Communities Across America Are Trying To Bring An End To Veteran Homelessness

Dec 23, 2019 by apost team

One organization is trying to combat veteran homelessness. Built For Zero has a dedicated team of people work together to discover the agencies and resources that are locally available and then use data to find and assist the homeless veterans who are living in that area. With this approach, communities are experiencing success with placing veterans in sustainable homes and coordinating resources for them.

It is easy to get caught up in the activities of daily life and forget about the freedoms that we enjoy because of the members of our military. All branches of the military have members who have volunteered to devote their lives to keeping our country safe and protecting our way of life. The unfortunate truth is that many veterans return home from other countries and they are not afforded the same opportunities to enjoy those freedoms. Because they devoted everything to the military, many of them come home suffering from mental and physical illnesses.

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For many, this means that they won't have the structure and safety of family and home. Physical and mental health issues keep them from getting and maintaining jobs and ultimately they will end up on the street. 

Forbes reports that there are nearly 38,000 veterans who are homeless. There are programs in place for veterans but they are spread far and wide and hard to access. For many veterans, this means that they either are not able or don't know how to access these services and end up living on the street.

One national group called Built for Zero is trying to combat this problem. Built for Zero is providing communities with a framework and integrated command center for agencies to work together and reduce the number of veterans who are homeless. 

Currently, 85 communities are part of the movement and 11 of those communities have completely ended chronic homelessness. Since 2015, the movement has housed over 113,000 people including 71,000 veterans, according to their website.

One company, America's largest mortgage lender Rocket Mortgage, is supporting the movement as a corporate sponsor. Along with sponsorship, Rocket Mortgage is one of the top VA lenders and also a nationally recognized employer of vets.

They took their commitment one step further by developing a marketing campaign known as "Neighbors", looking to change the public perception of those who are homeless. To read more about specific veterans and their stories of success, go to AHomeForEveryVet.

Homelessness is a tragic and unfortunate reality in our world. However, those who have served in our military and given up so much should have support when they return home. This is an inspiring story of an action that is helping these brave men and women. Perhaps you or someone you know will read this story and become inspired to join in.