The Portage County Veterans Service Commission discovered that they did not have to look far for a new building. The PCVSC held its official “grand opening” for its new location at 466 South Chestnut Street last Saturday in Ravenna.
“We were upstairs in the Portage County Administrative Building, we were there for about 40 years,” PCVSC Officer/Director Sherwood “Woody” Truman told The Weekly Villager. “We moved into the building in 1978 but we started getting too big for it. We started getting more and more veterans and we needed veteran service officers and we had to expand.”
In attendance were Portage County Board of Commissioners’ President Mike Tinlin and recently elected commissioner Jill Crawford as well as several community sponsors and resources who came to show their support and appreciation for veterans, including the Kent State University Center for Adult & Veteran Services, University of Akron’s Military Services Center and the VA Northeast Ohio Health Care System.
In a county that currently has 9,000 registered veterans of the armed forces, the PCVSC provides services to approximately 3,500 veterans. Truman said that number has grown considerably over the last few years.
The PCVSC had spent the last four decades on the third floor of the PC Administrative Building but only needed to move a few feet into their new location, finding a new home in the former Portage County Prosecutor’s Office, which is in front of the PC Administrative Building.
According to Truman, the PCVSC already moved into the former PC Prosecutor’s Office last October but held off on having a grand opening because of the weather. Although it was a grand opening, the PSCSC’s operations had already been running out of the building for the last eight months.
Truman said that for the last several years, things had gotten a little crowded for the PCVSC as they were reaching more and more veterans but simply did not have the office space necessary to accommodate their clients.
“Having that space and privacy where they are going to talk to one person and not worry about others overhearing because our offices were really close,” he acknowledged “Nine of us were working up there and there were only five or six offices, so it was really cramped.”
PCVSC President Brian Smith said that when they discovered that the former PC Prosecutor’s Office was vacant, they discussed moving there with the Portage County Board of Commissioners and the move was approved.
Smith added that the PCVSC needed to make drastic renovations to the building to accommodate their move and the Portage County Commissioners funded all of the work on the building.
“They renovated it for us, so they literally made it ADA compliant,” he said. “They completely gutted it, new drywall, carpet, hardwood. They took care of it for it us. Even the entry way makes it handicap-accessible for veterans that are on scooters and on wheelchairs that could not make it up the steps.
Truman emphasized that the extra space that the PCVSC now has in their new home has made a great difference in dealing with their clients. Visiting veterans and their families no longer have to worry about privacy, as all nine members of the PCVSC have their own office and can close their door anytime when they are having sensitive discussions.
“People are a lot more comfortable when they come in knowing we have that space,” he added. “If someone comes in with sexual trauma or someone comes in with PTSD, they don’t want everyone in that building hearing that. That is the biggest difference right there.”
In addition to hosting a grand opening, the PCVSC also welcomed Tinlin and Crawford to make a few comments to commemorate their move into their new home.
Crawford highlighted the importance of the PCVSC for its work not just in Ravenna but in the entire Portage County area.
“Veteran service is dedicated to addressing those who served and sacrificed for our country,” she said.
She also credited the PCVSC for offering every type of assistance for veterans, including temporary housing and transportation to medical appointments.
Tinlin then spoke about how important it was for the PCVSC to find new offices as its client-base was growing.
“I walked the building quite a bit; the workers had no space, we didn’t think that was right,” he added.
Crawford and Tinlin presented the PSVSC with a proclamation on behalf of the Portage County Board of Commissioners that recognized their new home and a representative from the office of Ohio Congressional Representative David Joyce also presented a proclamation to Truman for his years of service to PCVSC both as an officer and director as well as an American flag to display on the exterior of the building.
