Community Covenant
Federal spending on reintegrating veterans is expected to decrease as the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan draws down. The Community Covenant is a promise to veterans that this community will continue to serve them.
Read the Community Covenant
The Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs recently reported that, “as the Armed Forces begin to draw down their combat-ready forces, the VA’s work is just beginning.” With an estimated 31,000 Oregonians who have served in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Commissioner McKeel believes that our work is just beginning, as well.
"Veterans are unique members of our community. As a Multnomah County Commissioner, it is my honor to work alongside more than 400 fellow county employees who are veterans or actively drilling and reserve military. They bring the highest professionalism and a passion for public service to their work every day.
My husband and I are also the proud parents of a United States Marine. I know firsthand from our son’s deployments what a service member’s family also sacrifices. Yet most service members from Oregon don’t return to the support and infrastructure of
a military base. Instead, they return to their communities, often miles from their fellow service members. Therefore it is even more important to ensure they are welcomed back to a community that supports them and responds to their needs."
The Community Covenant has pulled together key partners to build awareness about our critical role. This commitment is intended to continue after the war ends. This will be even more essential when reintegration funding from the federal and state government inevitably goes away.
Multnomah County, 5 cities, pledge "all hands on deck'' for veterans