UH-Hilo opens Veterans Student Services Resource Center

University of Hawai‘i at Hilo is now providing a dedicated area to veterans, military-affiliated students and their families a safe space to network, connect and access vital support through campus and community-based programs.

The new Veteran Student Services Resource Center will serve as a hub for University of Hawai‘i at Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College students who are veterans, service members or military-affiliated family members.

According to the university registrar’s office, 108 students at the Hilo campus are enrolled this fall using Veterans Affairs benefits.

University officials and others earlier this week celebrated the blessing and opening of the new center.

“This non-judgmental, supportive space will have such a positive impact on our veteran community on this campus,” said U.S. Navy veteran, University of Hawai‘i at Hilo student and founder of Hawaiʻi Island Veterans Club Josh Sze in an announcement about the new center. “Just having a place where a group of vets can just listen to you — not tell you what to do, not try to control your journey, not say you’re wrong or dismiss you — but to honor you and validate your experience; where you can just be seen.”

Sze advocated for such a space more than 2 years, working alongside university leadership and community partners to bring the Veteran Student Services Resource Center to fruition.

He expressed gratitude to key supporters, including Hawaiʻi County Mayor Kimo Alameda and U.S. Congresswoman Jill Tokuda, a Hawaiʻi Democrat, who visited the center during a recent campus tour.

“Every single student and person in there has sacrificed on behalf of our country in some way,” said Tokuda in the announcement. “What I know, sadly, is we have failed them in many ways, and we have to do better.”

She appreciates that University of Hawai‘i at Hilo has a place for them to gather together.

“The outreach they’re doing, the connections they’re making, the advocacy they have provided — this is going to make a huge difference,” Tokuda said.

Sze said veterans often struggle with accessing their medical, disability or educational benefits. The new resource center provides a place that can help sort it all out.

“I want this to be a one-stop shop for veterans to connect with resources — whether it’s nonprofits, whether it is through the [Veterans Affairs office], whether it’s through any other organization that is vet-friendly — you don’t have to navigate it alone,” said Sze. “You have support here, and you have a community here.”

University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin praised the swift progress of the Veteran Student Services Resource Center from idea to implementation.

“One of the most important things we do with the university is we serve — our students, our community — and what better way than through those who have served our country,” Irwin said in the announcement.

Veterans of Foreign Wars Cmdr. Ben Fuata called the center a “power projection platform” for collaboration between education, community and industry.

“This is where education and opportunity come together,” he said in the announcement. “Now that we have a space, we can attract state and federal partners, private industry and community organizations to bridge the gap between learning and real opportunities for veterans.”

The Veteran Student Services Resource Center for Sze represents a crucial step toward addressing long-standing gaps in veteran support systems.

While addressing the crowd that gathered for the center’s blessing, he highlighted an alarming statistic: more veterans have died by suicide since 2001 than in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.

“We have to do something different. We can’t just keep letting our veterans come home from war and suffer in silence,” Sze said.

Organizers hope the new resource center becomes a first stop for veterans returning to school, offering a space to build connections, reduce isolation and access resources that can help address challenges such as mental health issues, housing and food insecurity as well as workforce readiness.

“By creating this resource center and pipeline, there will be ripple effects — on addiction, homelessness, food insecurity,” Sze said. “I believe all of that can be improved through community. Just having people who care.”

The Veteran Student Services Resource Center will also support the student-led Hawaiʻi Island Veterans Club, which will host events and activities to strengthen bonds among veterans on campus.

“We may have to find them a bigger space — but for now, we’ve got a place to start,” said Irwin in the announcement. “We’ve got people who are dedicated to our veteran student success, and I’m just so excited to move forward.”

Contact Sze via email at szejd@hawaii.edu for additional information and to learn more.