In our Toolbox.vet curriculum, Swords to Plowshares has gathered lessons learned from over forty years of community-based direct services, local and national coalition building, and technical assistance programs given to veteran organizations throughout the US. The material we have gathered here points to lessons learned and a roadmap for future support of student veterans: 

• Student veteran services are not a given—but require ongoing dedicated advocacy among those who care.  
• Critical supports must not only be advocated for and supported by the veterans who use them but by everyone in the campus community.
• Providing the right support to veterans requires an understanding of military and veteran culture. 
• Communities need collaborative action to meet the needs of veterans, their families, and populations within the veteran community (women, veterans experiencing homelessness, aging veterans, students, LGBTQ+, veterans with disabilities and more). 

We hope the tools we have presented will offer a framework to adopt veteran culturally-informed practices in your work. 

SOURCES:

American Council on Education. “From Soldier to Student II: Assessing Campus Programs for Veterans and Service Members.” Accessed: https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/From-Soldier-to-Student-II-Assessing-Campus-Programs.pdf.  

Cook, B.J., Kim, Y.M., McBain, L., Snead, K.M. From Soldier to Student II: Assessing Campus Programs for Veterans and Service Members, retrieved from http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Documents/From-Soldier-to-Student-II-Assessing-Campus-Programs.pdf.2012.2.  

Medley, J., Cheney, A. M., Grubbs, K., Abraham, T., Hunt, J., Fortney, J., Lu, L., & Curran, G. (2017). The Impact of the Psychological Sequela of Trauma on Veterans Seeking Higher Education. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 30(2).

Swords to Plowshares. “How Do Schools Ensure Veterans Succeed? A Case Study of Five Northern California Colleges & Universities.” 2019. https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5ddda3d7ad8b1151b5d16cff/5e67d729a72423c00d6d3379_Student-Veterans-Report-2019.pdf.