Weekly Report 🎖
Commanders Coalition Directory | TVLC | AMVETS | VFW
On behalf of the Commanders Coalition, we extend our deepest condolences to the Florida State University community following the tragic and senseless shooting on April 17, 2025. Our hearts go out to the families and friends of the two individuals who lost their lives, the six others who were injured, and all those affected by this devastating event.
We stand in solidarity with the students, faculty, staff, and loved ones impacted by this tragedy. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health or the emotional impact of this event, please know that help is available. Florida State University is providing counseling, health care, and support services at the Donald L. Tucker Center, accessible to students and family members. Additional resources include the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 and the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, offering free, confidential support 24/7.
We join FSU in mourning and hope for healing and strength in the days ahead.
Commanders Coalition Directory
Multiple members of the Coalition have inquired into an online directory of fellow members. I.e., they need to reach decision makers but do not have their phone number, etc. Do you all want an online directory of Commanders/Presidents/Directors of the various VSO’s? If you do, what kind of directory do you want?
Mulligan Park Gracious Retirement Living
Hi Ed,
As discussed, if you could reach out to see if a Veteran or someone in the Military would be interested in visiting Mulligan Park on Memorial Day for our Observance Service.
Thank you and regards,
Karen Echols
Activity Coordinator
Mulligan Park Gracious Retirement Living
850-553-3252
GI Bill Parity Act
From protecting our borders and state capitals to delivering pandemic aid, supporting local law enforcement, and serving in combat overseas, National Guard and Reserve servicemembers have been increasingly called upon to confront unique and dangerous challenges. They often leave their families and civilian employers for lengthy periods of time, sometimes taking significant pay cuts. Yet, despite all we ask of them and all they contribute, they are often denied a cornerstone benefit of service: the GI Bill.
Currently, National Guard and Reserve servicemembers only earn credit toward their Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits when they mobilize and deploy for federal missions. National Guard and Reserve servicemembers activated under state orders do not accrue eligibility for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.
Urge Congress to cosponsor and support the GI Bill Parity Act!
The Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act of 2025 (HR. 1423/S. 649) is crucial to rectifying this inequity.
This legislation proposes to count every day spent on weekend drills, annual training, attending military school, participating in an exercise, or responding to a disaster toward GI Bill eligibility. The American Legion firmly believes that every day in uniform counts. Guardsmen and Reservists who serve alongside their active-duty counterparts deserve the same GI Bill eligibility.
The American Legion urges you to contact your members of Congress today and encourage them to support the Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act!
At yesterday’s Legal Clinic at Lk Ella (Thursday), our volunteer team totaled 16 (including 5 attorneys), assisting 21 Veterans and family members in person, plus 6 Veterans in phone responses who couldn’t come to the in-person clinic! Cases again included several county and state jurisdictions outside Leon, and requests included for probation issues, real estate, consumer fraud, wills… More Vets asked for Driver’s license assistance with appointments pending for reissuance this next week.
Khalid Shafi, Tomeka Colon, Dexter White, and Margaret Deciano pulled off the Food distribution from Quincy Farmshare to the various Leon County apartment complexes (twice since last week’s report). We keep getting calls and comments showing how grateful people are for this extra effort. And thanks to Susie, Craig Winger and John Linney for going with me for a TV interview featuring TVLC this week. (We’ll send the link to the 5-minute segment on WCTV’s 4 pm new program interviewed by Ava Van Palen) And thank you for the consistent volunteer administrative work at the front door and computer/files tables, Khalid, Kathy Glasson, Margaret, and Valerie Colson, with Susie throughout our Clinic sessions.
KUDOs to volunteers Stuart Scott & Frank Roycraft who spoke again this week, and the dozen other Veterans from the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars who trekked to the Capitol this week to appear in person and waive their time speaking to oppose the still-overbroad anti-gambling bill, which could result in possible criminal and other liability for volunteer officers of Florida VSO’s for electronic raffles, Bingo, etc.(Ed Hood and others can fill you in). If you want to know more about the dozens of Veterans-friendly bills in this year’s legislative session, we can help you track any of them these final 2 weeks of session, which is scheduled to end May 2.
Veterans Treatment Court: If you can come observe on Monday, April 21, 3pm in Leon Courthouse, you may decide to become a volunteer Veteran Mentor for one or more of the Vets in the program.
Reprise: Call your friends who work for the federal VA to let them know they’re appreciated and give them your contact info in case they lose their VA cell number amidst the funding cuts, layoffs and firings that are including probationary employees, as well as former military Veterans in a variety of specialties (and the latest projections target some 84,000 VA jobs and programs to be cut!) And be sure to let us know about parttime job opportunities for Veterans on subsistence, as well as any emergency housing, shared rentals, etc. since housing is still scarce and services are delayed via waiting lists. A FLORIDA SENATOR SUMMARIZED VA’S NEEDS AGAIN THIS WEEK: more than 952,000 claims have been pending longer than 125 days, including 23,900 in Florida; the backlog is still more than 241,000 including claims that go back DECADES.
Thank you,
Dan Hendrickson, for the Tallahassee Veterans Legal Collaborative
Though May is right around the corner, there is still time to add your event to the list.
If you’re wondering what kinds of events would be good to plan, or if you have other questions — look no further. Here are five quick ideas that come together easily and make a real difference:
Clean up the neighborhood or the yard of an elderly community member.
Help unpack trucks and stock shelves at a local food bank.
Visit a nursing home and bring activities to share with residents.
Volunteer at an animal shelter.
Host a clean-up day at a local park or veterans’ cemetery.
There are even more ideas on this resource page.
