Disabled American Veterans

DAV Department of Idaho Mobile Van used by Veteran Service Officers to meet with veterans.

FORT SHERMAN DAV CHAPTER #9

DAV: A legacy of service, hope for future

By Bryan Bledsoe VETERANS HELP NET

Disabled American Veterans (DAV) represents the interests of disabled veterans, their families, their widowed spouses and their orphans before Congress, the White House and the Judicial Branch, as well as state and local government.

Hard facts of history brought about DAV’s creation. But compassion and service have been the tools that made DAV what it is today.

A great deal has changed since DAV was founded, but this much has remained the same: those who return from war must have men and women waiting for them at home who will stand with them as they work to take back their lives.

DAV is a nonprofit charity that provides a lifetime of support for veterans of all generations and their families, helping more than 1 million veterans in positive, life-changing ways each year. Annually, the organization provides more than 600,000 rides to veterans attending medical appointments and assists veterans with well over 200,000 benefit claims. In 2019, DAV helped veterans receive more than $21 billion in earned benefits. DAV’s services are offered at no cost to veterans, their families and survivors.

DAV is also a leader in connecting veterans with meaningful employment, hosting job fairs and providing resources to ensure they can participate in the American Dream their sacrifices have made possible.

With nearly 1,300 chapters and more than 1 million members across the country, DAV empowers our nation’s heroes and their families by helping to provide the resources they need and ensuring our nation keeps the promises made to them.

It extends the mission of hope into the communities where these veterans and their families live through a network of state-level Departments and local Chapters.

In North Idaho, Fort Sherman DAV Chapter #9 and in Spokane Valley DAV Chapter #6 works with and assists disabled veterans and their families. Each Chapter also raise funds to provide a new van every few years to the Spokane Mann-Grandstaff Veterans Medical Center, which is used to provide free rides to medical appointments.

To learn more about the programs DAV Chapter #9 supports, go to their website www.dav9.com, which also has contact information and a link to their Facebook page.

To contact Spokane Valley DAV Chapter #6, please call them at (509) 535-9100.

DAV operates a fleet of vehicles around to provide free transportation to VA medical facilities for injured and ill veterans. DAV stepped in to help veterans get the care they need when the federal government terminated its program that helped many of them pay for transportation to and from medical facilities. The vans are driven by volunteers, and the rides coordinated by more than 174 Hospital Service Coordinators.

DAV Departments and Chapters, along with our long-time partner Ford Motor Company, have purchased 3,678 vehicles at a cost of more than $84 million, that have been donated to Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers nationwide since the program began in 1987 to ensure that injured or ill veterans are able to get to their medical appointments.

To make an appointment for a ride in Spokane, Eastern Washington and North Idaho call Jeannie Kyle at (509) 434-7019. To find out whether there is a van near you use the DAV Hospital Service Coordinator Directory to contact your nearest HSC for information or assistance. Please remember that the DAV Transportation Network is staffed by volunteers; therefore, it is unable to cover every community. We hope we can help you.