TALLAHASSEE – With the close of 2024, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs (FDVA) are highlighting policies and initiatives providing critical support to our state’s Veterans, their families, and survivors. FDVA, which celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2024, is a constitutionally chartered department responsible for serving the Nation’s estimated second largest Veteran population. Operating as the premier point of entry for Florida’s 1.4 million Veterans, FDVA operates a network of State Veterans’ Homes and provides statewide outreach to connect Veterans with earned services, benefits and support.
Investment in Veterans:
Governor Ron DeSantis signed many veteran-friendly bills into law following the 2024 Florida Legislative Session:
In addition, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that an additional 176 Florida schools have earned the Purple Star School of Distinction designation for their extensive support of military families. There are now nearly 400 schools throughout the state that have earned a Purple Star School designation. Additionally, five school districts have earned the Florida Purple Star School District designation established this year. The five school districts awarded the Florida Purple Star School District designation are Bay, Brevard, Citrus, Okaloosa and Santa Rosa.
In 2024, FDVA State Veterans’ Service Officers assisted more than 245,000 Veterans in providing information and counsel on earned services, benefits and support. In addition, State Veterans’ Service Officers have processed nearly 44,000 new claims on behalf of Florida Veterans, and helped recover more than $259 million in retroactive benefits for Florida Veterans and their families. Included in the 2024 budget is an increase in the number of State Veterans’ Service Officers, reflecting the state’s large Veteran population and the addition and expansion of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs health care facilities.
In the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, 42 FDVA State Veterans’ Service Officers were deployed to Multi-Agency Resource Centers and Disaster Recovery Centers in hard-hit counties to connect more than 380 veterans and their families to earned services, benefits and support.
The Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Focus on Florida’s Future budget funds a dental grant program that will enable deserving qualified Florida Veterans to receive no-cost dental care to improve their general health, as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reports only 15 percent of enrolled Veterans nationwide are eligible for dental care.
FDVA’s monthly Forward March Veterans’ Newsletter continues to grow subscribers. The email subscription-based newsletter has more than 62,000 subscribers and is available by visiting www.FloridaVets.org.
FDVA printed and distributed 150,000 copies of the 2024 edition of the Florida Veterans’ Benefits Guide, courtesy of a grant from the Florida Veterans Foundation. An interactive online version is also available on the FDVA website at www.FloridaVets.org.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed proclamations honoring Veterans this year, including for Memorial Day and Veterans Day, Vietnam War Veterans Day in Florida, the 80th Anniversaries of D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge, Korean War Remembrance Day, Florida Purple Heart Day, POW/MIA Recognition Day and Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day in Florida.
Hope Florida:
Hope Florida brings together the vast resources of our community to create a seamless network of support. When you call (833) GET HOPE, you’ll be connected to a caring Hope Navigator, ready to guide you on an individualized pathway to achieve prosperity, economic self-sufficiency and hope. Hope Florida supports Veterans by connecting them to services, earned benefits and community resources through Hope Navigators. Unique to this expansion, Hope Navigators are coordinating with FDVA’s State Veterans’ Service Officers to assist Veterans in navigating their benefits. More than 875 Veterans and their families were served by FDVA Hope Navigators in 2024.
Mental Health:
Under the leadership of Gov. Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis, veterans’ mental health services continue to receive the attention they need.
Career and Job Opportunities:
Veterans Florida is a State created non-profit that provides career, SkillBridge, and entrepreneurship resources and training for separating and retiring service members, veterans, members of the Guard and Reserves, and their spouses across Florida. The budget continues a $2 million annual investment in Veterans Florida activities to build a skilled military and veteran talent pipeline into the state.
Veterans Florida also administers the state’s SkillBridge initiative, which connects active-duty service members with high-tech, Florida-based employers during their last six months prior to discharge. Over 200 service members have completed their training and moved into careers in law enforcement, aerospace, manufacturing and other high-skilled industries.
The Veterans Florida Agriculture Program builds the next generation of agriculture leaders. Over 70 veterans and active-duty service members completed training in Fiscal Years 2020-24, working alongside leading instructors at UF/IFAS research farms across the state and receiving hands-on training to compete in one of Florida’s most critical industries.
More than 170 participants attended the 2024 Veterans Florida Expo held June 7-8 in Tampa. It featured 25 speakers, more than 40 exhibitors and employers, and awarded $17,500 to veteran entrepreneurs in the statewide Battle of the Pitches.
The Florida Department of Commerce, the Florida National Guard, the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs and participating Florida employers partnered with CareerSource Florida’s 21 Local Workforce Development Boards to connect Veterans with great careers in their communities. The annual statewide hiring events for Veterans and military families – Paychecks for Patriots – were held throughout the month of November. Hope Navigators from several State Agencies connected Veterans and their families with vital services.
The Florida Department of Commerce launched the Spousal License Reciprocity Matrix in 2024, a one-stop reference source for helping military spouses transfer, renew, or reissue professional licenses they need for work after relocating to Florida. For more information, visit https://www.floridajobs.org/docs/default-source/military-files/military-defense/fl-slr-matrix.pdf.
The 80th Anniversary of the GI Bill was June 22. More than 56,000 Floridians used earned GI Bill benefits in fiscal 2023 to further their secondary education.
State Veterans’ Homes:
The Focus on Florida’s Future budget signed into law in 2024 by Governor DeSantis supports the daily operations of Florida’s eight state-run veterans’ nursing homes and one assisted living facility. To support Florida’s legacy Veterans’ Homes, the budget provides $4 million for maintenance and repairs necessary to provide Veterans’ Home residents a safe, compassionate state-of-the-art facility that meets their needs.
Women Veterans’ Outreach:
A new comprehensive website for Florida’s 168,000 women veterans was launched in 2024 at https://womenveterans.floridavets.org. The Sunshine State is home to the second-largest population of women Veterans in the nation. Many women Veterans don’t know they are eligible for the full range of federal and state benefits, including special programs.
Florida Veterans’ Hall of Fame:
Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Cabinet voted unanimously to induct 20 Veterans into the Florida Veterans’ Hall of Fame. The Class of 2024 is the 12th class to enter the Hall of Fame. Inductees include: Augustus Aikens, Colonel, Florida Army National Guard (Ret), Ronald Beasley, Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret), Jennifer Carroll, Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy (Ret), Thomas Corey, U.S. Army Veteran (Deceased), Arthur (Chip) Diehl III, Brigadier General, U.S. Air Force (Ret), Loretta Ford, U.S. Army Veteran, Lorraine Holland, Major, U.S. Army (Ret), Beatrice Love-Moore, U.S. Navy Veteran, Lionel Lowry, U.S. Air Force Veteran, John McGee, Major, U.S. Army (Ret), Carl Miller, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran, Charles Mohr, Colonel, U.S. Army (Ret), Jerry Neff, Brigadier General, Florida Army National Guard (Ret), Ronald Rook, Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret) (Deceased), Karen Roper, Commander, U.S. Navy (Ret), Steven Saladino, U.S. Army Veteran, Kurt Schuh, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force (Ret), Jon Shebel, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran, James Stavridis, Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret), and Harold Youmans, Colonel, U.S. Army (Ret).
GI LAW – Lawyers Assisting Warriors:
Gov. Ron DeSantis created the Governor’s Initiative on Lawyers Assisting Warriors (GI LAW) to recruit Florida’s leading law firms to provide pro bono, no cost legal services to Florida’s active-duty service members. To date, eight statewide law firms have provided free legal representation to more than 265 service members.