The Florida Department of Veterans Affairs is the premier point of entry for Florida veterans to access earned services, benefits, and support.

Read below for information on different veterans benefits available through various state and charitable agencies.

The Florida Veterans Foundation operates for charitable and educational purposes and works closely with the 67 County Veteran Service Offices, which are “frontline” for Florida veterans and local veteran organizations providing hands-on care to our veterans. The Foundation’s website at www.HelpFLVets.org continues to help veterans and their families by providing important emergency assistance information and links.

The Florida Veterans Crisis Line is available for 24-hour counsel. Call the Florida Veterans Support Line at 1-844-MyFLVet (844-693-5838) or 2-1-1. The number for the National Veteran Crisis Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. Veterans in Florida suffering from opioid addiction issues can contact Clean Slate Outpatient Addiction Medicine at www.cleanslatecenters.com or call 833-505-4673 (HOPE).

Many Florida veterans and their families are unaware of earned VA benefits available such as VA Pension with Aid and Attendance, which helps subsidize the cost of Long Term Care. Visit www.helpflvets.org/aging-wartime-veterans for more information.

The Florida Office of the Attorney General Consumer Protection Division offers a program called the Military and Veterans Assistance Program (MVAP). This program was created to help educate military members and veterans on the types of scams that target their communities, what they can do to protect themselves, and how they can help protect others by reporting scams and deceptive business practices.

The Department of Financial Services offers two financial education programs specifically for veterans: Financial Frontlines and Serve Save Succeed. Financial Frontlines is an online initiative that provides information to help families fight against financial fraud and debt with the use of an in-depth Resource Guide, a series of tip sheets, and an educational video library. Serve Save Succeed is a financial literacy resource and online forum for current and former military service members and their families on finance-related topics.

One of our state's most popular state benefits for veterans is the Property Tax Exemptions. Eligible resident veterans with a VA certified service-connected disability of 10% or greater are entitled to a $5,000 deduction on the assessment of their home for tax exemption purposes. Real estate owned and used as a homestead by an honorably discharged veteran with a service-connected, permanent, and total disability is exempt from taxation. Any partially disabled veteran who is age 65 or older, any portion of whose disability was combat-related, and who was honorably discharged, may be eligible for a discount from the amount of ad valorem tax on the homestead, commensurate with the percentage of the veteran’s permanent service-connected disability. The un-remarried surviving spouse of a disabled ex-servicemember, who on the date of the disabled ex-servicemember’s death had been married to the ex-servicemember, is also entitled to this exemption.

Florida waives undergraduate-level tuition at state universities and community colleges for Florida recipients of the Purple Heart and other combat-related decorations superior in precedence to the Purple Heart. The waiver program also includes the state’s career and technical training facilities.

Connecting veterans with earned benefits, services and support is the top priority for the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs. To view a full list of state veteran benefits please visit FloridaVets.org. For assistance on this or any veteran-related issue, call 727-319-7440 and they'll return your call within 24 hours. You may also email them at VSO@fdva.state.fl.us.

To view the Florida Veterans' Benefits Guide, click here.

(Information from the Mayfield Minute email, November 7, 2021)