Help End Veteran Homelessness in Ohio
You can help by participating in our Dayton car donation program
Proud. Honorable. Brave.
All accurate descriptions of our nation’s veterans, those who risked their lives in order to protect our freedoms and way of life. Unfortunately, for far too many veterans, there is another tragic description that can be used to depict them:
Homeless.
In January of 2012, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) conducted a point-in-time survey which revealed that there were approximately 62,619 homeless veterans living in the United States.
While that number is beginning to decrease, there are still too many veterans that, after proudly serving their country, are living on the streets or in homeless shelters.
That’s why U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown has outlined a plan to support the Department of Veterans Affairs’ goal of ending veteran homelessness by next year.
“Veterans who serve their country in order to protect our freedoms should never face homelessness,” Brown said. “It is critical that we do all we can to end veteran homelessness and serve those who have served our nation.
A $3 million dollar boost
Brown recently announced that the efforts in Dayton to end veteran homelessness would receive a three year, $3 million dollar federal grant to be executed by Volunteers of America of Greater Ohio’s Veterans & Families FIRST program. Volunteers of America will put the money toward helping 260 homeless veterans and their families in Dayton in the form of workforce training, rental vouchers, and transportation.
Brown made the announcement from the Dayton VA Medical Center, and talked about the VA’s goal of ending veteran homelessness by 2015.
“It’s a bold goal,” Brown said, “it’s a difficult one, we’ve made significant progress … (but) that’s not good enough.
Dennis Kresak, president and CEO of Volunteers of America of Greater Ohio, also attended the event, remarking, “We are very, very committed to ending homelessness for those already on the street and preventing others from becoming homeless. Prevention is the key to what we are trying to do now.”
The plan to end veteran homelessness by 2015
Brown outlined the steps that would allow the Homeless Veterans Prevention Act to eliminate and prevent veteran homelessness, including:
- Improving the existing homelessness prevention programs
- Making legal services for homeless veterans more readily available
- Providing legal assistance with issues related to housing and family law
- Expanding transitional housing programs
- Allowing dependents into transitional programs to keep families together
- Increasing veteran eligibility for re-housing programs and employment assistance
How you can help: Participate in our Dayton car donation program
Senator Brown’s efforts, along with the Mayor’s Challenge to End Veterans Homelessness are encouraging, but there’s still a lot of homeless veterans out there that need our help.
If you’d like to help homeless Ohio veterans live a better life, consider taking part in Volunteers of America of Greater Ohio’s Dayton car donation program. We’ll accept almost anything with a motor, from boats and ATVs to motorcycles and RVs, running or not. We’ll even arrange free same-day towing, and you could end up getting more for your vehicle as a tax-deductible donation than you would selling it privately.
Remember, when you donate to Volunteers of America, you’re helping us provide housing and support for homeless veterans in all of the Ohio communities we serve.
Contact the Car Donation & Auction Office at 614-870-7511 if you have any questions, or fill out the car donation form.