East County Veterans (Grants

Honoring Our Veterans: East County Veterans’ Halls Awarded County Grants

By Maximilian Nguyen

San Diego is home to the nation’s largest concentration of military personnel, resulting in an even larger veteran population. Over 57,000 of San Diego’s veterans reside in East County. For many, the transition back to civilian life can be a difficult journey. Veterans’ halls, such as American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars locations, have become important institutions where former servicemembers and their families can find support and lifelong camaraderie with one another.

Supervisor Anderson knows the importance of veterans’ halls to our military community, and in 2021, learned that many of East County’s veteran halls were in desperate need of repairs. Shortly after assuming office as County supervisor, Anderson committed to setting aside County grant funding specifically for his district’s veterans halls to ensure they could stay open and continue serving our community.

Anderson reached out to local American Legions and VFW posts and asked them to submit grant applications and outline their needs. As of November 2022, Anderson has awarded County grants to veteran halls in Poway, Campo, La Mesa (prior to redistricting), and Julian – for a grand total of $315,898. significantly from flooding and other damages – but the veterans’ organizations had exhausted their fundraising efforts and needed an alternative option. The County grant will help them pay for muchneeded building repairs.

Jack Porath, Commander of both the VFW Ship 1774 and American Legion Post 282 in La Mesa, emphasized the importance of these community spaces to the wellbeing of our veterans.

“It doesn’t matter whether you are a Legionnaire, Air Force, Marine, Navy… Coast Guard, and even now the Space Force – we take them all in,” he said. “There is a synergy that you cannot believe when you see it, and you feel it whenever you walk into the facility.”

Jerrie Thomason, President of VFW Auxiliary 1774, was raised in a military family and personally understands the sacrifices both veterans and their families must make. It was this deep sense of empathy that inspired her to become involved with veteran hall operations, where she has remained for several years now.

Thomason expressed that it is vital for the La Mesa’s veterans’ hall, which is home to VFW Ship 1774 and American Legion Post 282, has been open since 1947. Over the years, the building has deteriorated

community “to show [veterans] that we are there for them because they are there for us.”

Supervisor Anderson shared, “By revitalizing our community’s veterans’ halls, we are honoring our military community and showing them that we appreciate their sacrifice.”

Anderson is determined to help any East County veterans’ hall in need of funding for improvements.

If your veterans’ hall needs repairs and is located in District 2, contact Anderson’s office at

Joel.Anderson@sdcounty.ca.gov

or 619-219-2470 to apply for a grant through the County’s Neighborhood Reinvestment Program.

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