| |
|
About
In July, AHR attended the July 2008 Community,
Assessment, Local Education and Networking Groups
meeting held at the W.G. Bill Hefner VA Medical
Center in Salisbury, NC. CHALENG is an innovative
program designed to enhance the continuum of care
for homeless veterans.
Why
The
program was launched in 1994 by the Department of
Veterans Affairs in recognition that no single
agency can provide the full spectrum of services
required to help homeless veterans.
Partnerships
The
thrust of the CHALENG program is to coordinate
services by bringing the VA together with community
agencies and other federal, state, and local
governments th provide services to the homeless. The
program encourages partnerships and collaboration
between the VA and the community.
Veteran Homelessness
What
you may no know is that in NC, and likely in other
states, there is a 10 year plan to end veteran
homelessness. In order to accomplish this task, the
A seeks to identity the needs of homeless veterans
with a focus on health care, education, and training
employment, shelter, counseling and outreach.
Collection Input
Through these meetings and other efforts, the VA is
developing and maintaining a listing of all homeless
services in the local area(s), asking for input and
suggestions, then taking action to meet the
additional needs of homeless vets. The results of
the input from organizations is then published in a
annual report that summarizes the needs.
How
Of
course, this all about veterans and not
organizations. So it serves us well to list how the
VA's program seeks to help veterans directly.
-
CHALENG addresses the gaps in services for
homeless veterans
-
CHANLENG provides the resources veterans need to
be come self sufficient
-
CHALENG links the veterans with the resources
within the VA and the community (like AHR)
-
At the national level, CHALENG mandates that
local VA medical Centers and regional office
directors conduct and annual assessment of the
needs of vets
-
CHALENG looks for current perceptions of
homeless vets needs within the community
-
CHALENG provides an estimate of the number of
homeless veterans in certain geographical area.
AHR and the VA
American Heroes Return is committed to supporting
the efforts of not only the Departments of Veterans
Affairs, the Pentagon, and other active and inactive
duty military, but as well in providing support to
all non-profits and non-governmental agencies and
organizations as we serve veterans.
Gratitude
There
is much work to be done and we are thankful that
there are opportunities like the CHALENG meeting for
AHR to learn more, participate more, and service our
veterans more effectively.
Return to
Newsletter
|
|
