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The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston presented Soldier On and partners O’Connell Development Group Inc. with a $500,000 direct subsidy for our Gordon H. Mansfield Veterans Village project in Chicopee, MA. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston awarded more than $20 million in grants and rate subsidies to fund 42 initiatives in the 2013 Affordable Housing Program (AHP). The awards will create or preserve 935 rental and 58 ownership units for very low-, low-, and moderate-income individuals and families.

Soldier On and O’Connell Development Group Inc. will work together to develop 43 of those 935 rental units funded by the AHP. The Veterans Village will be located in a newly renovated Chapin School in the Willimansett section of Chicopee. This Village is modeled after the 39 unit Gordon H. Mansfield Veterans Village in Pittsfield, MA which has been successfully operating as a limited equity cooperative since 2010. The Veterans Village in Chicopee will bring Soldier On one step closer to changing the end of the story for homeless veterans.

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We’re super excited to let you know that we’re part of the Honoring Those Who Serve Challenge. The Challenge is a fundraising campaign being launched by Newman’s Own Foundation. The Foundation is proud to continue Paul Newman’s commitment to help the military community – those who have given so much of themselves, who now face critical needs.

To give back, Newman’s Own Foundation will be donating $180,000 to organizations like ours focused on empowering military personnel, veterans and their families. <br.
The charity that raises the most throughout the Challenge will get a $75,000 donation from Newman’s Own Foundation. Second place gets $50,000 and third gets $25,000. We’re out to raise as much money as possible for our cause so we can win that $75,000 grand prize donation.

We think we can win and to do so, we definitely need your help. We’ll be sending emails throughout the Challenge and we’ll be asking for you to give. Every donation makes a difference, no matter how small.

To help now, please Click Here and give whatever you can.

Or, if you want to go one step further, Go Here and click ‘Create Your Fundraiser.’ In seconds, you’ll have your own fundraiser that you can share with all of your family and friends so that you can raise money for our cause too.

Please email CrowdRise at NOF@CrowdRise.com if you have any questions at all and they’ll help solve everything.

Thanks so much for your support.    

Soldier On, an organization that is dedicated to serving homeless veterans, was awarded $12,757,000 in Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) grants last week to serve veterans in 36 counties in eastern upstate and central New York, 36 counties in central New Jersey, 23 counties in western Pennsylvania, 5 counties in western Massachusetts and over 70 counties in Mississippi. Since Soldier On was awarded their first SSVF grant in October 2011, the organization has served 2,245 homeless and at-risk veterans, spouses and children throughout New York and New Jersey.

The grants, which will be operational starting October 2013, give Soldier On the funding to serve approximately 3,500 participant households throughout these five states.

These awards are among nearly $300 million Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) grants targeted to provide housing stability for approximately 120,000 homeless and at-risk veterans and their families. The grants, going to 319 community agencies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, were announced today by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.

“With these grants, we are strengthening our partnership with community non-profits across the country to provide Veterans and their families with hope, a home, and a future,” said Shinseki. “The work of Supportive Services for Veteran Families program grantees has already helped us prevent and end homelessness among tens of thousands of homeless Veterans and their families, but as long as a single Veteran lives on our streets, we have work to do.”

“We are very grateful to the VA for creating a program that identifies underserved veterans and allows us to respond immediately to the crises in their lives,” said Soldier On President and CEO John Downing. “The Supportive Services for Veteran Families program allows us to intervene and stabilize veterans and their family members in the living situation that they are now in so that they don’t have to face the difficulties of homelessness.”

The SSVF funds enable the grantees to provide supportive services for veterans including outreach in the community and with their local V.A., case management services, assistance with obtaining V.A. benefits and other services. This includes help in obtaining health care services, financial planning services, transportation, fiduciary and payee services, legal services and housing counseling. The grant may also provide temporary financial assistance for rent, security and utility deposits, utility fees, moving costs, child care, emergency supplies and transportation.

Veterans seeking to enroll in the program should call Soldier On at 1-866-406-8449.

For further information regarding the SSVF program, go tohttp://www.va.gov/homeless/ssvf.asp.

Leeds, MA ─ Soldier On has been awarded a $150,000 grant from The Home Depot Foundation. This funding is part of the $80 million pledge that The Home Depot Foundation has taken to go towards veterans’ housing needs.

“The Home Depot Foundation is committed to ensuring that every veteran has a safe place to call home,” said Kelly Caffarelli, President of The Home Depot Foundation. “We are proud to work with Soldier On as part of our efforts to give back to those men and women who have so bravely served our country.”

Soldier On is dedicated to providing housing and supportive services to homeless veterans. The $150,000 grant from The Home Depot Foundation will go towards the new Gordon H. Mansfield Veterans Community that is being built on the Veterans Administration campus in Leeds. This limited-equity cooperative will consist of 44 permanent housing units for formerly homeless  veterans. The community, modeled after the 39 units of permanent housing built by Soldier On in 2010, represents the final step in the fight against veteran homelessness.

