ARTICLE —
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The Takeaway | How to Support Student Veterans: A Guide for Campus Staff, Educators, and Advocates

Posted on
May 26, 2021
Andre Hunter via Unsplash

In our Toolbox.vet curriculum, Swords to Plowshares has gathered lessons learned from over forty years of community-based direct services, local and national coalition building, and technical assistance programs given to veteran organizations throughout the US. The material we have gathered here points to lessons learned and a roadmap for future support of student veterans: 

  • Student veteran services are not a given—but require ongoing dedicated advocacy among those who care.  
  • Critical supports must not only be advocated for and supported by the veterans who use them but by everyone in the campus community.
  • Providing the right support to veterans requires an understanding of military and veteran culture. 
  • Communities need collaborative action to meet the needs of veterans, their families, and populations within the veteran community (women, veterans experiencing homelessness, aging veterans, students, LGBTQ+, veterans with disabilities and more). 

We hope the tools we have presented will offer a framework to adopt veteran culturally-informed practices in your work. 

SOURCES:

American Council on Education. “From Soldier to Student II: Assessing Campus Programs for Veterans and Service Members.” Accessed: https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/From-Soldier-to-Student-II-Assessing-Campus-Programs.pdf.  

Cook, B.J., Kim, Y.M., McBain, L., Snead, K.M. From Soldier to Student II: Assessing Campus Programs for Veterans and Service Members, retrieved from http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Documents/From-Soldier-to-Student-II-Assessing-Campus-Programs.pdf.2012.2.  

Medley, J., Cheney, A. M., Grubbs, K., Abraham, T., Hunt, J., Fortney, J., Lu, L., & Curran, G. (2017). The Impact of the Psychological Sequela of Trauma on Veterans Seeking Higher Education. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 30(2).

Swords to Plowshares. “How Do Schools Ensure Veterans Succeed? A Case Study of Five Northern California Colleges & Universities.” 2019. https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5ddda3d7ad8b1151b5d16cff/5e67d729a72423c00d6d3379_Student-Veterans-Report-2019.pdf.
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Chapter
9
What You Should Know About Veteran Employment Services

Understand how to help veterans frame their skills for a civilian employment search and encourage employers to apply a culturally-informed approach to hiring and supporting veterans in the workplace.

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