Veteran Seeks Fresh Start

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This week, we want to share a Case of the Week from our office located in Sarasota Florida.
Veteran Seeks Fresh Start

 

We were contacted by a married veteran with several small children that had recently moved to FL with hopes of new employment.  The job didn’t work out and things got very hot and rough.  They ran out of money – power  turned off (quickly found how hot FL is w/out air  –  conditioning), and their car was repossessed.  We’re helping them on power bill – another agency on the car issue, and the veteran has now found some employment – trying to catch up!   The fresh start got stalled, but being a veteran, he toughed it out and is now facing a much brighter tomorrow.

SIMPLE SWIFT ASSISTANCE BENEFITS VETERAN

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A call came in from our local VA Clinic.  They were working with a veteran that was suffering from depression.  They had been able to help him with housing.  The problem was that the veteran’s phone had been shut off.  The VA staff was very concerned about the veteran being alone and unable to reach out, they also wanted to be sure that they could keep in touch with him.

They asked us if we could help with the phone to get it paid off and get the service on.  We told them to send him straight here, we sent a staff person with him to the service provider, paid the bill, and immediately he had service again.

Something that might seem small to some of us might very well have saved this veteran’s life.

ROUTINE WEDNESDAY BECOMES INCREDIBLE INSPIRATION

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The staff was fully engaged in another busy day of helping veterans and keeping the ship sailing.  We received a call from a Gold Star Mom that has been running across America to keep the memory of her son alive and to raise awareness of all of our service men and women.  She embarked upon her journey in January of 2019 and plans to complete her run in December 2019 at Arlington National Cemetery where she hopes to have raised enough funds to place 7,777 wreaths.

Throughout her journey, she has chosen one organization in each state to present a wreath in honor of that state’s veterans.  She chose Veterans’ Outreach for the Ohio presentation.

We scrambled quickly to make it an event worthy of her visit.  TV, newspaper, businessmen, local officials, and local veterans came out in support of her visit.  All of this was pulled together in just four hours.

She was truly inspirational, and everyone that attended was very moved by her passion and dedication to her son, and to all veterans.  She left us at the end of the day, on to her next stop in Michigan, but she took with her our 5′ x 8′ USA flag to use in her future stops.  We are so humbled that we had the opportunity to participate in her journey.

Veterans Dismay Dwindles as Dark Clouds Disappear

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A veteran was referred to us from a local agency.  We often work hand in hand with other agencies and organizations to develop the best solutions for each veteran.

His gas and electric were both terminated due to non-payment.  The utilities had gotten out of control when he was in between jobs.  Also, his kitchen was void of food.  We were able to establish his registration with the Pip Plan for both which means they are on a payment plan that is manageable.  If he pays on time for a certain length of time, the previous balances will be forgiven.  We paid the first payments for him through our Direct Aid Program and gave him a gift card for a local grocery store.

We also prepared a large tote of groceries for him through our Serve Veterans Now Food Pantry Program and our Daily Food Pantry Program.

He was so grateful and left our office with a skip in his step that replaced his downcast entrance an hour earlier.