AARP Hawai`i Participates in State Veterans Summit

The Hawaii Office of Veterans Services, the Hawaii Veterans Foundation, and AARP have joined forces to deliver an online Hawaii State Veterans Summit this month through the end of July.

Free weekly workshops on Zoom will be held on Tuesdays and Fridays beginning on June 22. The seminars will help veterans get answers to questions about benefits and important issues. The workshops will connect veterans with service providers from the Veterans Administration, healthcare counselors, and financial planning experts.

Go to https://hawaiiveteransfoundation.org/ to see the full schedule and to register for a Zoom link to the workshops.

“Veterans of all ages will be able to get answers to questions about benefits, veterans’ health issues, and caregiving,” said Jackie Boland, the AARP Hawai`i Outreach Director. “The online format also means it will be easier for Neighbor Island veterans to attend. The sessions will be spread out over several weeks and will include a veterans fraud awareness workshop, and fun activities like a free movie showing and trivia game with prizes.”

“We are proud to be able to help veterans connect to information and resources they need, by delivering this program virtually.  We originally feared we might have to cancel it due to the COVID pandemic.” said Carlos A. Santana, Veterans Summit Chairman.

“We’re thankful and honored to partner with AARP, the Hawaii Veterans Foundation, and the State Veterans Summit Planning Committee to provide these series of weekly topics and briefers that were selected by veterans, for veterans through an online survey of previous participants…please spread the word on these free virtual sessions and join us!” comments from Ron Han, Director OVS.

The first summit in 2019 drew approximately 700 veterans over a two-day period at an in-person event at the Hawaii Convention Center. On hand were groups such as the TriWest Healthcare Alliance, Aligned Mortgage, Cohen’s Veterans Network, the Chris Kyle Patriots Hospital, the Wounded Warrior Project, and many others. Officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs were also there to provide the most current information about benefits, healthcare, and memorial affairs.