Page 28 - Bristol Magazine Spring 2025

FROM Service to Support
by Sharon Arsego

KEY PROGRAMS AN D ASSIST AN CE

for BRISTOL VETERANS

My dad, a Navy veteran, struggled to make his next rent for service members and their families, regardless of
payment, even though he lived in senior housing with branch, component of service, or status of discharge.
a sliding scale agreement. The weight of worry hung on Donna has served as Veterans Strong’s Co-Founder and
his shoulders like a sack of rocks. He knew he needed Executive Director since it opened, and she wears her
help, and we knew our family wasn’t equipped to pro- titles with a gentle, determined spirit, and a clear sense
vide it for him. It was definitely a difficult time for all of of purpose.
us.
The Veterans Strong Mission
That is, until we found a well-established veterans pro- Every day, the staff of Veterans Strong moves forward
gram to reach out to. Using their services meant Dad with their mission in mind: To improve services, assis-
would need to meet with a stranger, share his burden tance, and communication to Veterans, Service Mem-
with them, and fill out some forms. I’m not sure which bers, Families and Military Retirees throughout the
of those steps he disliked the most, but when his finan- Greater Bristol area. They meet each client where they
cial assistance came through, we all shared in a collec- are in terms of situations and challenges. Deeply dedi-
tive sense of relief and gratitude. cated to their community, Veterans Strong helps iden-
tify veteran’s needs and faces them head on with years
I tell my dad’s story because, unfortunately, it’s a com- of experience, knowledge, and an amazing support net-
mon one, as veterans and their families face similar work at the ready.
challenges every day. Asking for help can be hard and
finding a solution can be intimidating. It’s important for Some of their available services include, but are not
them to know that the Bristol community has got their limited to, meeting basic needs, and providing guid-
six. The support highlighted in this article is dedicated ance with DD214/records requests and funeral/me-
solely to the welfare of our veterans. morial benefits. In addition to Bristol, Veterans Strong
supports Burlington, Harwinton, Plymouth, Thomaston
Veterans Strong Community Center and Wolcott. They currently operate on grants with sti-
(City Hall, 111 N. Main Street - Ground Level, Bristol) pends from those various cities. Their efforts are fur-
ther bolstered by Bristol organizations and residents
through their monetary donations, participation at
fundraisers, and volunteer hours.

When the Army Strong Community Center announced Ways to Connect
it would be closing in 2016, Donna Dognin, then a staff The Veterans Services page on the City of Bristol web-
member for their Bristol location, started planning a site provides useful links and information, including VA
way to bridge the gap in services that the closure would forms: BristolCT.gov/550/Veterans-Services
bring. The Veterans Strong Community Center is the
fulfillment of that plan. Follow Veterans Strong on Facebook:
Facebook.com/VeteransStrongCommunityCenter
The center opened that same year under the spon-
sorship of the Bristol Veterans Council. It operates as Visit the Veterans Strong website and subscribe to re-
a non-profit regional information and resource hub ceive updates: VetStrongInc.org/about

28 Bristol Magazine - Spring Issue 2025