College of the Canyons officials hosted a wealth of Santa Clarita Valley veterans resources Thursday, as part of a round table discussion aimed at helping those who’ve served readjust back to civilian life.

COC officials, working with USC’s School of Social Work, invited more than 30 officials from  organizations all over, from the Sheriff’s Department, the Child & Family Center, USC programs and, of course, the college’s own veteran-focused programs and services.

The meeting looked at not only how to better target traditional resources, such as job fairs, but also new considerations and alternative means for reaching this population and helping with some of the nontraditional challenges, such as overcoming networking obstacles.

For example, one might excel in the rank-and-file world of the military but still find a drastic adjustment ahead when they try to transition back into the workforce, said Renard Thomas, one of the college’s veterans services coordinators.

“We are meeting with veterans one way or the other, said Murray Wood, COC’s business development director, “so if there’s information that we can be share to be helpful… then we can be educated and help direct somebody in an area where they can be very helpful for veterans.”

One of the driving forces, a donor name Elliott Wolfe, said the goal was to reach out and share information with veterans.

“We want to get in touch with every veteran and make sure they know what’s available to them,” Wolfe said, addressing the gathering. “Everybody in this room helps or wants to help veterans, but when you collaborate together, that’s where you have the opportunity to help veterans and support them (with resources ) that they otherwise might not be provided.”

The two biggest challenges facing veterans were housing and employment, said Wolfe.

“One of the most important things we can do,” he said, “is provide jobs for the veterans.”

As the conversation grew Thursday, it became clear those issues not only impacted other aspects of life for veterans, but also that a collaborative approach could also increase the reach of programs and resources dramatically.

“It is so critical that female veterans know about the educational and social support available to them, and it’s frustrating that, instead, many of them many of them feel so alone and marginalized,” said Sue Reynolds, who was there representing the local branch of Soroptimist International and the Domestic Violence Center. “It is our role as a Collaborative to work to help our veterans access available resources for success.”