Services being offered to six total counties
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From left to right, Veterans Case Manager Charles Ray Harris, Jr., Program Director-Client Services Tammy Stevens, and Veterans Outreach Case Manager Jason McCarty are dedicated to helping low income veterans in need by offering a year-long program to help them get back on their feet. Ashley Barner/Meridian Tribune
Caritas of Waco has received a grant from the Texas Veterans Commission for their Veterans Outreach Program for low income veterans in McLennan County and five other outlying counties, including Bosque County.
Veterans Case Manager Jason McCarty hasn’t been shy about his commitment to helping veterans in need.
“Our goal is not to just give veterans a handout but to help them become self-sustainable over the course of the year we have them so they can provide for their own families,” he said.
McCarty oversees cases in Bosque, Falls, Freestone, Limestone and Hill counties.
Veterans accepted into the program enter a oneyear case management where McCarty works personally with them, offering budgeting and financing classes as well as helping them establish a stable home and professional life.
“We don’t want to help them pay a bill one month then two months later they’re back in the same boat,” McCarty said.
Benefits of the program include assistance with utilities, housing, pre-vocation training testing, associated costs with licensing or certification, education materials, clothing for employment or vocational training, childcare costs, transportation and food.
This is the fourth year Caritas has received a grant from the TVC, and the first year they are able to offer their services to surviving spouses of veterans. They helped 250 veterans and their families in the first year and were able to service 300 veterans the second and third year.
“Our benchmark this year is another 300 veterans and their families. Our funding supports that,” said Program Director-Client Services, Tammy Stevens.
“We just want to get the word out there and if a veteran thinks they can benefit from this they can call us up and we’ll let them know,” Stevens added.
To qualify for the assistance program, veterans must have an income of no greater than 200% of the federal poverty level (which is an income of about $2,127 a month for one person), be in one of the six counties and have something other than a dishonorable discharge from the military. For a surviving spouse to qualify, they must have been married to the veteran while they were in service.
Classes offered are typically held at Caritas in Waco, but because of the pandemic, they are operating on a smaller scale.
Veterans Case Manager for McLennan County Charles Ray Harris, Jr., said they have been authorized to see clients in the building by adhering to all safety protocols and social distancing guidelines. “We have established a safe route to get them to that area and while we are in that area, we can perform those small budgeting classes on an individual level,” Harris said.
Transportation isn’t offered at this time, but that’s the purpose of McCarty’s role. He travels to the counties outside of McLennan to meet with veterans.
McCarty is at their office in Bosque County, located at the MHMR building in Meridian, at 407 S. Hill St. every second and fourth Monday of the month.
“They’ve earned and they deserve these benefits,” McCarty said. “It’s a right they have, and we just want them to know we appreciate what they’ve done and the sacrifices they’ve made.”
If you or someone you know could benefit from the Veterans Outreach Program, call McCarty at 254-640-0906 or email him at jmccarty@caritas-waco.org for more information.