Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services

08/18/2026

Building Capacity with Our Partners Across the Nation

Summer is always a busy time at the Center, but this July and August have been among our most exciting. After years of building public awareness, encouraging community involvement, and promoting grassroots solutions that are making a difference, we participated in dozens of engagements and activities surrounding the Nation’s 250th Anniversary and Independence Day celebrations.

With more than half the year behind us, there is still much work ahead. Our team is constantly on the road, serving, engaging, and advocating on behalf of veterans and their families. Here are just a few recent examples:

- Serving those who support and serve veterans. We were proud to sponsor and participate in the General Dynamics Soldier On Golf Tournament, supporting efforts to end veteran homelessness.

- Engaging with the Nation’s veteran community. Our team met with veterans and their families at Soldier On transitional, permanent, and affordable housing communities in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. We also visited Jake’s Java, a Gold Star Family-owned business in Lanesborough, Massachusetts.

- Advocating by fostering, strengthening, and expanding community-based connections for veterans and their families. We participated in and spoke at the International Union of Elevator Constructors’ 33rd Convention, highlighting the achievements of service members during and after military service.

- And so much more.

Thank you for your support and understanding how the Center's critical work is making lives better.

08/11/2026

08/11/2026

Leveraging the Center's Greatest Asset, Our Command Council

The Command Council members at Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services (the Center) generously give both their time and treasure. Our Command Council has continued to generously donate this fiscal year, adding to the financial strength of the Center.

More importantly, members provide the Center with their strategic expertise, recommendations and access to their networks. Just in the last few weeks, the development team can attribute several development-related movements to our Command Council:

-Invited Center team members to high-profile events, including the New York St. Patrick’s Day Parade and this year’s Veterans Day Parade.

-Shared ideas, presented insights and offered feedback during one-on-one conversations and small group convenings.

-Directly referred us to three major foundations/major donors for introductions. This has resulted in meetings with managing partners at high-profile financial firms and influential philanthropists (one of which has arranged to host a private fundraising dinner).

-Agreed to host and provide corporate office space for our 2026 Holiday Reception.

-Scheduled intimate tours at Arlington National Cemetery with potential funders.

-Increased engagement on social media, by posting stories about their experience and involvement on the Center's Command Council.

We appreciate the actions, support, and commitment of all of our Command Council members.

Command Council Members
Latrese Dixon – Blue and Gold Star Family Partner

John Anderson – Spring Creek Partners and Anderson Enterprises

John Coonradt – Marine for Life

Rick Freedman – Freedman Family Foundation

Danny Gardner – Affordable Housing Subject Matter Expert (SME)

Frank Gaudio – Finance and Organization SME

Tommy Haire – Soldier for Life

Brian Hull – UBS Americas

Carol Khoury – The Fedcap Group

Leon Mangum – Soldier for Life

Bob McCann – NewEdge Capital Group

Christine McMahon – The Fedcap Group

Holly Metzger – Artist

Jerry Pascucci – UBS Americas

David Sutherland – Chair

Ed Wenzel – Edward Wenzel Associates

James E. Williams, Jr. – Non-Profit Executive SME

08/07/2026

Today, National Purple Heart Day, we honor those who were wounded or killed in combat.

08/04/2026

Turning Insight Into Action for New York’s Veteran Community

Last week, Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services, AlphaROC, and the Dwyer Coalition for Military Veterans & Families held their first project kickoff meeting to advance a shared commitment: helping communities better understand and respond to the evolving needs of veterans and their families across New York State.

The meeting brought together the partners’ complementary strengths. The Center contributed its experience building the capacity of organizations serving military and veteran communities. The Dwyer Coalition brought the knowledge and perspective of its statewide network of veteran peer-support programs. AlphaROC introduced a data-informed approach for identifying emerging trends, regional differences, and challenges that might otherwise remain unseen until they became more difficult to address.

Together, the partners established the foundation for gathering regular insights from participating Dwyer programs and translating those insights into practical information for community leaders and service providers. The work is designed to help organizations move beyond reacting to problems and instead anticipate changing needs, adjust existing programs, and develop locally relevant solutions.

