Grant money is given to Jacksonville-area organizations to help support local veterans
As part of this year’s Celebration of Valor, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the City of Jacksonville’s Military Affairs & Veterans Department awarded grants to a number of local groups that assist military personnel and veterans in need.
Both K9s for Warriors and Operation New Uniform won $5,000.
Greg Wells, Manager of programmes for K9s for Soldiers, said, “What this city is helping us do is create hope for the veterans, for our warriors,.
“It’s helping veterans,” said Sean Stull, Operation New Uniform’s Director of Training and Transition. “It’s making sure no veteran struggles the way I did.”
It’s been two years since Stull retired from the Navy, but the experience is still a blur to him. It’s hard to figure out who you are without your outfit, he said.
“I struggled a little bit trying to figure out where I fit.”
He now mentors other veterans in the aim of expanding his business with the money he’s been given. As he put it, “[Operation New Uniform wants] to help more veterans, to spread our reach further.”
K9s For Warriors will use the grant money to build a mega-kennel, which will allow the group to more than increase the number of service dogs it can pair with veterans while also reducing waiting times for pups to be placed.
Now, veterans will only have to wait approximately a year before they can get a service dog instead of the five years they once had to wait for.
Wells highlighted, “What we need to do is focus on helping the warrior right now,” While in the military, he saw action in Iraq and Afghanistan. “I got a service dog and immediately I knew I was going to be ok. I love this dog.”
He and his service dog, Utah, have been together for over six years.
There are a lot of resources out there for military veterans, and all they have to do is ask for them.
“There’s a light.” Stull insisted that there is a brighter future ahead. “You do have value, you don’t have to just settle.”