Lake County Veterans Service Commission: Emergency Financial Assistance

The Lake County Veterans Service Commission is the county's commission under Revised Code chapter 5901; see the Ohio entry on county veterans service commissions. Its office is at 105 Main Street, Building C, Painesville 44077 (440-350-2904, [email protected]). In 2024 it approved 280 of 291 assistance applications, totalling $429,226. What it pays. Emergency, temporary help with rent or mortgage, utilities, food and other needs considered case by case, paid by mail to the applicant or the creditor. It is not meant to supplement income or pay for home improvements. The commission's formal rules (adopted 1994, revised 2016). One grant in any 30 days and three in 12 months, unless there is an emergency, extreme hardship or disability; on a fourth application in 12 months the applicant appears before the commission. Only the commission approves a grant; the executive director may give food or gas cards in an emergency. A telephone bill is paid only with a doctor's statement of medical necessity. Receipts for earlier grants must be shown before a new application. An application may be refused where income exceeds expenses without explanation, where the household is not living within its means or has no long-term plan, or where the applicant has not sought help from other agencies or work as directed. The veteran must attend unless working, hospitalized or disabled, or the applicant is a former spouse with custody of the veteran's children. How to apply. Download the packet, gather paper copies of everything on it (the DD-214, photo ID for every adult, family certificates, 30 days of income, 30 days of activity on every bank account no older than five days, and every current bill), then call 440-350-2904 for an appointment; applications are not taken by email or fax. All five commissioners review each application, which takes five business days or more, sooner for a shut-off or eviction. A refusal can be appealed in person at the next board meeting, booked at least five days ahead, with ten minutes to present. Who qualifies. The rules state the statute's test: active federal service other than for training and a discharge under honorable conditions (5901.01(B)), three months' residence (5901.08), and a definite financial need judged on income, expenses and liquid assets. Two readings are the commission's own. It counts initial recruit training as active duty other than training, which helps a veteran discharged from basic training. And it "generally" judges eligibility and discharge from the most recent period of service; a veteran whose earlier service ended honorably and a later period did not should ask the commission to look at the whole record. No rating is needed. Burial and Memorial Day. Section 5901.25 has the commission bury or cremate a veteran, or a veteran's parent, spouse or surviving spouse, who died without means, with up to $1,000 from the county (see the Ohio entry); the commission's site does not describe its practice, so call before signing a funeral contract. The commission reimburses chartered veterans posts up to $500 each for Memorial Day costs under Revised Code 307.66, and supplies grave marker flags to posts.