Grant County Veteran Services and Veterans Assistance Fund

The fund is Grant County's programme under chapter 73.08 RCW (see the Washington entry on county veterans' assistance funds), paid from the county's veterans levy and run by Veteran Services under the 2026 Veterans Assistance Fund Policies and Procedures the commissioners approved on March 17, 2026. "This program is not designed to be a sustainment program", and "There is no automatic entitlement to assistance." Who. The 2026 policy defines a veteran "As defined by RCW 73.08.010" and copies the statute's pre-2024 wording: at least 180 days of active duty and an honourable discharge, or an honourable or general discharge for a condition that did not exist before service, or an honourable discharge with any VA service-connected rating, or the Guard and Reserve routes. The definitions are in RCW 73.08.005, not 73.08.010, and since chapter 146, Laws of 2024 they take a qualifying discharge under RCW 73.04.005: honorable, general under honorable conditions, other than honorable with VA documentation of monetary benefits, or any characterization where the discharge was solely for sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. The policy as written is therefore narrower than the statute; a veteran turned away on discharge alone should ask for the decision in writing and cite RCW 73.08.005. Household income may not exceed 180% of the federal poverty level (the 2026 table: $2,394 a month for one person, $3,246 for two, $4,098 for three, $4,950 for four). The applicant must have been a permanent Grant County resident for the preceding 90 days. Unemployed veterans may be asked to look for work with WorkSource's veterans representative. A spouse, domestic partner or dependent child may get help "only upon the death of the veteran, for the subsequent six (6) months." What it pays. Utilities to prevent cut-off (once per utility a year; wood or propane counts where it is the main heat), rent or mortgage (once a year, with proof of eviction danger; first and last month's rent and deposit case by case), food and hygiene items (up to $200 a month, $325 with a dependant and $125 more for each further dependant, for at most three months a year), $100 gas cards (one a month, three a year), a Grant Transit Authority bus pass, emergency medical, dental or prescription costs for a veteran enrolled in VA or other health cover, up to 14 nights a year in a county-agreed motel for a homeless veteran, work clothing, certification fees, union dues, and help with burial or cremation. Appendix A caps the total at "$2,400/veteran (this includes dependents)" a calendar year. Payment is a county warrant to the landlord, utility or vendor, never to the veteran. Documents. A DD-214, a VA statement of service or, before 1950, a discharge certificate (the office helps request a missing DD-214), proof of the emergency (bill, eviction or shut-off notice, lease or mortgage statement) and proof of income such as pay stubs, the last tax return and bank statements. Appeals. A written grievance to the Veteran Services Supervisor within 15 days of a denial; then in writing to the Clerk of the Board, PO Box 37, 35 C Street NW, Ephrata, WA 98823, who answers within five business days and puts a recommendation to the commissioners within 30 days. The commissioners decide. Claims and other help. "Veteran Service Officer are accredited by the WDVA to assist with VA Claims for Disability, Health, and Burial benefits": Anthony Garcia, Veteran Services Supervisor, and Trevor Rollins, Veteran Service Officer, Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., walk-ins 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The claim checklist asks for the DD-214, the condition claimed, medical evidence, supporting statements, a voided cheque for a first claim, and marriage and birth certificates for dependants; for an appeal, the decision and award letters. In the same office WorkSource's Consolidated Veterans Service Representative meets veterans on Wednesdays; Bates Counseling Services sees veterans for therapy on Mondays and Fridays under a WDVA contract; and a Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Program career counsellor meets veterans by appointment. Under contract 305V-26-082 (September 14, 2026) a WDVA Vet Corps AmeriCorps member works with the office until August 31, 2027, running workshops and outreach. The board. The Veterans Advisory Board, whose June 2025 bylaws seat ten veterans for the county's four American Legion posts, VFW Post 24, WorkSource, the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association and the public at large, advises the commissioners on the fund and reviews its policy each year by its fourth-quarter meeting; on August 24, 2026 the commissioners eliminated a vacant at-large seat, leaving two.