Veteran Students
Welcome Veterans! Thank you for your service to our country! The Office for Disability Services would like to make your transition or return to Ohio State as smooth as possible. The ODS Veteran Student’s Resources Page is designed to provide access to veteran student information and resources available in the OSU community and beyond.
Click the links below to navigate this page:
- How to Receive ODS Services
- Campus Resource Links
- Community Resource Links
- Benefits and Resources Information
- Special Announcements and Events
How to Receive ODS Services
The Office for Disability Services provides individualized accommodations and support services for veteran students with disabilities. Students can speak with an ODS Counselor to discuss referral options for a student that may need accommodations. Our meetings and contact will be discreet and CONFIDENTIAL.
In order to receive services from ODS, you must provide documentation of your disability from an appropriate professional. See the criteria for documentation for more information. We also can accept paperwork that discloses the disability diagnosis, such any DD Form, diagnostic exam, or evaluation.
Here at ODS, we understand the difficulties in getting paperwork from the Veteran's Administration. If you have trouble obtaining any documentation, please contact us so that we may assist you in the process.
Campus Resource Links
OSU Veterans Affairs
In order to provide quality human resource services to faculty and staff, The Office of Human Resources supports our nation's veterans with goals to provide affirmative action assistance to covered veterans; to provide employee relations support to all faculty and staff veterans; to provide enrollment certification for student veterans participating in the GI Bill program; to serve as a focal point for all campus veteran activities; and to foster a positive campus and community atmosphere.
Phone: 614-292-7047
Counseling and Consultation Service
This office provides workshops, personal counseling, and various support groups dealing with a wide range of mental health topics including PTSD, Depression and Anxiety. Call for dates and times of activities or individual appointments.
Phone: (614)292-5766
Location: 4th Floor Younkin Success Center - 1640 Neil Ave
Student Advocacy Center
This office provides assistance in addressing problems and concerns whether they are personal or academic (e.g. classes missed due to deployment). They will answer your questions, direct you to the appropriate departments and people, and help you to become familiar with University rules, policies and procedures.
Phone: (614) 292-1111
Location: 205 Ohio Union
Community Resource Links
- Ohio Dept. of Administrative Services Military Leave Policy
- US Department of Veterans Affairs
- Ohio Dept. of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) - Veterans Services
- AMVETS - Ohio
- Veterans OutReach Center, Columbus, Ohio
Benefits and Resources Information
The Ohio Military Injury Relief Fund (MIRF)
The Ohio Military Injury Relief Fund (MIRF) was created by House Bill 66 in June of 2005.
The purpose of the MIRF is to grant money to soldiers injured while serving on active duty in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF) or Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF).
Special Announcements and Events
What is the Vet Center?
We are the people in the VA who welcome home war veterans with honor by providing quality readjustment counseling in a caring manner. Vet Centers understand and appreciate Veterans’ war experiences while assisting them and their family members toward a successful post-war adjustment in or near their community.
The Vet Center Program was established by Congress in 1979 out of the recognition that a significant number of Vietnam era veterans were still experiencing readjustment problems. Vet Centers are community based and part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In April 1991, in response to the Persian Gulf War, Congress extended the eligibility to veterans who served during other periods of armed hostilities after the Vietnam era. Those other periods are identified as Lebanon, Grenada, Panama, the Persian Gulf, Somalia, and Kosovo/Bosnia. In October 1996, Congress extended the eligibility to include WWII and Korean War combat veterans. The goal of the Vet Center program is to provide a broad range of counseling, outreach, and referral services to eligible veterans in order to help them make a satisfying post-war readjustment to civilian life. On April 1, 2003 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs extended eligibility for Vet Center services to veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and on June 25, 2003 Vet Center eligibility was extended to veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and subsequent operations within the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). The family members of all these veterans are eligible for Vet Center services as well. On August 5, 2003 VA Secretary Anthony J. Principi authorized Vet Centers to furnish bereavement counseling services to surviving parents, spouses, children and siblings of service members who die of any cause while on active duty, to include federally activated Reserve and National Guard personnel.
The majority of the staff members at Vet Centers all over the country are veterans themselves. Currently, the staff of the Vet Center in Columbus includes two OIF veterans, an Air Force veteran and a Beirut era veteran. We also have an intern (who works mostly from the Ohio State University campus) who is also an OIF veteran. We provide services for veterans who served in a combat theater, for those who are the family members of fallen service members and those veterans who experienced sexual harassment/sexual trauma at any time during their military service.
Veterans who come to the Vet Center have various life concerns including readjustment related to military-to-civilian transition, stress and anxiety, feelings of sadness and/or isolation, family-related difficulties, drug and alcohol problems and any other matter of concern to the veteran’s readjustment. We serve as guides, ones with a perspective unique to military veterans, that help veterans focus on making a smooth transition to the civilian life.
We understand, and most of all, we care.
Please call 614-257-5550 to contact the Vet Center staff
Or visit: http://www.columbus.va.gov/vet_center.asp
30 Spruce St.
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 257-5550
Fax: (614) 257-5551