Central coast vet discusses services available to fellow veterans

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION) Local veteran Jack Murphy discusses services available to his fellow veterans on the central coast Sunday.

After 21 years of serving in the army, Jack Murphy is dedicating himself to giving back to his fellow veterans. Murphy retired in 2016 but found himself in his home at a loss, missing the camaraderie amongst him and his fellow comrades. That's when he decided if he wasn't going to serve, he was going to help veterans.

"We have an increasing homeless veteran population here in Monterey County, we have veterans who are justice involved who have gotten in trouble with the law and they find themselves in front of a judge. We have veterans who have a hard time making ends meet,” Murphy said.

According to Murphy, there are around 20,000 veterans in Monterey County and only 30% are connected to the Department of Veterans Affairs for their benefits like medical care, education, insurance, and home loan programs.

“As a veteran, there are a lot of benefits available but sometimes it’s hard to find a way to get there and that’s what I do, in and out of my professional work," Murphy said.

Matthew Fleming comes from a long line of family members who has served in the military and after a short stint in the Navy, kept the values of serving his community with him.

"I took from that time a lot of lessons in my life and at that time, I didn’t know how important those were going to be but I learned a lot about leadership and a lot about how to work as a part of a team,” Fleming said.

For the county website, click here.

For the United Veterans Council of Monterey County, click here.