Veterans Assistance Fund

Veterans that come back from War and conflict are often displaced due to being dependent on the Military to house them, feed them and take care of them. They have been re-programmed to think a certain way and act a certain way so becoming prt of society in most cases is not easy. These Veterans have experienced and have sen horrible acts of violence which makes that transition back into society extremely difficult and it only takes one crisis to send them back in their minds to the horrible things they have experienced. In September of 2022 our area went thru a category 5 Hurricane, Hurricane Ian.

This event triggered many Veterans to become homeless with no where to go or fall behind on their bills due to rising prices and rents again leaving them homeless. During this past quarter we had a local serviceman lose his life during a Blackhawk Helicopter training in Kentucky leaving a wife and 2 small children behind with no means of support. The Veterans assistance fund helped his widow with a check for $1500 to help with food and rent, and though it wasn't nearly enough we hope it helped. The second Veteran we helped was a 85 year old Veteran that was displaced by Hurricane Ian, his apartment sustained damage  and  instead of his rent going down, his landlord increased his rent to the damaged apartmet by $800 and did not fix the unit so he had to move out. This elderly Veteran was living in his car and his car was about to be repossessed when he came to us. The Veterans assistance fund paid $1400 in past due car payments and put him in a hotel for a week while we tried to find answers. 

This fund is not only necessary in most cases it is a life saver, so thank you for your continued donations every dollar makes a difference.

The last few months living in Lee County Florida has been a challenge for everyone, but Hurricane Ian affected the most vulnerable individuals including the most vulnerable, disabled and elderly Veterans. During this quarter with the donations we received we were able to help Veterans affected by the storm with:

• Moving assistance, to move one of the Veterans to another habitable residence because his primary residence was deemed un-inhabitable due to hurricane Ian
• Emergency Food and clothing and drinking water to another Veteran who lost everything
• Tearing out and disposing of the items destroyed in an Elderly Veterans Home so he could start the rebuilding process

So the donations received from this fund do make a difference in these Veterans lives, it changes their lives for the better and without these donations many would not know where to turn to.

We have established a group of Veterans that also help move older Veterans into another residence when needed, collect and deliver donanted furniture to Veterans that have become homeless and are being housed again. So the donations that we receive from this fund is "Changing Lives on Veteran at a Time" Thank you so much for helping us make a difference in these Veterans Lives!