American Red Cross

About American Red Cross

Referrals to Community Resources
The American Red Cross offers confidential services to all veterans and their families by connecting them with local, state and national resources through our network of chapters in communities across the United States and offices on military installations worldwide.

Local Red Cross offices develop and maintain relationships with key community partners. Veterans and their families rely on the Red Cross to help them identify their needs and connect them to the most appropriate resources. These vital services range from responding to emergency needs for food, clothing, and shelter, referrals to counseling services (e.g., financial, legal, jobs, mental health), information on veterans cemeteries and burial benefits, and other resources that meet the unique needs of local veterans and their families.

Veterans Claims for Benefits
The Red Cross assists veterans and their families in preparing, developing, and obtaining sufficient evidence to support applicants’ claims for veterans’ benefits. We also assist claimants seeking to appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA). This work is done by Red Cross staff at the BVA as well as a network of State Work-Share Representatives who are accredited by the Department of Veterans Affairs to work on behalf of the Red Cross.

Volunteerism in VA & Military Hospitals
Red Cross volunteers serve in Veterans Administration (VA) and military hospitals across the nation and around the world. Volunteers, which includes many veterans and their families, provide vital assistance in the areas of rehabilitation, recreation, administration, and personal services to the men and women who answered their country’s call and who are now cared for each day in military hospitals and VA medical centers.