Community Outreach as the Social

Community Outreach

As the Social worker for the Homeless Veteran population, I have discovered that many of the veterans who are in need of our services are unaware that we have special programs for them. When the Vet Center was downtown, we were easily accessible to any veteran who was staying temporarily in a shelter, or who was accessing other services in the downtown churches. As you know, the Vet Center moved to the outskirts of town in November of 2003, after losing the lease on their house. The move has been difficult for all veterans, but particularly the homeless. The new vet center is on a road that has no public bus access and the building is actually part of a complex that houses other offices, such as a telephone company and a magazine business. In addition, the building is actually behind a credit union that blocks the view from the road. When you and Mr. Bell started this program, you were able to service more veterans who needed healthcare because of the exposure of the program. The numbers of homeless veterans served has gone from an average of 53 per month in 2002 to 34 per month in 2004.

I have made up flyers to distribute and have sent them to the churches and shelters in our area, asking the staff to share them with the homeless veterans they serve. I have asked the staff at the hospitals and clinics to refer their homeless veterans to our program for service and I have joined the homeless coalition, hoping to lend more exposure of our program. The coalition members told me that they thought the program had been disbanded as they saw something else going into the house and the veterans they serve had told them there was a note on the door saying the vet center was no longer there. Although the Vet Center had told all of their clients we were moving and we left a big sign as to where we had moved to, I am assuming the law firm that moved into the space decided to put a sign up simply stating we were no longer there.

I believe that we need to have a community outreach program, which will allow me to visit the shelters in our area each week. I have asked the three principal shelters if they would allow such an outreach program in their facility one time a week and they have been most hospitable. The directors of these shelters have told me that they serve many veterans in their programs and they would be grateful for any assistance with their needs. They have agreed to work around their usual schedule and set up an agreed upon time to allow me to visit the shelter and talk to the veterans they have identified. I have also talked to the state veterans benefits counselor at the Vet Center, who has agreed to visit the shelters with me. He will be able to assist those veterans who need their discharge papers, or need to file for benefits. I believe that having regularly scheduled times to see homeless veterans, we will be able to serve more veterans and allow better access to healthcare for these veterans.

I would imagine that one concern about community outreach would be the time away from the office. I would be at the office every day and it would be from 8:00-10:30 AM three mornings a week that I would be unavailable for any one coming to the Vet Center for assistance. I understand that there could be a veteran who could possibly need assistance at the time that I would be gone, but the Vet Center is a comfortable, welcoming place for them to wait out of the weather and the staff knows where I keep all of the food for those who might need it. Additionally, there is another service officer for those veterans who might need assistance with their benefits or in filing for a copy of their discharge papers. The director of the Vet Center, Ralph Yunkey, has told me that they support the idea and his staff will assist in any way they are able. The time away would not be excessive and the number of veterans served could increase by many. The requirements to keep a program open, according to the director of the homeless veterans programs, is to serve at least 35% of the estimated homeless veteran population in our area. We are at 29% currently and in order to keep our program operational, we need to find ways to let veterans in our area know that we have programs to assist them. In addition to losing staff if this program closes, we will lose budgeted money for other services included in this program, such as transportation allowances to Veterans Hospitals and for prosthetic devices.

I believe that if I am able to do community outreach to the shelters, I will be able to find more homeless veterans who are in need of healthcare services.

I have discussed the problem of finding clients to serve with other homeless veteran programs and there are some programs that have started an outreach program with good success. Most of the centers in fact, have some type of outreach program. Community outreach will allow those veterans who have not previously had access to healthcare a possibility of accessing other programs such as substance abuse and mental health treatment. In addition to servicing the needs of more veterans, this outreach can help keep this program, the staff and the budgeted funds. Also, by reaching more veterans, the veteran's organizations who have assisted us by donating funds, backpacks, food and other items will feel gratified that we are helping as many veterans as possible. This will further the feeling of cooperation between the service organizations and the administration of the Veterans Administration.