Rebekah L. Sanders

The Republic | azcentral.com

Veterans looking for a new home after leaving the military will find Maricopa County a more welcoming place if local volunteers step up.

That's what founders of Vets' Community Connections hope. The new program aims to match Valley residents with veterans and their families for 10-minute phone conversations about neighborhoods to move to, schools for their children, advice on landing jobs and other questions to ease their transition into civilian life.

"What better thing can we do as the nation's fourth-largest county than to engage in this?" Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Chucri said at the non-profit's recent launch. "Vets' Community Connections, I think, is the greatest way and greatest honor we could give to our veterans."

Veterans, military members and spouses can call 2-1-1 to be linked with a "vet connector" who will listen to the caller's questions and connect them with a program volunteer living in Maricopa County who can provide answers by phone or email. Volunteers agree to answer when a veteran's need matches their expertise.

Volunteers can sign up to take phone calls and emails from veterans at www.vetscommunityconnections.org.

The approach is helpful because it involves real people, said Roger Ferland, a Vietnam War veteran involved with the group.

"Our local veterans and their families aren't looking for another website," he said. "They're looking for personal connections to their fellow citizens and businesses who can provide them with answers to their questions and information they can trust."

Felix Zayas, an Army veteran who served in Iraq, said the effort gives civilians a chance to serve.

"There's a quiet struggle most of us are engaged in" to reconnect to society, Zayas said. Vets' Community Connections "fills the gap to get to know the community we want to know."

Maricopa County joins San Diego County and St. Joseph's County, Indiana, as the first communities chosen for the program's launch. The founders are former senior Pentagon spokesman Doug Wilson and organizational-management specialist Kari McDonough.

More than four dozen government, business and non-profit leaders helped develop the infrastructure and support for the program. The charitable information hotline 2-1-1 Arizona will handle the intake of phone calls. The National Association of Counties and Wounded Warrior Project also support the program.

"We want to be known as the most veteran-friendly community in the entire United States of America," said Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton. "Government is not the only channel to do that. In fact, it's not even the major channel. The other major channel is you, the people."

Why sign up to help vets? Volunteers explain

Allhands: Got 10 minutes for a vet? If so, here's how you can help

My Turn: Do you have 10 minutes for a vet?