CHULA VISTA -- A "brain-storming" session headed by House Veterans' Affairs Committee chairman Rep. Bob Filner and state Assembly Member Mary Salas began with both criticizing the California Department of Veterans Affairs for short-comings outlined in a October 2009 state
audit. (See 'Audit Reveals...')

	Burt McChesney, head of the California Association of Veterans Service Agencies, makes a point at the Chula Vista conference on veterans' issues.

"It was a pretty scathing report about how veterans are not being reached," Filner said of the report that focused on how well the state is providing services and information to its 2.1 million veterans.

"We can't be islands," added Salas, chairwoman of the state assembly's Veterans Affairs Committee, referring to a report conclusion that there's too little coordination among state, local and federal veteran organizations. "California is very, very low in hooking up veterans with benefits," said the Chula Vista legislator who asked for the report.

But a rehash of grievances wasn't why representatives from dozens of veteran organizations and non-profits attended the conference at Chula Vista Veterans Home. It was to move forward, and by the end of the nearly three-hour meeting, Filner and Salas were hammering out the outline of a plan that could make California a leader in veteran initiatives if turf battles can be settled.

Filner said the state with the largest veteran population in the country needs a more cohesive network of care and more accessible information. The House Veterans' Affairs chairman said he plans to introduce legislation in February updating the new GI Bill to help tackle some of those issues.

"The thing (veteran services) is so fragmented ... people are not talking to each other," Filner said. "I want to do something. I don't want to plan to do something. What are five things that we need to do to get vets jobs? What should we be doing?"

Jobs, housing, homelessness, mental health and substance abuse were the main issues discussed. Some at the meeting said the country risks repeating the same mistakes made after Vietnam when veterans of that war were not properly reintegrated into society and landed on the
streets or in jail.

"If we don't treat vets well this time, since they are all volunteers, there aren't going to be any vets in the future," said Gary Rossio, former head of the VA's San Diego Health Care System. Rossio is now a consultant working on ways to provide better services to the estimated 275,000 veterans and their families in San
Diego County.

Toni Reinis, executive director of New Directions, Inc., a Los Angeles-based, non-profit that's helped veterans with substance abuse and mental health issues since 1992, said veteran service organizations and non-profits must work together because no federal, state or local organization can do the job alone.

"The conference was a good beginning. I think it was important for the veteran service organizations to see the work that the non-profits are doing," Reinis said.

But, she added, without much better coordination at all levels, "It wouldn't matter if we got a whole bunch of money because we wouldn't know where to spend it anyway."

"There is no planning at the state, federal or local levels. We've been waiting for the federal government to come up with a plan and it just hasn't happened, so we (state and local veteran advocates) are going to meet in the end of February or early March in Sacramento to come up with our own plan," she said.

Among the observations and opinions shared at the meeting.

* The private sector and cities must start hiring veterans, and both need to take part in future such meetings. Tax incentives for
businesses were suggested as a way to do this. Many cities are not following their own bylaws that make hiring veterans a priority.

* The military's Transition Assistance Program classes, where troops are informed of their post-military benefits, are held too long before they actually get out. As a result service members forget where to get what they need. One former Marine suggested that the services are doing this on purpose to keep more men and women in the ranks.

* Veterans need people to explain their benefits to them instead of being directed to websites or handed hard-to-digest books on benefits. Several people stressed that social media like Facebook, Twitter and Myspace must be used to reach younger veterans.

* The post 9/11 GI Bill, which is sending thousands of veterans and their spouses to schools, is also resulting in many  seeking
psychological counseling on campuses.

* Service members with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other mental health issues are getting into trouble "on their way out the door" resulting in discharges that prevent them from accessing the services and training they need.

* The CDVA is working on a "real time bed census" that will identify open beds  to keep veterans from sleeping on the streets. The CDVA hope to have bed maps for Sacramento and San Diego by this spring.

* The Veterans Village of San Diego is looking at providing permanent housing.

* HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) voucher program is having some unintended consequences. Some veterans are leaving their substance abuse programs early after receiving vouchers to live on their own.

* Multiple "major mental health issues" are being seen in homeless veterans having served in Iraq and Afghanistan, usually PTSD and at least one other ailment. The current VA per diem for homeless veterans of $34.40 is too low by at least half to both feed and treat these people.

* Female veterans need their own medical clinics because of a lack of privacy in male-oriented VA care facilities. Often female
veterans are dealing with sexual trauma, which makes caring for them in VA facilities problematic. A female veteran's bill of rights,
concerning VA treatment is on its way, Filner said.

* California veteran homes should be considered to house homeless veterans.

* California is not getting contact information when veterans from other states move here, which in turn contributes to low federal
benefit rates. California does notify receiving states when veterans leave California.

* In 2008, less than 20 percent of veterans were accessing VA health care.

* The CDVA plans to hold "All Hands" veteran meetings across the state to gather and to release information.

* A draft report on the Jan. 8 meeting will be done in two weeks.