United Veterans Beacon House
A Project of the Veterans of the Vietnam War, Inc.
& The Veterans Coalition
The United Veterans Beacon House provides transitional, safe housing for homeless Veterans as they reintegrate into the society they willingly protected through their military service.
United Veterans Beacon House makes a difference through advocacy, education, retraining and employment.
UVBH OVERVIEW
The homeless Veteran problem in the United States is becoming more and more prevalent due to an increasing national socio-economic crisis, a combined draw-down in our nations uniformed services, the “dumping” of war ravaged and PTSD patients onto our nation’s streets as well as a host of other associated reasons. Today, over 300,000 American Veterans live on the streets.
The Veterans of Vietnam War, Inc. & The Veterans Coalition, in response to the homeless Veteran challenge, is operating comprehensive projects designed to assist the homeless Veteran. This project has been designated by the VVnW & The Veterans Coalition as the United Veterans Beacon House Project (UVBH). The United Veterans Beacon Houses are designed to offer a safe, drug/alcohol-free haven, direct the Veteran to a multitude of support agencies offering assistance, provide skills training, and provide the Veteran with supportive housing while the Veteran rebuilds his/her life.
The concept of the UVBH is to provide housing for the Veteran to allow the Veteran to restructure and rebuild his/her life. The Veteran is allowed to stay in a UVBH for a period of six months to two years, a VA requirement. Studies have shown that with this length of stay, the Veteran has the ability to begin a new working career, change jobs as upward mobility dictates and amass the financial resources to become self-sufficient.
During the Veteran’s stay at a UVBH, he or she will be assisted in obtaining a full range of services including drug and alcohol counseling, PTSD counseling, other psychological and family counseling, life skills training, full employment counseling and access to a wide range of medical services.
Each UVBH networks with existing community services and the Department of Veterans Affairs resources to insure against a duplication of services.
Currently, the VVnW & The Veterans Coalition is affiliated with United Veterans Beacon Houses in Akron, Pennsylvania; 16 sites in New York; Huntington, West Virginia; and Promise and Parade, South Dakota.
Proposed future sites include Chesapeake, Virginia; Forest City, PA and in the states of New Mexico, Kansas and Montana. The United Veterans Beacon House project also operates food pantries for Veterans and their families in need. Permanent housing is also under consideration and planned.
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