This collaboration represented another step in The Center’s continued work to connect organizations, ideas, and resources that improves outcomes for those who served. Stay tuned for updates as we advance this exciting and innovative initiative.

07/31/2026

Beyond Counseling: How Vet Centers Strengthen Community Networks Supporting Veterans

At Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services (the Center), we believe that connecting our audience and partners with the right community resources serving veterans and their families is more important than creating new ones.

With thousands of organizations integrating veterans into their existing direct services nationwide, it can be difficult – even for experienced advocates – to know which services best meet the evolving needs of veterans and their families. As a result, valuable services may often be overlooked. One effective yet frequently misunderstood and perhaps underutilized resource is the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Vet Center network.

What Are Vet Centers?

Approximately 300 Vet Centers and 85 affiliated mobile units operate within the VA system, but unlike VA medical centers, they are more frequently found in communities where veterans live and work. Services are free, confidential, and available to a growing number of veterans, active-duty servicemembers, family members, and caregivers. Vet Centers provide individual, group, and couples readjustment counseling and help clients connect with VA health care, education benefits, employment resources, and other community-based services.

What Vet Centers Are Not

One common misconception is that Vet Centers are hospitals or medical facilities focused solely on serious mental health concerns. In reality, their mission is much broader. They increasingly serve as trusted community hubs that connect veterans and their families with local resources that support successful transitions from military service and long-term well-being.

What’s New and Why It Matters

Recent changes are making Vet Centers more accessible, more collaborative, and more valuable to both veterans and the organizations that serve them. Expanded eligibility, increased outreach, additional mobile and satellite locations, and a growing emphasis on partnerships are strengthening the role Vet Centers play within a broader ecosystem of support. These developments create new opportunities for colleges, universities, nonprofits, and community organizations to connect veterans with specialized services through trusted referral partnerships.

1. Expanded Eligibility

Perhaps the most significant change to Vet Centers is that eligibility has expanded well beyond the traditional image of combat veterans receiving counseling. Today, additional military-connected populations can access Vet Center services, including:

Reservists requiring behavioral health care related to military service
Coast Guard members involved in drug interdiction operations
Student veterans using Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33), Montgomery GI Bill (Chapters 30 and 1606), Veteran Readiness & Employment (Chapter 31), or Veterans’ Educational Assistance Program (Chapter 32)

Anyone, from any service period, who experienced military sexual trauma (MST)
Eligible family members when receiving services in support of a veteran or servicemember

2. Vet Center Scholarship Program

The new Vet Center Scholarship Program, established under the Health Professional Scholarship Program (HPSP), is designed to strengthen the Vet Center workforce by supporting veterans pursuing careers in social work, psychology, licensed professional mental health counseling, and marriage and family therapy. Scholarship recipients commit to serving in Vet Centers experiencing critical staffing shortages after graduation, creating a stronger pipeline of clinicians dedicated to serving veterans and military families.

3. Greater Outreach and Community Partnerships

Today, Vet Centers are placing greater emphasis on partnerships with colleges, universities, veteran-serving nonprofits, and community organizations. In doing so, rather than duplicating services, these organizations can strengthen support for veterans by building relationships with their local centers. Whether assisting a student veteran navigating the transition to college, a family adjusting to military life, or a veteran seeking employment or VA benefits, these partnerships help ensure veterans reach specialized services more efficiently.

Conclusion

At the Center, we believe no single organization can meet every need of every veteran. Strong outcomes depend on strong partnerships. Vet Centers represent an important community partner that can enhance local support networks without requiring organizations to develop duplicative services. As awareness grows, so too does the opportunity to strengthen collaboration on behalf of those who have served.

Although Vet Centers have long been an important resource, the recent changes in eligibility, workforce development, outreach, and community partnerships make them more valuable than ever. For organizations committed to serving veterans, understanding what today’s Vet Centers offer is an opportunity to strengthen local support networks and ensure veterans and their families receive the coordinated support they have earned.

