the difference between successful transition to civilian life and one plagued by chronic unemployment, debt and, in many cases, substance abuse.

One of the main goals of the St. Clair Extension outreach effort is to reach these veterans with critical assistance before these patterns of behavior become self-destructive.

“If you look at this from a rural perspective, there really is no infrastructure in place to reach these veterans,” Jacobik said. “It’s up to veterans to determine how to enter the right door, and for many veterans suffering from PTSD or TBI, this often proves to be a bewildering experience. “Yes, access is available via 1-800 numbers and websites, but experience has shown that developing a hands-on approach — reaching these veterans through face-to-face contact — is by far the most effective approach.”

Indeed, timely and quick intervention often proves as beneficial to communities as they do to veterans and their families, Jacobik said “This type of outreach really has the great potential to save rural communities, such as St. Clair County, substantial amounts of money,” he says. “It can cost as much as $50,000 a year for a county to incarcerate a veteran who, because of PTSD or TBI, has developed a serious substance abuse problem.”

Considering the number of veterans in St. Clair County alone — some 7300 — an outreach program that presents veterans with viable treatment options potentially could save hundreds of thousands of dollars, he said.

Counties would benefit in other ways too, Jacobik said. It’s estimated as much as 49 percent of veterans upon their return do not fully avail themselves of the state and federal programs to which they are entitled.

This unclaimed assistance not only would benefit the returning veterans but also the local economies where they live and work, Jacobik said.