Community OneSource™

Returning home from military service after experiencing combat and adjusting to life -- especially life with an injury or a disability -- can be a complex, bewildering and extended process. Even moreso for wounded service members and veterans and their families, navigating the multitude of public and private support systems can be an overwhelming challenge. Families often find themselves struggling to find appropriate and effective supports within their very own communities.

Over 1.8 million service members have served in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).  A study conducted by the RAND Corporation found that 1 in 5 service members deployed to OEF and OIF returned with post traumatic stress disorder; additionally 1 in 5 returned with some level of traumatic brain injury. According to the Department of Defense 1,268  service members from Illinois have been wounded in action during OEF and OIF and the Department of Veterans Affairs reports 841,679 veterans living in Illinois.

An array of different resources for these individuals and their families is available throughout the Chicagoland area. Easter Seals’ Community OneSource bridges the disconnect between military, veteran and civilian community resources and those they are intended to serve through community leadership, convening system providers, fostering collaborations and connecting families with needed resources. Community OneSource helps wounded service members and veterans, mobilized Guard and Reservists, as well as their families, to successfully reintegrate to communities after military deployments or service and life with a disability.

For more information about Community OneSource, contact us online, email veterans@easterseals.com or contact Brett Nila at 866-423-4981.