Bowie County looks to expand programs to assist veterans
- Jul 10
- 2 min read
By Kenny Mitchell
Bowie County is set to vastly expand its service and assistance to local veterans this fall through a new partnership with Cass, Marion and Morris County that will open the door for what Precinct 4 Commissioner Mike Carter says is a veterans assistance program that is the first of its kind for Bowie County veterans and their families.
The assistance comes in the form of an $800,000 grant from the Texas Veterans Commission. Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Veterans Commission recently announced that $40.8 million in Fund for Veterans’ Assistance (FVA) grants would be given out this year to support 190 grants to 160 organizations across the state. FVA grants are awarded to nonprofit organizations and local government agencies throughout Texas that provide direct services to veterans and their families. The 190 grants are anticipated to serve over 125,698 veterans and family members statewide.
Carter told the West Bowie Post that half of the grant funds would be allocated for home assistance such as remodeling, wheelchair ramps and any other work on a home needed to make it more livable.
One drastic difference from the norm is these grants funds are made available not just to individual veterans, but also to spouses and dependent children.
The other $400,00 in the grant funds will be directed to helping veterans with everyday living expenses like utility bills and house payments. Funds will be available to pay as much as six months of house payments if a veteran’s family is in need of that assistance.
Carter stated that when he first heard about the grant program he reached out to Cass County Judge Travis Ransom. Cass County already has a Veterans Service Office, unlike Bowie County, and that office has been actively involved in past grant programs.
Ransom told Carter that they would be able to receive a bigger grant if the four counties joined together. Each of the four counties made their own presentation to the Texas Veterans Commission relaying the need for the grant funds, with Carter making the presentation for Bowie County.
The grant funds will be overseen through the Cass County Veterans Services office, which already has the staff, and an inspector when needed for home repairs.
Bowie County will only be responsible for the travel expenses for that inspector, making it a low-cost resolution to the void currently seen in Bowie County where it comes to serving the approximate 5,900 veterans in the county.
Carter said, “This is a really good program for our veterans. Bowie County has never really had a program in place like this for our veterans and I am glad we were able to get this dome so that we can take better care of those who have served us in the military.”
The grant funds are set to be allocated in September, and the funds are made available from the state through the sales of a $2 ticket sold through the Texas Lottery Commission.
For more information, you can call Precinct 4 Commissioner Make Carter at 903.628.2278 the Cass County office at 903-756-5221 or you can contact Veterans Services Officer Gary Foster via email at vso@casscountytx.org. For more information on the statewide program, you can visit their website found at www.tvc.texas.gov