A group of Wayne State University College of Nursing students in the BSN for Veterans program utilized their community health clinical capstone project in fall 2023 to create workshops addressing technological barriers for military veterans at the Michigan Veterans Foundation. 

VBSN graduate and Michigan National Guard Staff Sergeant Lettia Morgan was placed at the MVF’s Detroit Veterans Center for her community health clinical rotation. The transitional housing facility provides resources for homeless veterans, and Morgan conducted her clinical project alongside fellow College of Nursing students Sarah Briggs, Hadir Elmarakby and Tiara Hernton. 

As a group, they discovered residents experienced delays in finding permanent housing because of barriers navigating technology surrounding online applications and processes.  

“We saw that technology was a barrier for the residents there. A lot of the older veterans are used to going in and meeting people to do the applications, but now everything is virtual, so they’ve had to learn how to adapt,” said Morgan.  

Morgan contacted Wayne State University Veterans Upward Bound, a program dedicated to offering free educational services for military veterans, to help provide Chromebooks for a daylong computer skills workshop at MVF last fall. The workshop was a success, helping residents develop computer literacy and navigate online applications to secure permanent housing. It was so successful, in fact, the Upward Bound program picked up the program full-time and now offers these free computer literacy workshops throughout the year at the Veterans Foundation. 

The community-based workshops, titled “Bridging the Digital Disconnect,” will provide computer training services to teach the important skills necessary for veterans to secure housing, submit job applications and take advantage of online educational opportunities. 

“It allows soldiers to utilize these benefits to help build skill sets in areas they might be interested in to help them in their careers,” Morgan explained.

“I am excited to learn that the Veterans Upward Bound program is planning to continue this program at the MVF,” said Assistant Professor (Clinical) and VSBN Faculty Coordinator Julia Farner, DNP, RN, FNP-BC. I think this really highlights the lasting impact that our students have in the community,”