It will be a much-needed safe haven for veterans living on the streets and in overcrowded shelters. A place where veterans will be assured of the basic essentials: Food, clothing, medical care and a safe place to sleep. Plus the support of counselors who can help them start putting their lives back together.
Community Hope today launched the Veterans Early Transition Services (VETS) Program in Newark, New Jersey. The housing program is located at the Newark YMCA's Broad Street facility where our staff will provide 24-hour support to 12 homeless veterans a day, hoping to reach about 170 veterans in the next five years.
VETS will focus on a crisis stabilization approach.
With military veterans being twice as likely to experience homelessness, staff expect to serve veterans who saw combat in Iraq and Afghanistan and are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as well as older veterans who have been chronically homeless.
Community Hope is in the midst of a $100,000 fundraising campaign to support development of this program. A grant secured from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will help sustain the Program once it is fully established and occupied.
"Our goal is to help stabilize veterans in crisis; and within several months, help them transition to longer-term transitional or permanent housing, where they can rebuild their self-sufficiency, improve their health and successfully overcome chronic homelessness." explains Carmine Deo, Community Hope's Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Clinical Services.
To make a referral to VETS, call Community Hope's Veterans Intake Coordinator at (908) 647-5717 extension 325.
Our Hope for Veterans Transitional Housing Program has helped 500 veterans rebuild their lives since opening in 2004.
It was awarded the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary's Award for Outstanding Achievement in Service to Homeless Veterans in December 2010.
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