Josh Davis was the local veterans service officer at Clatsop Community Action.

Clatsop Community Action’s veterans service officer has resigned.

Josh Davis, a U.S. Army veteran and former veterans service officer for Multnomah County, held the position since June 2021, about a year after Clatsop County shifted the contract from Luke Thomas, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, to Clatsop Community Action.

Stephen Bobian, a Coast Guard veteran, held the position at the nonprofit prior to Davis.

Davis left the post earlier this month after accepting a job at Virtue Recovery Center, which operates Virtue At The Pointe Recovery Center, an Astoria inpatient substance abuse treatment facility for veterans.

He said his reasons for leaving Clatsop Community Action boiled down to personality differences and a split over how to approach the role.

Davis said he sought to build a robust program, but said he found it difficult to get the support he needed. He said he felt like veterans services were not a priority, but simply an accessory to the nonprofit’s central functions and mission.

Davis has advocated for the program to move under county government and expand to more than one employee. Otherwise, he said, the contract should be shifted to a veterans organization that has the experience and knowledge necessary to work with veterans.

Davis noted that veterans service officers across the state, including in Tillamook County to the south, are employed under the county.

“And with that comes access to resources that they can tap into in order to serve that veteran community,” he said. “And those resources were lacking for me.”

When The Astorian asked if the county was exploring that option, County Manager Don Bohn said it was being evaluated.

The annual contract for the position with Clatsop Community Action, which operates the regional food bank and helps provide housing, energy assistance and other critical services to low-income people, is up for renewal at the end of the fiscal year in June.

When the nonprofit took over the contract, the goal was to integrate veterans services into the agency’s mission and make social services more accessible to veterans.

Viviana Matthews, the executive director of Clatsop Community Action, believes it has been successful.

“However, if the county decides to move the veterans service officer under their umbrella, I support that,” she said. “And then I will continue working with a veterans service officer to make sure the underserved populations get served.”

In the meantime, Matthews said the agency has received more than 20 applications for the position. She expects to have the job filled by early February.

She said Davis gave four-weeks notice instead of two weeks to help with the transition. She stressed that the agency has a plan in place to support veterans in the interim, which includes working closely with the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the veterans service officer in Columbia County.

“We have not stopped working with veterans,” Matthews said.

She noted the main purpose of the veterans service officer is to make sure veterans get connected to benefits.

“Josh came in with great intentions of doing a lot of outreach and doing things outside of … doing claims for veterans,” Matthews said.

However, she said time and budget constraints make it difficult to do more. She said she has been actively looking and applying for other funds to support a second veterans service officer.

Through collaboration with the veterans service officer, Matthews said her staff has been able to help many people navigate the complex benefits systems for veterans while helping coordinate care through the agency’s other programs and services.

“Prior to having the veterans service officer under CCA, there were a lot of veterans that might qualify for our services or qualify for veterans service officer services and they just fell between the cracks because there was not a connection there,” she said.