Program:
Distressed Family Program
- Budget:
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$8,000
- Category:
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Human Services
- Population Served:
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Military/Veterans
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Military/Veterans
Program Description:
Family is the most important element in the recovery of our veterans. For that reason our distressed family program is broken into three components.
1) Wives or Husbands of Iraq/Afghanistan veterans that are within the Allegheny County area that have had to resign from employment in order to care for their injured loved one or have a spouse that is currently hospitalized as a result of injuries sustained in Iraq and do not have a personal vehicle. Heroes Today will perform an assessment of the family. Upon approval Heroes Today will:
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Purchase a bus pass for the individual to get to and from the hospital.
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Access if the family member is unemployed and in need of assistance at home. i.e..food, bill pymnt, etc.....
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Refer the family member to agencies that will help find employment.
- Engage our volunteers to interact with these families as a support blanket.
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Connect the family member with various communty based organizations.
2) Iraq/Afghanistan veterans who are in a drug/alcohol program and have a wife and children or husband and children that is still trying to maintain the household on their own. Heroes Today will perform an assessment of the family. Upon approval Heroes Today will:
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Provide the family with one to two weeks worth of food.
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Help with a bill payment. (not to exceed $75)
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Connect the family member with resources that will aide in finding employment.
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Provide resouces to purchase clothing for the children if needed.
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Connect the family with various community based organizations that will help them to further accomplish their goals and sustain their way of life.
3) Families of veterans that are transplant receipients that are currently placed in hotels and have been in that hotel for longer than three weeks while they wait with the veteran. Most of these families are from other states. Heroes Today will perform an assessment of the family. Upon approval Heroes Today will:
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Provide one to two weeks worth of food for the family so that they are able to focus the monies they have that will go toward the bills of the residence in which they actually live.
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Provide family with personal care items.
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Engage our volunteers to interact with these families as a support blanket.
Program Long-Term Success:
Families will become more cohesive and unified toward a better way of life while caring for or waiting for the return of their loved one.
Program Short-Term Success:
Familes will become more confident they are able to seek and get effective help for the unique issues that they face.
Program Success Monitored by:
Accountability of the effectiveness of this program is based on individual counsel notes, surveys of the family and continuous person to person follow up.
Program Success Examples:
Through refferral of a military unit in 2008, Heroes today was able to provide the needed support for an unemployed and distressed family of a Iraq veteran who at that time was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. By purchasing food for two weeks, clothing for the children, paying one bill and connecting the family to various resources within the community and helping with career leads. This veteran to date has been able to get and sustain employment and maintain the families way of life.
Program:
Intensive Homeless Veteran Outreach
- Budget:
-
$2,000
- Category:
-
Human Services
- Population Served:
-
Military/Veterans
-
Adults
Program Description:
In an effort to get our veterans of the street and into a program at the Department of Veteran Affairs, Heroes Today conducts an outreach to homeless veterans twice per month. This outreach is an intensive outreach because it is conducted after the hours of 8pm. By going to homeless shelters and throughout the streets of various communities in the Pittsburgh area.
Upon making contact with the veteran we offer them information on the benefits they may qualify for through the VA and also a survival pack. The survival pack is a back pack that is filled with various items such as:
Soap
Toothpaste
Tooth Brush
Socks
Hat
Sweat Pants
Chap Stick
Pen/Pencil
Writting Pad
T-shirt
Underwear
Program Long-Term Success:
Enrollment of veterans into the Department of Veteran Affairs system in order for them be admitted into a program that will accomidate their individual needs.
Program Short-Term Success:
Veterans will be empowered and more informed about what they are eligiable for through Department of Veteran Affairs.
Program Success Monitored by:
Success is monitored through multiple contacts and interviews with these veterans and notes taken during these contacts.
Program Success Examples:
Heroes today has been instrumental in getting seven veterans off the street in 2008 and into a Department of Veteran Affairs program. These veterans have since graduated the programs they were in and are now productive memebers of their communities.
Program:
Annual Veteran Appreciation Dinner
- Budget:
-
$500
- Category:
-
Human Services
- Population Served:
-
Military/Veterans
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Military/Veterans
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Homeless
Program Description:
On May 3 2008 Heroes Today introduced its first Homeless Veteran Dinner which is now an annual event. The objective of this dinner is not only to feed the homeless veteran but to also connect them with resources that they are in need of to get and or keep them off the street. During the dinner veterans are educated on the various services they are eligible for through the Department of Veteran Affairs and organizations within the community that will help them. This dinner is held the first saturday of May each year.
Program Long-Term Success:
During this dinner veterans will become empowered with resources that will help them to stay clean and sober not only from the department of Veteran Affairs but within their own communities as well.
Program Short-Term Success:
Organizations that are in attendance to support the dinner will be able to immediately identify veterans that are in need of support.
Program Success Monitored by:
Veterans and organizations that attend the dinner are given a survey form. Heroes Today also follows up with veterans regularly.
Program Success Examples:
Below is the testimony of an Iraq veteran and a vietnam veteran that attended our annual dinner on May 3, 2009. Heroes Today was instrumental in reaching out to these veterans. These testimonies and others are on our web site.
Testimony of Ms. Stepanie Robinson
My name is Stephanie I am a Veteran from OIF/OEF who came to Pittsburgh homeless and fighting a mental health diagnosis. I met Mr. Johnson from Heroes today at a time in my life when I had given up on the VA system and had completely hit rock bottom, I was also using illegal drugs to self medicate. Mr. Johnson told me of a program that the VA in Pittsburgh offered that would help me get my life back on track so that I could take care of my three children and myself, that was in December of 2008. It is now May 2009 and I have made a complete turn around with the support of the program that I was able to get into I am 4 months clean and have a good handle on my disorder. I can now see clearly and if it had not been for the dedication of Mr. Johnson and his refusal to quit on me I don't know where I would be right now. Thank you Mr. Johnson and Heroes Today for your support and dedication that helped make a change in my life. God Bless You!!!!!
Testimony of Mr. Watkin Hall
I like to thank Mr. Fred Johnson for 1st having the courage to follow his vision and 2nd to be selfless enough to have myself and fellow veterans be included in it. The dinner was a true testimony in itself. to have come from where most of us have and have the oppertunity to fellowship with one another in a sober celebration of commonodity and praise was and is a blessing in itself. i really enjoyed it and the food, well, the food was great. Thats all i can say about that!
As for Mr johnsons vision as witness of the miricles of god, "Heroes Today" is right up top with all the other life changing, life turn around true god deliverance miracles thats proof god is still in the miracle business and still willing to help us if we just let him.
My prayers and meditations are with you Mr. Johnson as god our father continues to direct you and direct us and place us in the path of other god fearing men that are willing to do his work. thank you for allowing me to be part of your vision.