Grand Traverse County launches mobile office to help veterans claim benefits
A Sprinter van with computers is now rolling to Traverse City sites, aiming to help nearly 7,000 local veterans claim benefits they may never have claimed.
Many veterans in Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties have missed out on benefits simply because getting to the county office was too hard, too confusing or too far from home. Grand Traverse County’s new mobile service office was built to erase that gap by taking claims help directly into the community.
Grand Traverse County Veterans Affairs Director Michael Roof said the department opened the mobile office to make sure veterans and their dependents can pursue “any and all benefits,” whether federal, state or local. The van, a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter stocked with literature and computers, is meant to bring assistance closer to the people who need it most, especially older veterans, disabled veterans and family members who may not know what programs they qualify for.
The county’s outreach schedule already puts the mobile unit in three Traverse City locations. It is set for Mondays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the VA Clinic on U.S. 31, Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the VFW on Veterans Drive and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the United Way office on Copper Ridge Drive. Roof said the department is also looking for businesses, picnics, festivals, farmers markets and other gatherings where staff can park the van and meet veterans where they are.
The county veterans office says it serves residents of both Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties. Earlier county reporting said the office was responsible for nearly 6,300 veterans and dependents in Grand Traverse County, while a March 2026 county veterans committee agenda said the county has the 20th-highest veteran population in Michigan. That same agenda said the office secured about $3.8 million in new annual federal benefits for veterans and dependents, a 30% increase from the prior year.
The department’s service menu covers compensation, pension, healthcare, education, survivors’ benefits, burial and marker expenses, relief expenses, housing certificates of eligibility and property tax exemption information. County materials say the office exists to help veterans and families understand and access benefits through federal, state of Michigan and local government agencies, and the county’s 2023 annual report said outreach programs are meant to help veterans maximize available benefits and resources.
Oversight for the department comes from the Grand Traverse County Veterans Affairs Administrative Committee, a seven-member board that meets monthly. Michigan’s veterans agency also says veterans and dependents may choose any Veteran Service Officer or VA Benefits Counselor in their county of residence, regardless of affiliation, and its resource center can help with discharge documents and connections to service officers.
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