Veterans unsatisfied with Wakulla County Veteran's Service Office Hours

• Veterans in Wakulla County are pushing for more access to resources funded by the county.
• Some veterans say they're unsatisfied with the Veterans Services Office hours.
• Watch the video to see how this impacts veterans in Wakulla County.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

"It's just not available."

Robert Ponder joined the Florida Army National Guard 1979 and has lived in Wakulla County most of his life.

"When you do call and leave messages it may take a week it may take a month or you may never get a call back at all."

He's talking about the Wakulla County Veterans Service Office availability.

I've also been trying to contact the Veterans Services Officer all week and each time I was sent to voicemail.

The hours used to be full time on weekdays, until the county announced updated hours earlier this year.

The updated hours are listed on the county's website are:

Monday-Thursday : 6:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

Friday: 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The County tells me they are "currently on a six-month trial period that commenced in March 2024. These hours will be reevaluated at the end of the trial period"

Sean Golder is also a veteran. He says they want to see more availability.

"It's been a challenge to say the least we went to the county continuing to get the word out there that we need help."

When I brought these concerns to the county, they responded saying:c

"We have not received any complaints regarding the new office hours or the accessibility of services."

But Golder and Ponder say that's not the case

"We get calls at least two or three a week saying I can't get ahold of anybody can you help me out which we're happy to do, but we're pushing folks over to Tallahassee because we don't have an alternative."

Veterans Services offers access to crisis intervention, counseling, transportation and more which Golder hopes others realize.

"All these other things that are needed by many veterans lose focus because they think that the complaints or concerns that we're voicing are just for veteran disabilities that's not the case."

Both Golder, Ponder and other veterans I've spoken with say they hope more neighbors will see the importance of having these resources available to veterans in the county.