King County Awards $1.2 Million to Veterans Program

Thanks to a $1.2 million King County grant, Bellevue College will soon be able to provide case management and funding assistance to underserved student veterans.  

The grant is aimed at equity, supporting those who have low income, a disability, are BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, homeless, or re-entering society from incarceration. 

Eligible students will receive more robust and regular one-on-one case management at Bellevue College, connections to community resources, wrap-around support services, and up to $20,000 — $15,000 for tuition assistance and $5,000 for additional support.  

“What we’re really hoping for is that we’ll have more veterans attending post-secondary school and completing their degree or transferring,” Adria Harris, dean of access and student achievement at Bellevue College, said. “We’re also hoping students will learn some efficacy and learn how to navigate the college themselves.” 

Over the course of two years, the grant, which comes from a 2017 voter-approved King County Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy, will fund a pilot program in which Shoreline Community College is also a participant. In addition to being veterans or family members of those in the military, eligible students must also live in King County and be enrolled in classes at Bellevue College. However, those eligible for grant funding cannot be eligible for veterans education benefits, like the GI Bill®. 

“This grant offers the critical boost we need, not only to bridge existing gaps, but also to reach veterans and their families who previously fell outside our support network,” Joshua Kienlen, director of Veterans Services at Bellevue College, said. “Too often, we’ve had to inform prospective students that no funding was available specifically for them. This is typically due to benefits that have expired, been fully used, transferred to family members, or are unavailable due to a veteran’s character of service.” In many cases, family members either never qualify for education benefits or discover their eligibility too late to use them. 

“That’s why this pilot program with King County is such an exciting opportunity,” Kienlen said. “It equips the Veterans Resource Center with the tools and staffing necessary to support these students from start to finish. Taking on something so new and untested is certainly a challenge, but I believe we’re uniquely positioned to succeed, and I’m eager to see the impact it will have.” 

Currently, Bellevue College has 50 students who are not utilizing or eligible for veterans benefits. Those students are among 400 student veterans or military-affiliated students the Veterans Resource Center at Bellevue College serves. Tyler Hersey, a veterans outreach and support specialist with the college, said the goal will be to serve at least 25 students through this grant and case-management program.  

“A lot of our veteran students seem to have a harder time relating to every other student,” Hersey said. “There’s a lot of history with everything that they’ve all been through, just a lifestyle that most civilians aren’t really aware of or are not really knowledgeable in how to act when faced with something like that.” 

Hersey said the Veterans Resource Center connects students to other resources on campus, including the Counseling Center, the LGBTQ+ Center, Multicultural Services, and more, in addition to outside resources when necessary. Because, as he noted, even though the students the resource center serves are veterans or military affiliated, it might not be the military community that they most identify with or need support from. For those who are looking for community among other student veterans, the Veterans Resource Center holds a monthly get-together and offers a student club, the Bellevue College Association of Veterans. 

While Bellevue College has long had dedicated staff supporting veterans with education benefits, the Veterans Resource Center is a relatively new addition, having opened in fall 2021. Its launch marked a significant expansion in the scope of services Bellevue College offers, going beyond traditional veterans’ benefits to provide a broader range of resources. But the team acknowledges that sometimes student veterans need more. 

“With this grant funding, there’s been discussion of trying to expand mental health services,” Hersey said. “Specifically, among the veteran community, mental health has seen a lot of decline in the last several years and we want to be able to do something about it.” 

According to the United States Government Accountability Office, student veterans seek and receive mental health care at a higher rate than the rest of the veteran population.  

“It’s our responsibility to eliminate the outside distractions, the financial stress, the concerns they have and make it so that they can make school the number one priority. Through this grant, we’ll be able to help facilitate that ,” Hersey said. 

Bellevue College’s Veterans Program assists military service members and their families with veterans’ education benefits, including the Post 9/11 GI Bill®, Dependents Educational Assistance, Veteran Readiness and Employment, the Montgomery GI Bill, the Washington National Guard Postsecondary Education Grant, Bellevue College 25% tuition discounts, tuition waivers, safety net funding, and more. GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. More information about education benefits offered by the VA is available at the official U.S. government: benefits.va.gov/gibill.