THANK YOU TO ALL VETERANS/in /by

THANK YOU TO ALL VETERANS
Sir,
Although we don’t know one another my heart said to let him know how thankful I am. I know that you’re collecting money, not cards but as a son of a veteran and from a family of veterans from WWI WWII Vietnam and Desert Storm I am thankful and proud to live in this great country. Thank you for your service and I’m glad you made it back home. My hope is one day veterans from past present and future will have the healthcare they deserve, a job to come home to and no worries of where they will lay their head each night. I will always stand and be proud of our military, we are the greatest nation in the world. Happy Memorial Day, Flag Day and Father’s Day.
God Bless each of our men and women Lord as they serve their time keeping our nation free. Look after them as they return home, go off to war and keep their families in your prayers.
Amen.
Signed,
A Proud American

More Than He Expected/in /by

Today, we highlight a “Case of the Week” from our Grayson, KY office. We call it “More Than He Expected”.

We had a veteran call the Grayson office for help. He served 17 years in the United States Army. He had been medically discharged due to injuries sustained in combat.

He requested our help with his electric bill. He has a few small children still at home and his disability just isn’t enough to keep food on the table. I am happy to say that we were able to assist to keep his electric on and also provide him with a job through our Outreach Program. He is so excited to get started and couldn’t thank us enough. We thank him for his service, and also for his eagerness to help other Veterans in need as well.

ALONE AND AFRAID/in /by
Today, our “Case of the Week” comes from our Sarasota FL office.

We were approached by a caseworker from the Viera, FL VA hospital. The veteran is 90% disabled, suffering from depression, anxiety, PTSD and seriously behind on her bills. Separated from her husband who, since she has the above problems, has custody of their children but, with her pension payment, she is to pay child support which adds to the financial burden.

In the past the vet tried to take her own life, mutilated herself and overdosed, and reports her husband had sexually assaulted her. She’s behind on all bills and the caseworker is trying every possible source to assist – fearing that she will lose her car and therefore her remaining independence.

Veterans’ Outreach was asked to assist on the overdue car payment which we promptly did.

All in the Family/in /by

This week, we want to highlight a “Case of the Week” from our Hartselle Alabama office as told by our Executive Director, Teri Ely.

This case reminds me of how Veterans’ Outreach really works as a family with our work environment dedicated to the veterans that we serve. We all step up when another needs our help. We received an email from a disabled veteran that had recently gone through a divorce. As a result of the divorce, he left his home in Ohio and moved to be with family in Alabama. He only brought his dogs and some clothes. Nothing else.

After he contacted our website, we were able to immediately put him in touch with our Hartselle Alabama office for direct assistance. He has been able to secure an apartment. The staff at the Hartselle office was able to give him 2 large boxes of food and a microwave. We are also helping him get his electricity turned on in his new place.

So, our family at Veterans’ Outreach was able to help this veteran as he moved to be closer to his birth family.

Little Things Mean A Lot/in /by

This week, we want to share a note of thanks from a veteran that received assistance from our Sarasota FL office.

“Jan, Please accept my sincere thanks, and tell Mr. Graham thank you as well. You both really helped me with my FPL bill, and now I can go ahead and get gas for my car and do some laundry too. Little things, perhaps, but it means a lot to me. Again, thank you so much.”
Sincerely, Christopher J.

A Place to call Home/in /by

This week, we are sharing a “Case of the Week” from our Liberty OH office as told by our Services Director, Bob Julian.

An elderly veteran in his 80’s is now living at an assisted living facility. His wife came to our office very upset and distraught. She wasn’t satisfied with the care that her husband was receiving and desperately wanted to help him move to a place that he would feel comfortable. She wanted to help him move to the Sandusky Veterans’ Home.

She called around and sought help and guidance from several agencies. She told me that Veterans’ Outreach is the only one that even took their problem seriously.

We arranged transport for the veteran with a local carrier. We were also able to gift them a tote bag full of groceries through a grant from Walmart Foundation. He will be at his new home in just a few days. His wife was so grateful. She left with a great sense of relief, joy, and tears of gratitude.

It’s Raining Love/in /by

This week, we want to share a Case of the Week from our Grayson KY office as told by Tammy Black, KY Regional Manager.

We had a volunteer bring their neighbor into the office that was in desperate need of a new roof and just having a hard time. The roof was leaking and they had no extra income to fix it.

A new roof is more than we are able to do, so I called my contacts at Habitat for Humanity and told them of the story. We were able to help them with other needs and gave them a box of approximately 60lbs of food to help them for a few weeks.

I got a message today from Mary of Habitat with a picture of their new roof. I am so happy that we have such a good relationship to partner with so many other agencies so we can help our Heroes to the full extent of our abilities.

A Military Couple in Need/in /by

Today’s Case of the Week to share comes from our Liberty Ohio office.

Our Services Director, Bob Julian met with a married couple. The man is recently discharged from the Marines after many years of service and deployments. The lady is in the National Guard. They have children and another on the way.

The man’s place of employment has recently hit some hard times and he no longer has work. They came to Veterans’ Outreach for help with rent and groceries. We were able to help with both. Additionally, we gifted them with a large tote of groceries through our “Serve Veterans NOW” food pantry made possible by a grant from the Walmart Foundation.

We also have a lead for work for him. All of that happened in their first meeting with Veterans ‘ Outreach, it’s great to be in a position where we can do this – with heartfelt thanks to generous donors.

Serve Veterans NOW Food Pantry helps Veteran/in /by

Today, our “Case of the Week” comes from our Liberty OH office.

A veteran had been referred to us from the VA Clinic right up the street from our office. He served in Vietnam in the Navy. He said he was what would be called a Navy Seal today. He went on many missions that even today he is forbidden to talk about. During his time, he was sprayed with Agent Orange.

Last year he got a call from the VA in DC to question him about his service in Vietnam and any health issues he was having. They advised him to go to the nearest VA to get checked out. He went, found several health concerns, applied for service related disability and was denied! They told him they couldn’t find his records, they were burned in a fire.

He was very distraught. Our office listened to him, helped him with our Serve Veterans NOW Food Pantry tote of groceries as well as guidance on how to proceed with his claim. He was very thankful and said it made a real difference “to know that someone out there cares about us veterans”. The grant from Walmart for the grocery totes has touched another veteran with some real help to get through the day and the days ahead.

Clearwater Veteran’s Thank You/in /by

This week, we bring you another “Case of the Week” from our Sarasota Florida office as told by Bob Graham, our Regional Manager.

After spending a lot of money on medical issues, this Clearwater veteran was advised by his case manager to contact us on his overdue electric bill, which he was unable to cover. He was about to go into the VA hospital for surgery which worried him (his VA psychologist says that he has PTSD, “generalized anxiety disorder and Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia”) as he might be returning home with no lights available. I guaranteed the payment to Duke Energy and it was promptly paid, with assistance from a local Sarasota resident who wanted to help as well. The vet says “you’ll never know how much you helped out when I really needed it!”