Uncategorized

Hopelessness Can Start to Feel Like the Norm for Our Heroes Our homeless Veterans feel hopeless and overwhelmed. Our Heroes are falling through the cracks; they are being judged and excluded. When all of their hope is lost, it is up to you and me to give it away. Imagine yourself, having given the most…

Having a place to call your own helps foster a sense of community and stability Think back to a time in your life when you felt alone-no one to hang out with, no one to laugh with, or no one to listen to you as you shared your fears and struggles.  Homelessness is isolating.  It…

What honorably discharged soldier would pack her family into a 15-year-old SUV and live on the streets? The answer is none and the solution is eliminating Veteran housing barriers. I have met thousands of Homeless Veteran Families in my lifetime and not one of these brave men and women made a choice to exit their…

Homeless Veterans are at particularly high risk for suicide. This is due to the multiple traumas and experiences that have left them without a place to call home. Numerous studies have revealed that homeless veterans are statistically more likely to die by suicide than those who are not homeless. Homeless Veterans face specific challenges causing…

Veteran Homelessness Categorization Limitations by Shawn Dowling, Veterans Matter CEO. | Published: February 27, 2023 In the United States, resources for Homeless Veterans and their Families are attached to a “category” or type of Homelessness. That makes sense, right? This is why we have directions, maps, Google, and manuals. Veterans ask themselves, “What happens when…

For many chronically homeless veterans, home is not only a place of safety and security, but where their recovery begins. There is a difference between Homeless and Chronically Homeless Veterans.  It is a well-known fact that Homeless Veterans are homeless longer than their non-veteran counterparts.  Imagine living on the streets, in homeless shelters, or in…

In June of 2022, Veterans Matter (in partnership with the VA & HUD-VASH) assisted and successfully housed “Paul,” a South Carolina Veteran. In August of 2022, his apartment complex, Spring Lake Apartments in Columbia, South Carolina, changed management.  The new management decided to immediately begin renovations. This decision (in the minds of the new management)…

November 11th @7pm | The NationalExchange Club Headquarters 3050 W. CentralAve., Toledo, Ohio Click here for event details and help us house more Veterans Click here to become a sponsor or to enter the cook-off The post 11/11@7 Chili Cook-Off to House Veterans appeared first on .

Shawn Dowling has been working with Homeless individuals and families for the last 30 years. She received her B.A. In Human Services in 1988 from Siena Heights University and her MSW in 2005 from Eastern Michigan University.  Ms. Dowling has worked with adults and youth with chronic substance use disorders and severe mental illness. She…

This story comes from Adrian Six, a VA case manager, in South Bend, Indiana. “Rick” was living in a home with his mother for 16 years and had assistance from the South Bend Housing Authority.  He came to work with the JW CBOC/Mishawaka after his mom passed away and was cut from the program at…