Part of the implied contract America makes with those who volunteer to serve in the nation’s armed forces involves an agreement to provide a variety of services — from health care to housing assistance to educational opportunities and more — to those who complete their commitment to the military and then are honorably discharged from their duties.

We know the folks who meet those qualifications as “veterans,” and we honor them each year on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. But our responsibility to veterans merely begins with Veterans Day; it certainly should not end there.

Veterans in and around Suffolk had good reason to worry about their ability to work out their benefits in person after the Virginia Employment Commission closed its office in the city a year ago. That closure resulted in a loss of veterans’ representatives in Suffolk and forced former members of the military to travel 25 miles in order to get personal help nailing down their benefits.

But city officials never gave up on the vets and their family members. On Tuesday, they celebrated a solution: The Suffolk Workforce Development Center has developed a collaboration with organizations and agencies that serve veterans and their families and plans to make veterans’ services a permanent part of the office.

Veterans and family members at the kickoff event heard presentations on the benefits and free services for which they are eligible as well as career help, housing assistance, academic opportunities and even heart health.

The Hampton University Office of Military Affairs plans to visit twice a month, and other organizations have plans for regular visits as well.

The city’s solution to the problem of under-served veterans is elegant and simple. It also honors the sacrifices those veterans have made and the implied and explicit contracts made between the veterans and their nation. It’s a winning solution for everyone and a good piece of outside-the-box thinking on the part of those officials responsible for setting it in place.