'We Care Vet Fair' connects Georgia veterans with support

As we come back in the newsroom now, let's turn to our story about veterans. So finding support can be a challenge for veterans and their families. But today, more than 100 organizations are coming together in Cobb County to connect them with resources. And our Chris Rosenthal is live at the fair with all the details. Chris, this is obviously great that they can bring a lot of people together all in one place for veterans to be able to get them the support that they need. And I can see a lot of people are behind you. Oh, absolutely. Big turnout here at the Cobb County Civic Center for the We Care Vet Fair. I'm just going to kind of pan the camera around here and just show you. I mean, this room is packed and the services continue outside, too, where they have food support for veterans as well. In fact, 90,000 pounds of food. They're prepared to feed about 3,000 families here. You know, it's really, you know, kind of a one stop shop. You know, with veterans, there's so many benefits, of course, for veterans out there. but it's tough to navigate that. And this is really kind of a one-stop shop for the veterans to come, learn about all the resources they have, learn about all of the benefits that they have at their disposal here. And I have Kim Scofield here. She is with United Military Care putting this on, this event. And tell me a little bit about that. It is kind of daunting navigating all of this for veterans, isn't it? It is. Finding out what you're qualified to receive based on when you served in the military, how old you are, where you went. It can be very concerning. This is a place you can come and get it all answered for free, very easily and very quickly. And what sort of support, what sort of resources do you have here represented today? Sure. We have over 100 different agencies that are here with us today, local, state, and federal, to include the Veterans Administration, Benefits, and Health, the Georgia Department of Veterans Services. We have professional mental health providers that are here, employers that are here looking to hire veterans. volunteer opportunities membership organizations you name it we've got a bit of everything for everybody i mean why why is it so important uh you know to to serve these folks here and to have something like this for them well we do a lot of work in building up our men and women when we send them into battle and put them in uniform we don't do enough work in my opinion when they come home on getting them access to the benefits that they earned and that they deserve and this is a way for us to say thank you for your service bring them in here get them the help that they need let them talk with the professionals that can provide those services and get them on the right track and this is um this is the last one here for for the year here but i mean you're telling me you get turnouts from all over the place for this we do um we've had multiple events around the state in Georgia this year and have had multiple states show up. In Columbus, we had five different states show up to our event. So it's not restricted to Cobb County. Everyone is welcome regardless of when and how long you serve. If you're a family member or a caregiver, we encourage you to come out and learn about those benefits that are available to you as well. It's a great way to spend an afternoon. So come on out. We're here until four at the Cobb County Civic Center. Yeah, free to come on out as well. So yeah, you know, and you mentioned caregivers and family members. It's not just the veterans here. I mean, there's a whole kind of support around them and that's important to serve them too as well. Absolutely. Our caregivers are our unseen heroes that take care of our military and our veterans and our families. So we want to make sure that they know that we take care of them and we believe in them and want them to have the support that they need. And it is a big need, huh? It is a big need. How do you feel when you look around this room you see all these veterans i feel very blessed uh that we are able to i see those in active duty uniforms i see veterans of all ages i see caregivers and i see that they are getting the help that they need and they're able to take a deep breath and that's what we want for today you're getting your 2027 calendar ready here this is the last one for the year so people should should uh stay tuned to your website united military care absolutely united military care dot org we also are blessed to have here a free food giveaway so anybody who needs groceries come on by and get food as well get your benefits get your food be buttoned up and ready to go absolutely something here uh for everybody kim thanks for joining us here so and this goes on again until four o'clock here today at the cobb county civic center um all all are welcome to come and check out the resources that they have uh here really a lot on hand and really helping navigate all the benefits and all the resources that are available to to veterans. Chris I love that so many people are showing up to be able to take part in this and get the resources they need and the fact that so many people are there just shows that there is such a big need. Chris Rosenthal will be checking in with you throughout the afternoon.