Veterans enrolled in the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) program
Greetings,
Veterans
enrolled in the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E)
program, this message is for you!
VR&E
continues to excel in offering a wide array of benefit delivery options
that provide modern, streamlined, and responsive service delivery to
you. VR&E is pleased to announce an upcoming pilot for a new application
known as the electronic Virtual Assistant (e-VA).
What
is e-VA?
e-VA is an
artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistant which allows you to
schedule and reschedule appointments, text and email your Vocational
Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) counselor, and submit
documentation, all privately and securely from your smartphone, tablet
or computer.
Where
is the e-VA pilot?
The e-VA
pilot will be staggered across Albuquerque, Hartford, Seattle, and
Winston-Salem Regional Offices starting on March 16th and expected to
last through the end of April. If you are a Veteran serviced by one of
these Regional Offices, you will be introduced to e-VA at the start of
the pilot, while other Veterans will be introduced during national
deployment. Some VR&E program participants may be introduced to
e-VA twice, once for the pilot and once for national deployment.
National deployment of e-VA is expected to begin in mid-summer.
How
will I receive service?
If you are
a Veteran enrolled in the VR&E program, you can expect to receive a
text message and/or email introducing e-VA as VR&E’s new electronic
virtual assistant. Your participation is optional so you must opt-in to
continue using the service. Once you opt-in, the benefits of e-VA are
immediately available to you!
What
should I expect after opting in?
e-VA will
periodically contact you with upcoming appointment reminders, plan
progression check-ins, and/or reminders to submit your grades and
receipts (as applicable). While e-VA is available via text messaging
and/or email, your VR&E counselor is still available to assist you
in person, by phone and/or via Tele-counseling.
You will receive an introductory text message from the short code
number 59733, and/or an email from e-VA. In the first message you
receive from e-VA, you will be asked to accept future correspondence.
At this point, you may opt-in to continue sending and receiving
correspondence or opt-out to discontinue the service from e-VA.
What
do I need to do now?
Once you
opt-in, it is recommended that you save the number (59733) as a contact
and label it as “e-VA”. You will use this short code (59733) to
schedule and reschedule appointments and submit supporting documents.
Future text conversations with your VR&E counselor will be sent via
the short code number 65368. It is recommended that you save this
number (65368) also, as a contact and label it with the name of your
VR&E counselor. You will utilize this short code (65368) to correspond
directly with your VR&E counselor.
No matter
your servicing Regional Office, please ensure your VR&E counselor
has the most up-to-date contact information for you. A cell phone
number and/or an email address must be provided in order to opt-in and
start using e-VA. Please confirm with your counselor that he or she has
your correct email address and/or cell phone number on file. You can
verify this by contacting your counselor. Please do not hesitate to
contact your counselor with any other questions.