Transitional Housing for Female Veterans

What is your idea to address an unmet need of service members, veterans and their families?

Transitional housing for Female Vets and those with children. A place where our female vets come to when they are facing challenges & are in need of a place to call Home. While here, they will be provided various types of assistance in efforts to transition to civilian life and self-sufficiency. Assistance to be provided by the City, County and Federal Governments will include: Job training/placement, mental & physical healthcare, educational training, and home placement assistance, to name a few. We also view this as an opportunity to revitalize & beautify the local Flint, MI area.We will all work together neighborhood orgs to keep areas clean, safe.

What specific population do you plan to work with? What is their unmet need?

Female veterans returning to the US from war who have PTSD, MST or are in distress in any way for any reason and need help transitioning to civilian society and self-sufficiency, ie, work, school, home, transportation, all their own. The american dream, what the fought for, what they deserve. OHT will provide the family style home for them to stay until they achieve self-sufficiency. These homes will also house their children. There are 500 transitional housing facilities in US, all male, 300 allow women, none allow children. 10% of women report rape or abuse of some sort. Women veterans need their own transitional housing to accommodate them & their kids in a safe home family style environment.

What is your implementation plan, and how would the $1,000 be used?

The plan is to purchase & renovate a large abandoned or foreclosed house to start with single women. As that is up and running successfully we will then implement the insurances and regulations needed to allow children and then acquire subsequent homes for both women heroes and their children. The $1000 is a drop in the bucket of what it will take to make this successful as we are currently applying for grants/funding/donations. However, it would definitely be useful toward items that are not donated, such as diapers or school supplies, even interview clothes for our female vets. All of which we hope to have donated, however there is never enough. This $1000 could cover utilities in one home for approx a yr.

How are volunteers the key ingredient to your solution?

We are registered with http://www.handsongenesee.org/, have volunteer Board members and several companies as well as individuals on a volunteer Advisory Committee. We also have other local orgs working in tandem with OHT to get the work done that is needed to have these homes up to date as well as dozens of individuals in the Flint area who know how necessary this project is and the positive impact this will have on our community.

Discussion