In addition to the Environmental Assessment project, the William Joiner Institute (WJI) also has recently conducted research pertaining to the challenges and successes of Veteran Service Officers (VSOs) working in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (MA). This project was led by Steve Medeiros and Benjamin Nguyen, both are VA work-study students at UMass Boston.
Back in 2020, the town of Natick commissioned WJI and the Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging, Gerontology Institute to, “…conduct an assessment of the current services provided by the Town and provide recommendations for how these valuable resources can be distributed more widely among residents”(Town of Natick Study, p. 3), with the intent of exploring ways VSOs can provide better help to Veterans and their families within the communities of MA.
VSOs are state-funded roles that aim to assist the Veteran and their families with various needs post service. In many cases, they are the first point of contact to assist Veterans with their needs, with most Veterans reaching out for Education, Health, and Financial Benefits.
In the Spring of 2021, Steve, a Army Veteran, and Benjamin, a Navy Veteran, took the initiative to further this study with the primary objectives to identify and share best practices and common challenges, and develop recommendations for expanding engagement and support of Veteran communities in Massachusetts. They designed and implemented a voluntary electronic pilot survey of 222 VSOs across Massachusetts. By August 2021, they completed this survey pilot project, with 70 VSOs responding, and 46 VSOs completing the entire survey.
From this study, of the VSOs who responded, 83% reported they are a staff of one, 40% served about 150 Veterans over the past year, and less than 75% indicated they had no follow-up mechanism in place. A majority shared that honest and frequent communications with town or district administrators were important, 48% reported little to no training before becoming a VSO, and 74% responded that VSOs had the training and skills to assist veterans. Additionally, VSOs identify with the following ages: 51+ (59%); 41-50 (21%); 31-40 (20%), ethnicities: 4% Hispanic or Latino, races: White (89%); BAA (2%); Other (9%), and gender: Male (76%); Female (24%).
Steve, Benjaman and co-directors, Tom and Ana, presented their findings of the VSOs pilot research study at the Eastern Sociological Society (ESS) conference in March 2022. This research is critical in providing efficient feedback about the roles of the VSOs, by looking at the feedback and findings of the research, and how communities, towns or cities might better support their VSOs to better assist our Veterans and their families. A more in-depth, sanctioned survey is recommended to better canvas the entire VSO community inclusive of Veteran interviews, as well as exploring possible VSO training overlap, gaps, and processes.