Chicago colleges offer veteran service programs

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The number of veterans with and without disabilities seeking a college education is increasing.

As a result, many schools have established a veterans services center.

Truman College in Uptown is one of seven city colleges that has a veterans services center.

Tim Davis, a former veteran, is the program specialist.

"We have veterans from all age groups and eras," he said. "We provide everything from free printing in our center to referrals to disability services. VA tutoring also just provides a place to get everyone together and hang out."

The center opened two years ago and over 200 veterans have enrolled.

"We probably see somewhere between 80 and 1,000 a week," Davis said.

For veterans with disabilities, they work with the college disability center.

"What we do is we provide referrals to them," Davis said. "Sometimes with veterans specifically, disabilities may be new - maybe they went to high school and didn't have any issues at all - but now they're coming back to school, they're realizing that maybe they're having some issues that were generated from their service."

Daniel Castorena, 34, is a criminal justice major. He became disabled while in the army.

"I was in 19 kilo which is an armor crew in AKA tanker I," Castorena said. (CHECK) "I was diagnosed with PTSD."

"I deployed to Iraq three times, a total of 35 months," he said. "I just got out of the military last summer."

Prior to joining the army, Castorena had some college credits.

"It was an easy decision to come back here after I got out," Castorena said. "Like the second day

I was out of the Army, I talked to Tim Davis and he helped me get started with my GI bill and all that."

"They help me out with papers that I have to write for English 101, the math lab which I'll be using in the fall because I have to start taking math classes," Castorena said. "They have a lot of tutoring here. They set you up for success."

"I'll help any student that comes through my door, but generally speaking, it is usually veterans but also military dependents, spouses, children," Davis said. "We don't turn anyone away."

Davis said Illinois has one of the highest rates of veterans coming back to the state.