On any given night, there are more than 35,574 homeless Veterans in the United States
Which represents 30% of the homeless Veteran population in the United States
California is home to 10,395 Veterans who live unsheltered
Many of these Veterans suffer from physical, emotional or mental challenges, are unemployed, or are single parents with dependent children. In California, the number of homeless Veterans is disproportionate to the numbers reported across the U.S. in that California is home to some of the largest Veteran’s reception centers and military bases in the country.
As the number of returning Veterans increases, the number of unsheltered Veterans also increases. The Veteran Affairs (VA), in collaboration with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), provides vouchers to Veterans who are working with VA case managers to rehabilitate themselves and find regular employment.
The HUD-VASH vouchers provide a safe, clean living space, but the units are unfurnished, leaving these Veterans to sleep on the floor with no means to cook, sit, or enjoy the basic comforts of a furnished home.
As featured in Success Stories Veterans Administration website:
https://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/successstories/TeamAMVETS.asp
https://news.va.gov/16415/team-amvets-welcome-home-program-helps-the-homeless/
It is this gap that AMVETS™ seeks to close. Imagine being homeless and then being given an opportunity to get off the streets only to realize that although you have a roof and walls, you still don’t have the basic dignity of a bed or a sofa or even some dishes from which to eat. Thus, the AMVETS Welcome Home Program was established to fill this void. A partnership between the VA and the AMVETS Department of California Service Foundation, AMVETS provides furniture, small appliances, and other household items to formerly homeless Veterans.
