National Veterans Homeless Support

An unmet need...

Over 4,500 homeless Veterans live in the forests and parks scattered throughout central Florida.
Without a physical address, it is extremely difficult for our Veterans to apply for and receive government aid.
Available temporary housing for homeless Veterans is extremely limited.
Shelter facilities are often at maximum capacity and provide little to no additional support beyond solving the immediate distress.
Long-term, permanent housing is among the top ten highest unmet needs identified by homeless Veterans, VA and community providers (Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education and Networking Group for Veterans, 2009).
45% of homeless Veterans suffer from mental illness and slightly more than 70% suffer from alcohol or other drug abuse problems (U. S. Department of Veteran Affairs-Homeless Veterans, 2009).

Our current outreach...

Conduct "Search and Rescue" operations by physically going out into the field to locate and assist homeless Veterans wherever they may be.
Provide homeless Veterans with various items, such as food, clothing, hygiene products and supplies, tents, sleeping bags, bicycles.
Serve as a referral service in order to assist the veterans in obtaining the proper services to meet their needs and concerns.

OUR VISION — "Tent City"

Provide our Veterans with a safe and drugfree physical address where they can receive their government/militarybenefits and, hopefully, transition into productive citizens once again.

Develop a campground community where our homeless Veterans are provided with the tents currently used by our active military personnel while deployed.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Narcotics Anonymous (N. A.) and Alcoholics Anonymous (A. A.) therapy sessions will be conducted on-site to help solve the root of the problem for the veterans who suffer from these issues.

While residing at Tent City, Veterans will assist with the maintenance and upkeep of their campground community. To promote self-worth and productivity, the Veterans will have an opportunity to grow and sell produce at a farmer's market created and sustained by their effort. Recreational activities will be included, such as, fishing and boating so that they can learn how to play again.