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National headquarters is at 7 Belgrade Ave. in Liberty
LIBERTY
Veterans’ Outreach Inc.’s exists to help military veterans in need.
“When a veteran needs help, I write a check,” said Robert Julian, vice president, treasurer and service director for the nonprofit organization.
Interviewed at Veterans’ Outreach’s new national headquarters in Liberty, Julian said he fields all veterans’ calls and helps those who visit the office in person at 7 Belgrade Ave.
The office is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
“Anything donated, we give away,” Julian said.
There is a $200 monetary cap per person per year, though the amount can exceed that in special circumstances, he said.
“We are at around 100 cases a week on hard help, meaning direct financial aid,” said John Ely, founder and president of Veterans’ Outreach.
“This is and has been our defining place in society. A lot of agencies and organizations like and appreciate the voids that we have filled,” he said.
Julian said Veterans’ Outreach has funded items as diverse as a car battery, gasoline to get to an appointment at Wade Park (at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center), or even help to get a seeing-eye dog.
“There is no better feeling than helping people, especially veterans,” he said.
“Our biggest hurdle is that people think we are a government agency,” Julian said.
Veterans’ Outreach accepts donations, conducts fundraising events, such as poker runs, and seeks grants, he said.
The organization is developing a nonresidential program to help veterans transition from military to civilian life. It all depends on if the organization receives grants, Ely said.
Neither Julian nor Ely are veterans, but, inspired by family members who served in the military, say they have a passion to help veterans.
Ely’s father was stationed with the Army at Hickam Field in Hawaii when Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese on Dec. 7, 1941.
His brother, Richard, served in the Army in the Vietnam War, and his son, Benjamin, is a captain in the Georgia Army National Guard.
Julian’s brother, Ross, was in the Army during the Korean War era, and his brother Joe, was drafted into the Marine Corps and served in the Vietnam War.
Veterans’ Outreach’s headquarters, previously located on Youngstown-Poland Road in Struthers for 15 years, has offices in seven states and is working on establishing an office in Jamestown, N.Y., said Ely. His wife, Teri, is its executive director.
Ely, 61, and Julian, 64, live in Pittsburgh, but are looking for homes in the Youngstown area.
Veterans’ Outreach is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit. To donate to Veterans’ Outreach, send a check payable to Veterans’ Outreach, 7 Belgrade Ave., Youngstown 44505, or visit its website, veteransoutreach.org, and click on “Donate.”