Mahoning County Veterans Service Commission: Financial Assistance

The Mahoning County Veterans Service Commission is the county's commission under Revised Code chapter 5901; see the Ohio entry on county veterans service commissions. Its five members are appointed to five-year terms by a judge of the county's court of common pleas from the veterans organizations' lists (Revised Code 5901.02): Greg Patrick (American Legion), Ken Calhoun (Veterans of Foreign Wars), Dale Baringer (Disabled American Veterans), Brian M. Kennedy (American Veterans) and Derick Young (Military Order of the Purple Heart). The office is at 1915 Belmont Avenue, Youngstown 44504 (330-740-2450, fax 330-788-3501), weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., walk-ins welcome. It moved there from 345 Oak Hill Avenue, Entrance A, Suite 100, into the county's Veterans Center building, whose renovations the commissioners carry as project 00133 and for whose site they accepted a quit claim deed from the Western Reserve Port Authority on March 26, 2026; the commissioners themselves have met in the building since January 21, 2026. The executive director is Susan Krawchyk, an Army sergeant first class retired who joined the office in 2007 and has directed it since 2014; the assistant director is Nate Walker, an Ohio Army National Guard CH-47F pilot, and the service officer is Barry Landgraver, an Air Force master sergeant retired, with the office since 2001. The commission is funded by the county's property tax; the commissioners approve its compensation and expenses each year, most recently by resolution of January 12, 2026. What it pays. Financial assistance is determined weekly on a case-by-case basis by the five-member board, and is temporary. An applicant must be a bona fide resident of Mahoning County for at least 90 days (and of Ohio for three months), must demonstrate a need for assistance, must have a household income at or below the programme's guidelines, and must not have more than $25,000 in liquid assets. At the appointment the office asks for proof of household income for the past thirty days, current utility bills, proof of rent or shelter payment with payee information, and proof of any other monthly income. The commission's site lists rent, utilities and burial among the county-paid items, and its staff help with VA claims, records and burial paperwork as the Ohio entry describes. Winter utility assistance. A separate winter utility programme, reviewed annually, pays when the household income falls below the programme's guidelines and the liquid-asset ceiling holds, the bills are in the veteran's or the veteran's spouse's name, and the applicant has applied for HEAP, the Ohio Energy Credit and the Home Weatherization Program. Who qualifies. The statute's test in Revised Code 5901.01(B) and 5901.08, in the commission's words: honorably discharged from active military service performed for other than training purposes, or the spouse, widow, child, parent or dependent of such a veteran. No rating is needed. Burial. The commission's site names a county burial allowance of up to $600 for a veteran who was a resident of Mahoning County at death, and quotes the VA's federal figures beside it (see the Ohio entry). Nothing more about the indigent burial 5901.25 requires is published, so call 330-740-2450 before signing a funeral contract.