07/28/2026

Save the Date: Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services Awards Ceremony and Annual Holiday Reception

Thursday Evening, December 10, 2026 from 6:00pm – 8:00pm EST New York, NY

About this Event

Each year, we take this opportunity to thank our friends, families, supporters, and donors. We also recognize outstanding individuals and organizations through the presentation of four awards:

The Eugene and Ruth Freedman Leadership Award

The Herbert and Carolyn Metzger Service Award

The Michael “Mick” Yauger Point Man Award

The Lou Lowenkron Commitment to Veterans Excellence Award

Stay tuned for a full announcement of the awardees and your invitation in the months ahead.

Sincerely,

The Center for Military and Veterans Services Team

07/24/2026

Watching The Odyssey Through the Eyes of
Veterans Coming Home

Some stories last because they keep finding new ways to speak to us, generation after generation. The Odyssey - even after thousands of years - is one of those stories. On the surface, it is an ancient epic about Odysseus’s long journey home after the Trojan War. But viewed through the lens of service members and veterans returning from war, it becomes something even more immediate: a powerful story about survival, disorientation, longing, and the difficult work of becoming whole again.

Takeaway 1: Coming home is not the same as being home

Odysseus’s journey reminds us that the return from war does not end when the fighting stops. The protagonist longs for home, yet the path back is filled with danger, delay, temptation, and loss. That tension mirrors what many veterans experience today: the desire to reconnect with family and familiar routines while carrying memories, grief, and habits shaped by service.

Takeaway 2: The hardest battles may be internal

Many of Odysseus’s trials can be read as emotional as well as physical challenges. Odysseus eating the lotus suggests the pull of escape and numbness to ease his war trauma. The cannibal giants, the Laestrygonians, represent sudden trauma and result in deep human emotions (shame, guilt, bereavement and loss). The Cyclops episode shows how pride, anger, and impulsiveness can put others at risk. These scenes can open meaningful conversations about trauma, isolation, hopelessness, and the difficult search for purpose after war.

Takeaway 3: Healing requires connection

Odysseus survives not only because he is strong, but because he continues to move toward connections - with his family, his home, and the life he hopes to reclaim. For veterans and their loved ones, that message matters. Healing is rarely solitary. It often depends on honest conversation, patient support, and communities willing to recognize that unseen wounds can be as real as visible ones.

Watching The Odyssey with family, fellow service members, or veteran groups can be more than an appreciation of a classic story. It can become a starting point for reflection: What does it mean to come home? What makes the journey difficult? And how can we better support those who are still finding their way back?

07/21/2026

Yes, We Do Use AI

Over the last several months, our Development team has participated in various webinars focused on how artificial intelligence can strengthen our operations and quality of grant applications and donor communications.

Curious. Growing. Efficient. These were the top three responses to a live poll at a recent webinar hosted by one of our funders asking attendees for one word to describe their current usage of AI. Additionally, a question was posed “will funders have issue with our use of AI?” Our host funder told us, “They expect you to use it.” Suggestions proposed that resonated with us:

Properly select model type and prompt chats for better results by outlining specific goals, providing full context, citing sources of background information and noting key expectations.
Don’t allow AI to guess or assume numbers, instruct options such as (human to insert number here) for metrics or statistics.
Customize chats and organize projects based on specific topics.

AI tools can support our work, improve efficiency, enhance storytelling, and expand our ability to serve veterans and military families. We balance that with transparency and appropriate usage.

So yes, the team at the Center does use AI for certain tasks.

07/15/2026

Congratulations to our partner and teammate, Rick Passarelli!

Pritzker Military Museum & Library (PMML) is reimagining their museum space to expand public access to the PMML’s collection, including a new library featuring books from their holdings.

The Richard Passarelli Community Library will honor Richard “Rick” Passarelli, a Navy veteran and labor leader who founded the Utility Workers Military Assistance Program in 2011 to help service members transition into stable civilian careers.

The library will carry that work forward as a place where visitors can spend time with the stories and experiences of those who served.

A New Chapter For The Pritzker Military Museum & Library "We are pulling them (books) out of the crates and putting them onto shelves where they can actually start changing how people think about service. This isn't about building a museum of the past. It is about building a classroom for the future...