TRIO Veterans Upward Bound NW Ohio

06/01/2026

When did you last verify your GI Bill enrollment?

Not the school certifying you at the start of the term. That's a different thing. This is the check-in the VA started requiring every single month as of January 1st.

Here's what most student veterans don't know yet. If you're on the Post-9/11 GI Bill getting a housing allowance, or you're a spouse or kid using Chapter 35, you're now in the group that has to verify monthly. You weren't before. You are now.

Miss two months in a row and the VA pauses your payments. Including the housing money. It doesn't restart on its own. You have to verify before it comes back, and for some folks that means a phone call to the Education Call Center to get the hold released.

For a lot of veterans the first sign anything's wrong is the rent money just not showing up.

So run the check on yourself right now:

1. Did you get a text from the VA at the end of last month asking you to confirm enrollment? Did you answer it?
2. If you don't have a U.S. cell on file, you're on email verification instead. Check that inbox.
3. No text and no email? Log into VA.gov and verify there. You can also use the Ask VA portal.
4. Already missed a month? Don't wait for the second one. Verify now.

Takes about 60 seconds. Save this so you've got the steps next time the end of the month sneaks up on you.

And if your payments already stopped and you're not sure why, that's exactly the kind of thing we help untangle. No cost. We work with veterans across 16 counties in NW Ohio and SE Michigan, including Hillsdale, Lenawee, and Monroe.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

Know a Vet? Tell a Vet.

05/28/2026

If you served long enough to qualify for the Montgomery GI Bill AND the Post-9/11 GI Bill, you have been told for years that you had to pick one.

That changed in 2025.

A federal court ruling (Perkins v. Collins) held that veterans who qualify under both programs can use up to 48 months of combined education benefits. The cap is statutory. Most veterans never knew this option existed.

The VA is right now reviewing eligibility for every veteran who has less than 3 months of education benefits remaining and is either currently enrolled or was enrolled in the last six months.

If that sounds like you, it is worth a conversation. We can walk through your DD-214, your Certificate of Eligibility, and what the ruling actually means for the months you may still have on the table.

Free. Real help. Any college, not just Owens.

We serve veterans across NW Ohio (Lucas, Wood, Hancock, Ottawa, Sandusky, Seneca, Erie, Williams, Fulton, Defiance, Henry, Paulding, Putnam) and SE Michigan (Hillsdale, Lenawee, Monroe). Yes, Michigan vets, you qualify too.

Know a Vet? Tell a Vet.

Link in the comments.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

05/27/2026

Heads up for any veteran who looked at the calendar and thought summer classes were already a lost cause.

Most area colleges started their summer terms in mid-May, but not every class runs the full 16 weeks. There are 8-week and shorter sessions with later start dates, so depending on the school, you can still jump into something this summer.

And if summer is too tight, fall is the next big enrollment window. That's about three months of runway, which is honestly the right amount of time to knock the rust off before you sit in a classroom again.

That's where TRIO Veterans Upward Bound comes in. We're housed at Owens in Perrysburg, but we're not just for Owens students. We prep veterans for whatever college they're aiming at, across 16 counties in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan. Free academic refresher in math, reading, and writing. FAFSA and GI Bill help. Military transcript (JST) review so you're not paying for credits you already earned. None of it costs you anything.

Know a Vet? Tell a Vet.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

05/25/2026

We work with the ones who came home.

Today we sit with the ones who didn't.

Every veteran we help has names they carry. Brothers, sisters, kids barely old enough to drive who never got to come back to their own kitchen tables. The people we serve are still serving those names.

If you've lost someone, we see you today. The grief doesn't show up on a calendar. It shows up in the quiet between cookouts.

This is Memorial Day. Say their names.

05/22/2026

This weekend gets advertised as cookouts and three-day sales. For a lot of veterans, that's not what it is.

Memorial Day means thinking about people who didn't make it home. Names you still know by heart, anniversaries you don't forget, the weight that comes with being one of the ones who did come back.

If that's you this weekend, you're not alone in it. A lot of folks in our community are sitting with the same kind of thing.

If it gets heavy, the Veterans Crisis Line is open 24/7. Call 988 and press 1, or text 838255.

And whenever you're ready, our door's open. No paperwork to start, no appointments, no judgment.

Take care of each other.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

05/20/2026

Thank you to every veteran who showed up today. Whether you stayed five minutes or the whole time, it means a lot that you came.

This is what TRIO Veterans Upward Bound is built for. Connecting with veterans across Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan who might benefit from free college prep, GI Bill and FAFSA help, JST evaluations, and scholarship support.

If you talked with us and want to follow up, or if you couldn't make it today and want to know more, the link is in the comments.

Know a Vet? Tell a Vet.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

05/18/2026

Quick reminder for Tuesday. Behavioral Health is coming to Veterans Hall to sit down with us over lunch. No appointment, no paperwork, no commitment. Just a chance to talk with someone who gets it.

Tuesday, May 20
12:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Veterans Hall, Room 102
Owens Community College, Perrysburg

Lunch is on us. Drop in for 15 minutes or stay the whole time. If you've been meaning to ask a question, this is an easy way to do it. If you know another vet who's been carrying something, bring them along.

Know a Vet? Tell a Vet.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

05/13/2026

Huge thanks to Kelly Garza from Harbor and Wood County Dog Shelter for joining last week's Warrior Within Lunch. Kelly's conversation on mental health and animal therapy was exactly what a lot of us needed, and watching the connection between the dogs and the veterans in the room said more than any presentation could.

Also a special shoutout to the Lucas County Dog Warden for bringing Queenie along. She made the rounds and stole more than a few hearts.

If you missed it, the next Warrior Within Lunch is coming up Tuesday, May 20. Junction Behavioral Health is stopping by to talk with us. Free lunch, open to any veteran in our service area, no enrollment required.

Veterans Hall, Room 102 at Owens Community College in Perrysburg
12:00 PM to 3:00 PM

Know a Vet? Tell a Vet.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

05/11/2026

They never stop being hero’s.

A mother and her children reunited with the man who saved her life when she suffered a life-threatening allergic reaction to a beetle.

05/10/2026

Happy Mother’s Day to the military moms, veteran moms, and the moms who held the home front while their families served. We see you. We thank you.

💛 Tag a mom who deserves an extra “thank you” today.