The Johnson County Veteran Service Office consists of Director Seneca Harbin and Veteran Service Officer Megan Brown. The office serves 500-600 veterans and their families within the county, and will soon employ a third individual to help provide better support to the county’s veterans.
By HANNAH GUNNELL
Megan Brown has learned a lot in the last 18 months as the Johnson County Veteran Service Officer.
“Sometimes it’s just crazy the stories that you hear,” she said.
The Navy veteran’s office provides resources for just about everything veteran related, including legal, employment, housing, medical, education, and disability, to name a few.
Brown was hired by Veterans Affairs Director Seneca Harbin, who was coaching her daughter’s softball team at the time.
“The more glamorized version of that is that she’s a United States Navy Veteran, and Johnson County had never had a female Veteran Service Officer,” Harbin said. “With the presence of female veterans climbing, we need to represent that demographic better.”
Between the two of them, they serve 500-700 Johnson County veterans per month.
“What I’ve seen [Brown] learn the most, is how to distinguish from what [veterans] are asking and what they actually need,” Harbin said. “They don’t understand the amount of resources that are available to them, so Megan is sort of their translator — ‘What do you think you currently need the most?’ versus ‘How can we set you up long term for success?’”
For example, a veteran once came in to ask for hearing aids. Upon further questioning, they learned this veteran served in Vietnam and suffered from life-long injuries. That veteran left the office with information for hearing aids, and also had filed a disability claim form, made ties to the local community health care network, and found potential for housing adaptations, for both him and his spouse.
In addition to serving veterans in the office, 18 W. Jefferson Street in Franklin, Brown and Harbin do various outreach activities. This mostly looks like setting up resource booths at various community events, or speaking at these events. The duo completes about two outreach activities per month.
The office also works with Camp Atterbury nearby to help transition discharged soldiers back into civilian life. This includes education seminars, but also helping soldiers file disability claims before they’re discharged to be immediately active upon return to civilian life.
The Johnson County Commissioners passed a 2025 budget that would allow the office to hire a third person to help better continue all these efforts. The hiring process has not yet started, but they hope to start an individual on Jan. 1.
“We’re growing our team so we can better serve the community,” Harbin said. “If Megan and I are sitting with people, that means no one is doing outreach. If we’re doing outreach, no one is answering the phone or responding to emails. We sit with veterans all day long, so just to have someone who can be a floater for outreach, phones, emails — the phone never stops ringing.”
Johnson County veterans seeking support from the Veteran Service Office can do so by calling 317-346-4563. (Marion County residents can seek support from the Marion County VSO by calling 317-327-8387.)