Nash Hosts Road to Reintegration for Veterans

Oakland County  Commissioner Jim Nash will host the “Road to Reintegration II” Oakland County Community Event.

The event will focus on bringing key stakeholders together from various military and civilian agencies in the local community to create a system to better serve those who serve us in the military and their families.
 
National Guard leaders from Lansing and human service organizations serving Oakland County will participate. Objectives include looking at programs that serve our returning troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, and identify the needs of families of those deployed overseas.

“This event will serve as a benchmark of what we have accomplished since our last 'Road to Reintegration' event in 2009. It will give us insight on what needs to be done, once again, to coordinate our efforts to ensure that these heroes we depend on get the resources they need to succeed, now, and in the future,” said Nash, who is also a Vietnam veteran.

Speakers for this year’s meeting include: 

• Colonel Jim Bartolacci and Dr. Lisa Gorman, PhD., both from the Michigan National Guard Headquarters in Lansing, who will give a thorough presentation on who is being served. They will also explain the needs of military families and personnel and give insight on how the National Guard is working to accomplish goals that meet the needs of both families and military personnel.
• Oakland County Community Mental Health Authority Executive Director Jeff Brown will speak about programs helping families of soldiers currently serving overseas and troops returning to our County.
• Community Housing Network Director Mark Craig will discuss housing issues for our troops and their families.
• Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth Career Counselor Rene Brzeg from the Waterford Career Center will discuss employment programs for veterans in Oakland County.
• Oakland County Veterans’ Services Division Manager Garth Wootten will speak about Oakland County’s assistance programs for veterans.

The meeting will also include a question and answer session.

“The needs of our soldiers and their families must be addressed that is why Oakland County continues to work closely with Lansing to make sure that our veterans are not forgotten and that the work is done on their behalf,” Nash said.

The event is free and open to the public. The “Road to Reintegration II” event is a community outreach effort to recognize April as National County Government Month, in conjunction with the National Association of Counties (NACo) organization. This year’s, NACO theme is “Serving Our Veterans, Armed Forces and Their Families,” as part of National County Government Month.

For more information, contact Commissioner Jim Nash at 248-471-3759 or by email at jimnash2004@msn.com.