Through a partnership with the VA’s low-income housing program, we assist Veterans

reintegrating into society. HUD-VASH provides four walls and a roof while we help turn their new

housing into a home. Most times our population has only items that are able to be carried on

their person. We provide everything needed to start out on their own: a sofa or loveseat and

recliner, television with stand, lamps, end table, coffee table, microwave, coffee maker, slow

cooker, dishware, bake-ware, cookware, silverware, kitchen gadgets, beds, bedding, linens,

shower curtain, rugs, personal hygiene items, and cleaning supplies. This empowers our

Veterans to be able to focus on maintaining rather than building from ground zero.

Our goal is to also be able to purchase items as a standard procedure that we have not been

able to consistently provide due to their size, weight, or availability. This would include

dressers, living room furniture (some items we receive are of higher quality than others), and

kitchen tables with chairs for every Veteran we serve. Large item donations are not always

available and in acceptable condition, and it has been a challenge to find volunteers available

to pick up these large items when they become available in addition to having to store them.

This often means moving these heavy items twice: once from the donor to storage, and again

from storage to our Veteran. Having the ability to purchase these items as a standard operating

procedure would allow us to focus on community outreach to increase our volunteers and

further spread awareness of our mission. We have partnered with a local furniture company for

these items, and it would cost an additional $320-470 per Veteran. Annually this would be an

additional $16,000-$23,500 plus sales tax. This is not something we can consistently accomplish

with our current funds, unfortunately.

Veterans are FIVE TIMES MORE LIKELY to commit suicide if they experience homelessness. The

fact that they overcame homelessness does not make them immune to this statistic. Being

faced with the daunting task of obtaining items to be able to live within their new home is

overwhelming. It may even become more appealing to return to the homeless lifestyle, where

they already know how to get food and can find a place to go for warmth and sleep temporarily.

By providing the essentials to them to begin with, they can feel more confident in their ability to

continue the path that is before them. They can replace things as needed instead of finding

everything all at once or feeling like they never will. Since VAHSC has stepped up to fulfill this

need, the success rate of Veterans remaining off the streets has risen significantly. We feel

strongly that we don’t just provide household essentials; we provide hope, confidence, and

self-worth. Our Veterans signed up to give everything so that we can enjoy the very freedoms

they lost: a warm home with familiar surroundings and possessions. Regardless of how or why

they came to cross paths with us, we feel it is our duty and honor to assist them in their time of

need. We have been blessed to grow to meet their needs on a basic level, but we feel that they

deserve the best that we can provide for them. That includes a table to enjoy the meals they

make, a place to store their items permanently, and a comfortable bed, all of which they can

call their own. Putting these in place will allow them to empower themselves and reclaim the

self-worth and dignity that accompanies the ideal of having a home of their own. No Veteran,

who was willing to sacrifice so much for their country, should lose the opportunity to pursue the

American Dream.