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Veterans Service Officers are struggling to meet growing demand, according to state audit

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Colorado Department of Military and Veteran Affairs is dealing with a shortage of Veterans Service Officers (VSOs) according to a report released Wednesday by The Office of the State Auditor.

"I’m not bashing the VA at all, but there's a lot of need in our veterans' community today," said Todd Youngblood, Chief Development Officer of the Colorado Veterans Project. "And it's almost impossible for that one organization to address all the needs in our community.”

The audit reports there are currently 92,891 veterans living in El Paso County and only 7 VSOs — officers that connect veterans to resources and find benefits they're eligible for.

The audit collected data on the veterans statewide that use VSOs as a resource, finding that VSOs in Southeast Colorado are each supporting up to 426 veterans. In Denver, an individual VSO is supporting up to 1,000.

Youngblood experienced the shortage firsthand when he attempted to meet with a VSO for help filing a disability claim and ran into roadblocks.

"I believe I found the right location, but I could only go there Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday," said Youngblood. "I couldn't schedule an appointment with them, and kind of the word on the street was, if you're lucky enough to get an appointment, they're just really busy and overwhelmed."

Youngblood says the shortage puts pressure on nonprofits like the one he works for, the Colorado Veterans Project, to fill in the gaps.

"I don't think our nonprofit should be expected to fully supplement what should be done by a better staffed internal organization, you know, in certain positions with the VA,” said Youngblood.

Yet, a lack of resources and support for veterans is an outcome Youngblood can't accept.

"The worst thing we can do for our veterans is not have a clear path forward, to not have the resources available to them after they've given so much to our country and sacrificed so much for us," said Youngblood. "It's the least we can do to make sure that they have a clear path to get the services that they need and deserve."

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Department of Military and Veteran Affairs
veterans
Veterans Service Officers
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Annabelle Childers

Annabelle is a reporter for KRDO NewsChannel 13. Learn more about her here.

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