The Sacramento Public Library has opened a veterans resource center in Rancho Cordova.
The new center offers information about healthcare, job training and benefits.
Bill Mattingly served in Vietnam as a Marine and is now a volunteer at the center.
"If they need help with food, housing, getting their veterans benefits, being a friend, talk to them so somebody’ll listen," Mattingly says. "To me, that's the important part. Let them know that somebody cares."
He says there are people who served in the U.S. Armed Forces but don't consider themselves veterans and don't know they qualify for benefits.
Tracy McLinn was one of the first visitors to the center.
"I work with a senior living assisted living facility here in the Rancho Cordova area, and we're always looking for resources," McLinn says. "Our veterans don’t know often times what’s available to them — and so (I'm) just wanting to connect them."
Rivkah Sass is the library's executive director.
"We knew that Rancho Cordova in terms of both the library and the community would support this like nobody’s business," Sass says. "We believe this will be incredibly successful and it will make that connection. We want to make sure veterans know there are resources out there that can help them and the library’s the natural place for that."
This is the third public library branch to provide year-round access to veterans services.
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