The Veterans Affairs Department’s Santa Maria Community-Based Outpatient Clinic held an open house Wednesday, where information about jobs and services was available in addition to a free lunch.
The annual event occurred in the parking lot of the Santa Maria VA Clinic on the corner of East Main Street and Suey Road.
Wednesday’s event in Santa Maria went well — “except for the wind,” noted Robert Loyd, outreach director. The strong spring wind required some creative acts to keep canopy tents and pamphlets from blowing away.
The open house was a chance to connect veterans with the health care available to them in addition to a plethora of other services.
Frank Campo, from the California Employment Development Department, lined up several employers who set up tables at Wednesday’s event.
He had one goal with those he asked to attend.
“All of the employers I invited actually have jobs,” Campo said, noting some job fairs have representatives of companies that aren’t hiring, which frustrates job seekers.
Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, also attended the event.
“I am grateful for the sacrifice every veteran has made for our country,” Capps said in a written statement. “We need to ensure that no veteran or their families ever feel left behind or forgotten, which is why helping and honoring our veterans is one of my top priorities.”
The Greater LA VA Healthcare System holds open houses at its clinics throughout the region on an annual basis, according to Loyd.
The events began in 2007 as a way to welcome home veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan but expanded to include the job fair and broader services needed by veterans.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.