VETERANS LIVING
+11.28%
Veteran population change, 2016-21 Montgomery County -16.42%
Number of veteran residents
Conroe and Montgomery area
2016 2021
3,000
+33.31%
in Conroe, Montgomery The veteran population age 18 and older has grown 11.28% in Conroe and Montgomery ZIP codes from 2016-2021 while the county, state and nation has seen its number of veterans decline, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
-9.89%
2,500
+38.24%
Texas -5.73%
+47.29%
2,000
-31.49%
+49.64%
-2.06%
1,500
United States -10.77%
ZIP CODE KEY:
1,000
-31.59%
77318
77301
149
77356
45
77303
500
SOURCES: 5 YEAR AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY ESTIMATES, U.S. CENSUS BUREAU COMMUNITY IMPACT
105
77306
0
77316
77303
77304 77306 77316 77318 77356
77302
77301
ZIP CODES
77304
77302
N
veterans and rst responders—said the private sector is important in helping veterans because they need a like-minded support system. “The reason people are coming here [to nonpro ts] versus the VA is because this is warriors helping war- riors,” Shilanski said. “It’s hard to go to a doctor who doesn’t understand the trials and tribulations, … but there’s something to a warrior whose only education is what he’s learned helping the next warrior.” Veteran needs in Montgomery County Biscamp has served as the clinic director for the outpatient VA clinic in Conroe since 2015, when it opened. He said the clinic provides primary care with limited specialty care ser- vices such as dental, optometry and women’s health services, excluding women who are pregnant. Amid the growing population of veterans, Dyman said future plans include creating a large Conroe VA health care center. Dyman said a proposal for the center has been sub- mitted to the VA Central O ce but
anticipates the initiative will take several years for a potential site to be identi ed and built out. Dyman said the new facility would expand on care currently provided at the existing clinic and would provide primary care, mental health, specialty care, ambulatory surgery and ancil- lary services to veterans. For now, the outpatient clinic’s big- gest focus is providing mental health services, such as private therapy and counseling, to veterans, Biscamp said. Dyman said the VA looks to col- laborate with organizations to help combat suicide and homelessness among veterans. According to a 2022 national vet- eran suicide annual report by the U.S. Department of Veterans A airs, there were an average of 16.8 veteran sui- cides per day in 2020. Approximately 6.7 suicides per day in 2020 were among those with recent Veterans Health Administration encounters— receiving health care in the year or prior year. This compares to 10.1 sui- cides per day among veterans with no recent VHA encounters.
Army veteran Brandon Francis, a Conroe resident, is the judge advocate for VFW Post 4709 in Conroe. Francis said veterans may seek help from a nonpro t because it can be easier to work with than a government o ce. “Veterans as a class are not tradition- ally a group that raises their hand and makes it known amongst that crowd that they need help,” Francis said. “So these nonpro ts and [nongovernmen- tal organizations] are able to meet the veterans where they are at.” Private sector help As the VA is limited in reaching vet- erans, nonpro ts are operating locally to provide free, additional support and services to veterans. When Shilanski left the military, he said he fell into alcoholism. Moments away from a suicide attempt, Shilan- ski said he decided to receive help and attended rehab and a halfway house. Shilanski credited his recovery to a Korean War veteran named Bobby who mentored him for six months. “I need to help vets,” Shilanski said. “I need to help vets the way Bobby
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veterans, Biscamp said. Despite the increase in patients, he said he believes many veterans do not come to the VA for help. “We can’t wait for the veteran to come to us, so we go to them,” said Maureen Dyman, communications director for the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Veterans A airs Med- ical Center in Houston. “So we are partnering with people in the com- munity; we’ve really worked hard to be out there where the veterans are.” As such, the Mighty Oaks Founda- tion is the newest nonpro t looking to open its national headquarters in Montgomery in spring 2024. The foundation is a faith-based nonpro t that helps veterans, active-military and rst responders struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder. Nonpro ts are focused on mental health, PTSD support and reintegra- tion for local veterans. Je Shilanski, a veteran and the founder of FOB Rasor—a Conroe non- pro t that provides peer support for
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