Not one-size fits all. Hyannis veterans center stays flexible to meet needs, in 40th year

HYANNIS — Wilfred Remillard, 73, comes to the Cape and Islands Veterans Outreach Center, every Thursday morning to volunteer at the food pantry. Retired from his role as Harwich fire chief in 2007, Remillard started volunteering in the spring.

“This is a great group of people working here, ever since I started volunteering, I love working here,” said Remiilard, who lives in Harwich.

He is not alone. Most of the food pantry workers are volunteers. The pantry is open on Thursdays in Hyannis and offers free groceries, canned goods, meat, toiletries, and other necessities for veterans and their families.

When the pantry opened a year ago, it was serving 29 families on average. "Now we serve almost 150 families a day,” said Mike Gleason, operations manager for the outreach center and a U.S. Army veteran.

The pantry is part of the outreach center, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year as the only nonprofit veterans outreach center on the Cape and Islands, and the largest nonprofit veteran service provider. The center is at 247 Stevens St., Suite E, in Hyannis. The food pantry is at 223 Stevens St.

Forty percent of the center’s funds come from the state, and another 30% from grants, and donations including individual donors make up another 30%.

An anniversary event on Tuesday will feature Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., as the guest speaker. Dunford served as the 19th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s highest-ranking military officer. He served as the principal military adviser from Oct. 1, 2015 to Sept. 30, 2019 to the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council. Dunford is retired from the U.S. Marine Corps.

“Local initiatives like these are best equipped to understand the unique requirements of veterans in their specific area,” said Dunford in an interview with a Times reporter. “The center is familiar with the focus areas of housing, food insecurity, counseling and outreach programs. I'm a really strong supporter of local initiatives that take care of veterans.”

The outreach center in Hyannis was founded in 1983 by a group of Vietnam veterans who did not find the services and programs they needed available in the region to successfully transition back to their communities.

Dunford is the featured speaker at Hyannis center’s 40th anniversary celebration

The anniversary celebration will be held at the Emerald Resort in Hyannis and all proceeds from the event will be used to fund programs run by the center.

Dunford serves as chairman of the board for the Semper Fi Fund & America’s Fund, which supports wounded, ill and injured active-duty personnel and veterans from all branches of the service.

Dunford's brother, retired U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col Michael Dunford, is president of the Hyannis center's board of directors and lives in Dennis.

“I have known about the center and its initiative for several years now through my brother,” said Joseph Dunford. “I'm very much looking forward to the anniversary dinner as an opportunity to highlight the great work that the center is doing.”

America can't be complacent in addressing veterans' needs, Dunford said. Veterans face problems in housing, jobs and physical and mental health, which must be addressed, he said.

“The best solution for taking care of our veterans is not public programs, but rather public-private relationships and the center is a perfect example of the private piece of the commitment that we have to our veterans,” he said.

“The center is a good model for the community as a whole, not just veterans,” Dunford said.

The center is run by veterans for veterans

The Hyannis center matters, said Willy Williams, 67, an U.S. Coast Guard veteran.

“Thank God that they were there,” Williams said.

He was struggling to find permanent housing in 2021, when he moved to Cape Cod. The center was crucial to help him find housing as well as connecting him with other resources.

“Every time I needed help with anything, they were instrumental in finding it,” said Williams. “They made sure that I have health care. They redirected me where to go, who to go to and they made the whole transition happen for me.”

According to Williams, for veterans coming back from overseas warzones, reentering civilian life is like navigating a whole new world.

“There’s a lot of veterans across the country that are homeless, only because they don’t know how to get to the resources available for them,” said Williams. “If they knew how to maneuver the system, it could help anyone and the center does exactly that.”

Services offered across Cape and Islands

Apart from the food pantry, the center in Hyannis has a mobile pantry and home delivery program. The mobile pantry runs in Eastham, Falmouth, Wareham and Martha’s Vineyard.

The center this year has partnered with the Island Housing Trust to create the first neighborhood for veterans — 12 rental units on Martha's Vineyard — after Oak Bluffs town officials awarded the project to the two groups in late June.

“We’re also looking for solutions to help veterans struggling with homelessness,” said James Seymour, the executive director of the Hyannis center.

One of the bigger programs the center launched a year ago was for transportation for veterans who may not be able to drive by themselves.

This year: Martha's Vineyard is creating a first-of-its-kind neighborhood for veterans. What we know.

“We use third-party vendors like Lyft and other cab companies. The program yielded almost 1,700 rides in the first 12 months,” said Seymour.

Flexibility is key, he said.

“It’s not a one-size fits all situation, we assess veteran needs, come up with a comprehensive list of services and then tailor our responses based on that,” he said. “We’re willing to work for anybody that needs help with anything they ask for."

Rasheek Tabassum Mujib writes about healthcare and education. Reach her at rmujib@capecodonline.com.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape and Islands Veterans Outreach Center celebrates 40th anniversary