Black Veterans of America is a veterans fraternal organization (501-C19) founded by David L. Hall Jr., in 1991. Mr. Hall began his work to meet the needs of Black veterans who had problems accessing services.
Many veterans and their families:
- Did not know about veterans benefits including the GI Bill (home loans), spousal benefits, death benefits, emergency housing, education, and job training.
- Did not know about health care and mental health services including, nursing homes, homemaking, and home health services.
- Faced health care disparities in the VA, public and private order-cs.com commercialexploitation.org health systems.
- Faced racial disparities in prisons and were more likely to be jailed and receive harsher sentences.
- Did not have a safe place to meet other veterans who shared their cultural and military experiences.
- Did not trust governmental entities which were largely staffed by European Americans.
BVA currently advocates for Veterans and helps them navigate VA Systems. The BVA also serves as a cultural advisor to the city, county, state, and regional Veterans Service Organizations. We collaborate with Veterans and Community Organizations to help Veterans, especially African Americans, access VA services. We are committed to:
- Assisting the VA in its outreach to Veterans and their families so that they can access benefits.
- Helping the VA to diversify its staff and programs to better serve Black Veterans and their families.
- Helping Viet Nam Era African American Veterans who suffer from PTSD and Agent Orange related problems.
- Reaching out to African American Women Veterans suffering from sexual trauma, PTSD, homelessness, and family breakdown.
