Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs (FDVA) — Statewide Benefits & Claims Assistance

For 24/7 counsel, call the National Veteran Crisis Hotline at 988, Press 1. You may also call the Florida Veterans Support Line at 1-844-MyFLVet (1-844-693-5838) or dial 211.

The Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs is ‎a nearly 1,500-member ‎constitutionally chartered State Veterans’ Affairs ‎department ‎responsible for serving the nation’s third largest veteran population. The ‎department operates a ‎‎network of eight state-run veterans’ ‎nursing homes and one ‎assisted living facility, and provides statewide outreach through a network of State Veterans’ Service Officers to connect Florida’s nearly 1.4 million Veterans, their ‎families, and survivors ‎‎with earned services, benefits and support. FDVA has approximately 100 State Veterans’ Service Officers, known in veterans’ circles as “SVSOs,” co-located with the VA Regional Office in Bay ‎Pines, each VA Medical Center and many VA Outpatient Clinics throughout the state. ‎All outreach services are free to the Veteran.‎ These “Hope Navigators,” who are often the first-line contact with our state’s Veterans, can be reached by calling 833-GET-HOPE (438-4673). You may also contact them via e-mail at HopeNavigators@fdva.fl.gov.

Most federal, state and local veterans’ benefits require proof of military service through an official discharge document, often called a DD-214 or one of its predecessors. You may request a free copy of your military service record through the National Archives at http://www.archives.gov/veterans/.