Veterans Make a Difference
In partnership with other Veterans Oriented Service Club our mutual goal is to bring the unhoused Veteran population to ZERO!
What is the Mission of Project Zero?
The mission is simple: bring the unhoused Veteran population down to zero. To do this, we have the potential to partner with U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Homeless Veterans Program, Veterans Matter and The National Exchange Clubs to work with us in identifying the number of unhoused Veterans in their state, as well as planning and collaborating with other Exchange Clubs to help our Heroes (and their significant others and especially their children) find safe, permanent housing.
Nothing speaks to the ideals of Americanism more than helping our Veterans and their families, preserving family units, and collectively making our communities stronger and safer in the process. The Kolena Foundation, Veterans Matters, and The National Exchange Clubs across the United States are joining together to help house our unhoused Heroes. Through Project Zero, we can partner all the programs of Exchange with this important initiative. Let’s bring our Heroes home … for good!
No Veteran should be without a place to call home
The Veterans Administrations and the Housing Urban Development are prioritizing this effort at the highest levels. Staff in both agencies are working collaboratively to significantly reduce the number of Veterans experiencing homelessness and to prevent Veterans from experiencing homelessness in the future.
Ending Veteran Homelessness a Top Priority
Evidence and past progress on reducing Veteran homelessness demonstrate a Housing First approach works. HUD and VA are reinforcing Housing First, including through targeted interventions such as HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH), Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF)
Evidence-Based Housing First Approach
Supportive services are critical to helping Veterans find and retain housing. These services serve as a platform for achieving health, recovery, and economic success.
Delivery of Quality Supportive Services
Hero Story: A Veteran and his family housed through support from Exchange Club
Phil is a formerly unhoused Navy Veteran from South Carolina: “My family and I (including my 3 daughters) have been homeless since the beginning of Covid. Last couple of years we have been in and out of hotels. As expensive as hotels are it seemed what money we did get would be gone because of the hotels. Hard to find any place because of Covid going on. Knowing if we did, how would we get an apartment of our own, because of the cost of these hotels. At times thinking we were in this never-ending cycle and were never going to find a place. At times I felt it was too much and thought about giving up. Moving forward, your organization has meant the world to us. We are finally in our home, we are finally not homeless. We feel there is hope and we thank you all so much for that. This could have not happened without your help.”
25% of the Veterans Veterans Matter houses have children. Thousands of children are now able to sleep in their own bed, attend school, have clean clothes, and be proud of their new home. Youth of today need security. Having a home and family around them provides this element of love and warmth.
What can you do
America is the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. One of the bravest things one can do is put on the uniform to risk all to defend our country.
Many of those brave soldiers are hurting right now. There are 37,252 homeless Veterans on the streets of our nation – they need YOUR help today!
Our simple yet innovative and efficient process has reduced the Veteran’s waiting time for permanent housing from weeks to literally minutes. This means YOU can help house a Veteran Hero right now.
How it works
Kolena works with Veterans Matter and the local clubs of The National Exchange Club directly with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and local VA Homeless Programs to provide rental deposits and the Veteran’s portion of the first month’s rent for chronically homeless veterans.
In other words, if you are the veteran sitting with a newly signed lease for YOUR own apartment but lack the funds for the security deposit, your VA social worker requests it from Veterans Matter. Your conforming request is automatically approved and the landlord hands you the keys and you cross the threshold. Welcome home soldier.
Yes, it’s that easy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Working with our Partners, The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has numerous programs and services that provide comprehensive, individualized care to promote housing stability among Veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
Advancing VA’s Housing First Approach
The VA initiatives described below further the Housing First strategy, the primary goal of which is to put an end to homelessness among Veterans. The premise of this approach is to permanently house Veterans quickly and then provide services that help them maintain housing, including mental health care, substance use treatment and job training. Research shows that Housing First is the most effective and economical way to reduce homelessness.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH)
This collaborative program between HUD and VA combines HUD housing vouchers with VA supportive services to help Veterans who are homeless and their families find and sustain permanent housing.
How It Works
Through public housing authorities, HUD provides rental assistance vouchers for privately owned housing to Veterans who are eligible for VA health care services and are experiencing homelessness. VA case managers may connect these Veterans with support services such as health care, mental health treatment and substance use counseling to help them in their recovery process and with their ability to maintain housing in the community. Among VA homeless continuum of care programs, HUD-VASH enrolls the largest number and largest percentage of Veterans who have experienced longterm or repeated homelessness. Since 2008, a total of 79,000 vouchers have been awarded, according to HUD.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program
HUD-VASH is a collaborative program which pairs HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) rental assistance with VA case management and supportive services for homeless Veterans. These services are designed to help homeless Veterans and their families find and sustain permanent housing and access the health care, mental health treatment, substance use counseling, and other supports necessary to help them in their recovery process and with their ability to maintain housing in the community.
More information from the program can be found at https://www.va.gov/homeless/for_homeless_veterans.asp
In 2010, the White House and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued a plan to end Veteran homelessness. The strategy for reaching the goal was included in “Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness.”
VA operates the largest integrated network of homeless assistance programs in the country. In the early phase of the initiative, VA worked to better understand the extent of the problem of Veteran homelessness, build a network of partnerships to reach more Veterans in need and expand the capacity to deliver targeted assistance. Along the way, VA assessed its progress, improved services, implemented best practices and worked to sustain successes.
VA continues to focus on proactively reaching Veterans in need of assistance and connecting homeless and at risk Veterans with housing solutions, health care, community employment services, and other required supports. VA’s reach is extended through collaborations with federal, state and local agencies; employers; housing providers; faith-based and community nonprofits; andother partners who are essential to expanding affordable housing and employment options for Veterans exiting homelessness.
An end to homelessness among Veterans means that no Veteran is sleeping on our streets and that every Veteran who falls into homelessness is quickly able to access permanent and sustainable housing.
One home at a Time. On Community at a Time.
Down load your kit here at https://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/docs/toolkit/HousingToolkit.pdf
Through our partnership with Veterans Matter, The National Exchange Club and the Veterans Administration, we help identify Veterans in need and essentially deliver your donation directly to the landlord to cover the deposit and first month’s rent.
This means every single dollar we deploy has a 100% success rate in helping a homeless Veteran get housed in a successful, long-term VA housing program that has a 91% success rate of keeping them housed.