Cowlitz County Veterans Relief Fund and Veterans Advisory Board

The Veterans Relief Fund is Cowlitz County's programme under chapter 73.08 RCW (see the Washington entry on county veterans' assistance funds), run by Health & Human Services at 1952 9th Avenue, Longview (360-414-5599, [email protected]). Applications are not taken at the county: contracted agencies screen them, and Health & Human Services makes the final decision, processing applications at least weekly. The screening sites are the DAV Chapter 32 Cowlitz County Veterans Service Center, 1005 Fir Street, Longview (360-200-4611); HEVIN (Helping Every Veteran in Need), 1207 Commerce Avenue, Longview (360-749-2016); and VFW Post 1045, 4307 Ocean Beach Highway, Longview (360-577-6757). What it pays, as vouchers rather than cash. Food, once within two months; utilities up to $1,000 in twelve months, on a 72-hour shutoff notice; rent up to $2,000 in twelve months; housing up to $1,200 toward obtaining new housing; medical and counseling costs, including prescriptions and vision or dental care insurance does not cover; school supplies and tuition up to $2,500; clothing to secure employment and emergency car repair up to $1,500; burial up to $2,000, or $1,500 for cremation, for a deceased veteran's family; and natural disaster assistance. Total county assistance is capped at $4,000 in a twelve-month period unless the department approves an exception. In 2025 the fund answered 290 requests worth $138,338.75 for 139 unduplicated veterans, more than half of it food ($58,615) and burial ($36,713). Who. HS Form 7505, last revised August 10, 2026, applies chapter 146, Laws of 2024 as written: a qualifying discharge under RCW 73.04.005 - honorable, general under honorable conditions, other than honorable with proof of eligibility for VA monetary benefits, or any discharge given solely for sexual orientation or gender identity - plus veteran status under RCW 73.08.005. The form takes a DD-214, a pre-1950 Certificate of Discharge, a VA claim or medical card, or a State or government ID with a veteran designation. Income eligibility is qualifying public assistance (TANF, SSI, Medicaid, food stamps and the like) or total income under 150% of the poverty guidelines. Residence is one year in Washington and three months in Cowlitz County, counted from the application date. An appeal form exists; the fund's Policies and Procedures manual, the standing attachment of every board meeting, is not published online. The money. The county levies the statutory minimum, one and one-eighth cents per $1,000 of assessed value (RCW 73.08.080). The advisory board's financial report, dated March 3, 2026, budgets 2026 at $200,000 of direct assistance, $24,072 of rent support to the DAV and two VFW posts under RCW 73.04.080, $7,500 of special projects (the Cowlitz Veterans Stand Down and meal boxes), against a $235,891 levy and an estimated fund balance of $1,091,551. On May 19, 2026 the commissioners raised the fund's imprest account from the $20,000 set by Resolution 14-058 to $40,000, for cash flow while emergency assistance is processed. The board. The Veterans' Advisory Board, formed June 13, 2006, meets every other month at 3 p.m. on the third Tuesday in Conference Room A at Health & Human Services, and its agendas and minutes sit on the county's Laserfiche portal. In December 2025 it voted to send the commissioners a VRF policy with increased assistance limits and debated a dedicated VRF screening office, which failed on a 3-2 vote in January 2026; in March 2026 it amended its bylaws and welcomed Michael Settles. The commissioners' appointment letters, in their Issuu agendas, record Tim Shay's and Todd Boze's appointments on June 10, 2025 (terms to October 31, 2029), Charles Buchanan's on February 10, 2026, Michael Settles' on March 17, 2026 (to October 31, 2030) and Hillina Lane's reappointment on September 1, 2026. Todd Boze was elected chair and Christine Grubbs vice chair on February 17, 2026.