Plain answer, before you enroll
Most of what we do is free. Some of it is not.
You will never find out a service costs money after you have started it. If there is a fee, we tell you what it is before you enroll — in writing.
The three-line version
Free
Benefits navigation and referral. Intake, assessment, benefits navigation, resource referral and connection to partner services carry no charge to the veteran or the family.
May carry a fee
Certain training and enterprise programs. Some structured programs — bootcamps, subscriptions and specialized training tracks — may carry a fee. Where they do, it is disclosed up front.
How the fee is set
Sliding scale by household income. Any fee is set on a sliding scale based on household income, referenced against 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Your case manager applies it — you do not calculate anything.
How it works in practice
You enroll and complete intake
No cost. Nothing is charged to begin.
Your case manager reviews the program
If the service you need is fee-eligible, they say so at that point — not later.
The scale is applied
Household income is reviewed against our published criteria. You are told the amount.
You decide before anything starts
You receive the amount in writing and choose whether to proceed. Declining costs you nothing.
Ask us directly. Not sure whether the program you want carries a fee? Ask before you enroll. Call (504) 657-7594 or use the contact form — we will tell you plainly.
Why we charge anything at all
Because a program that depends entirely on grant cycles disappears when a grant cycle does.
Earned revenue on a small number of structured programs is what keeps our free services free and available year after year. The sliding scale exists so that ability to pay never decides who gets served — a veteran who cannot pay is not turned away from the mission.
What we will never do
- We will not charge for benefits navigation.
- We will not bill a veteran after the fact for a service they were told was free.
- We will not make ability to pay a condition of intake, assessment or referral.