This post is dedicated to all U.S. Veteran clients at Easter Seals Greater Houston.
Wednesday, November 11, is Veterans Day in the U.S. For many Houston residents, that day is a big deal—and it deserves to be. Texas has the largest Veteran population of any U.S. state (over 1.5 million, according to the Texas Veterans Commission); and around 20 percent of that population lives in Houston.
Celebrating Houston Veterans
If you’re in the Houston area and have Veterans Day off, the annual Houston Salutes American Heroes event is a great way to spend the morning.
- 10 a.m.: Veterans Day Ceremony at Houston City Hall (outdoor program with official recognitions and a keynote speaker)
- 11 a.m.: Ceremony concludes with a formal Moment of Silence (to remember the official end of World War I on November 11, 1918)
- 11:30 a.m.: American Heroes Parade begins (route covers the streets west and south of City Hall: see map on city Veterans Day page, near the bottom)
Serving Houston Veterans: Easter Seals Greater Houston
At any time of year, veterans living in or near Houston have multiple service resources to choose from. For a start, see the “military/Veterans services” page for Easter Seals Greater Houston. ESGH services include:
- Training veterans/military families in digital literacy, homebuying, health management, and other life skills
- Employment assistance
- Introducing service dogs/dogs-in-training to veterans
- Camps and other social programs
- “Respite” day care for disabled veterans and their family caregivers
See also the BridgingApps “Veterans” page.
Serving Houston Veterans: Additional Options
Many other organizations—municipal, state, federal, and nonprofit—provide services to Houston-area veterans and military families. Here are a few examples:
- Veterans Affairs (VA) Houston: Local chapter of the U.S. government’s biggest veteran-service department. Connects veterans to a wide variety of physical- and mental-health providers. (Note that veterans are not automatically enrolled for VA programs: each individual is required to fill out their own application.)
- United Way Greater Houston’s Mission United program: Provides specialist coordinators to help recently discharged veterans transition to new healthcare services, new housing, new employment, and a new sense of purpose.
- Workforce Solutions Gulf Coast, Veteran Services: Career-planning services and job fairs with veteran-specific approaches.
- U.S.VETS Houston: Nonprofit that offers mental-health, housing, and employment services.
- Family Houston: Local nonprofit with multiple family-related services, including financial assistance and counseling for Veteran families.
Additional “Veterans” Posts from BridgingApps
- List Highlight: BridgingApps for Veterans
- Apps for Veterans and Military Families
- BridgingApps Teaches Veterans to Access Free Streaming Services
- Women Veterans in the Civilian World
- Veterans and Suicide
P. S. Fun Facts About Veterans Day
- November 11—anniversary of the armistice (cease-fire) that ended World War I—was first observed as “Armistice Day” in 1919. It became Veterans Day in 1954.
- The official spelling is “Veterans Day”—no apostrophe. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (no apostrophe there either), this helps emphasize “not a day that ‘belongs’ to veterans, [but] a day for honoring all veterans.”
- Veterans Day is an official federal holiday in the United States: all federal service employees (e.g., bankers and postal workers) have the day off.
- State and local government services have no obligation to close on Veterans Day, and their policies vary widely. (In the Houston area, for example, public schools are typically open on Veterans Day but public libraries are not.)
- The U.S. is not alone in honoring veterans and other soldiers every November. Canada, Australia, and the UK all have “Remembrance Days” at the same time (though the UK observes theirs on the nearest Sunday to November 11). Remembrance Days may be similar to Veterans Day or may have a more Memorial-Day-like focus.