“Soldier On will continue to ‘change the end of the story’ for homeless veterans with the assistance of  organizations who are committed to the mission of making sure every veteran has the opportunity to live his or her life to their highest level of potential,” said John Downing, President and CEO of Soldier On. “We are very grateful that The Home Depot Foundation has been able to extend its generosity and thoughtfulness to the particular veterans that Soldier On serves.”

The Home Depot Foundation is committed to assisting veterans and their families that face major challenges, including housing, unemployment or disabilities. This grant reflects the pledge that the foundation has taken help ensure that all veterans have a safe place to call home. The Home Depot Foundation has committed $80 million over the next five years to this effort.

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Soldier On provides safe affordable housing to homeless veterans, including permanent limited-equity ownership units at the Gordon H. Mansfield Veterans Community in Pittsfield, MA. The Mansfield Community serves as a national model as Soldier On actively seeks to extend its successful veterans’ programs to communities throughout the United States.

 About The Home Depot Foundation

The Home Depot Foundation is dedicated to improving the homes of U.S. military veterans through financial and volunteer resources to help nonprofit organizations. The Foundation has committed $80 million to these efforts over five years.

Through Team Depot, the company’s associate-led volunteer program, thousands of Home Depot associates volunteer their time and talents to positively transform neighborhoods and perform basic repairs and modifications to homes and facilities serving veterans with critical housing needs.

Since its formation in 2002, The Home Depot Foundation has granted more than $340 million to nonprofit organizations improving homes and lives in local communities. To learn more and see our associates in action, visit www.homedepotfoundation.org.

BOSTON (WWLP) – When Fannie Houck was discharged from the navy in 1976, she survived a sexual assault and a helicopter incident that left her disabled and emotionally scarred.

“My PTSD just took over my life and I became homeless,” said Houck.

She applied for help at the Veterans Affairs Department, but navigating the maze of benefits and programs is difficult.

“In 1977, I tried to get services and was told you didn’t have programs like that for women… You reach out for help you don’t get the help… And I feel this is often where suicides come from.”

A 2010 Portland State University study found that women veterans were three times as likely as civilians to commit suicide.  This is partly why women veterans are kicking off their first State House Advocacy Day – To talk about issues facing women vets and provide a place for them to organize and seek help.

“Our goal is to help reach out to the women who are still seeking services, looking for women leaders to direct them,” said Dna. Maria St. Catherine McConnell, the commissioner of the Boston Commission on Women Veterans.

Fannie eventually found shelter at the Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Leeds and is now on a path to emotional and physical recovery through the Soldier On women’s program. Still, Fannie admits it’s difficult for women vets to seek help.

“The types of personalities that we as women have…We’re the ones who will sign that piece of paper and say that we’ll die for you,” said Fannie.  “It’s that same kind of mentality that keeps us from going to keep up the fight getting help for ourselves.”

Women vets say it’s important for their peers to fight together – Their next major meeting is the Massachusetts Conference for Women Veterans at Boston’s UMass campus Saturday.

Read the Article on 22 News Here: http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/news/politics/state_politics/wwlp-women-vets-navigate-benefits-ptsd-homelessness-cl

BY NICOLE ANTONUCCI

Staff Writer

A five-year plan to provide a community for homeless veterans at Fort Monmouth is coming to fruition with the recent designation of a 10-acre parcel on Eatontown’s area of the fort.

Members of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) approved a resolution to offer the parcel, known as Parcel VI, for purchase at the May 15 board meeting with the specific purpose of establishing a community specifically for at-risk veterans.

“We think that this can be a terrific project that can offer many veterans who may have had some hard luck — a good way to become part of the community, to grow and prosper,” Bruce Steadman, executive director of FMERA, said following the meeting.

According to the Fort Monmouth Reuse Plan, the property is currently slated as open space, and use as a veterans’ community would require a plan amendment.

Steadman said that FMERA staff has been looking at various parcels on Fort Monmouth for the past two years in search of a convenient location for the planned use.

“There have been discussions with Tinton Falls and Oceanport about possible sites and even other sites in Eatontown … this is probably the best parcel size that is not bounded by other homes or other significant aspects of the community,” he said. “We felt that there would be some insulation and some recreational areas for the veterans to use so that they would feel comfortable. It’s consistent with projects that we have seen out of the state.”

The vacant parcel, previously used recreational activities, is located along Alexander Avenue on the Main Post in Eatontown and is bound by the Monmouth County motor pool, the former Lane Hall and a small lake.

Monmouth County Freeholder Lillian Burry, a member of FMERA and chairwoman of the Veterans Advisory Committee, said that the project has been in the planning stages for at least five years.

“This is a giant step forward, and we are on the go now,” Burry said.

“There is nothing in Monmouth County like this, and it’s very much needed.”

According to FMERA, there are as many as 10,000 to 20,000 homeless veterans living in New Jersey, and Burry said more than 500 live in Monmouth County.

According to the resolution, each offer to purchase the property will be evaluated according to specific criteria, including the type, size, configuration and materials of the proposed buildings; the size, floor plan and amenities associated with individual living units; and the proposed management plan for the community, including the extent to which the veterans themselves would have input or responsibility.

Other criteria includes the extent to which individual resident veterans may pay rent or own equity in the project, the project’s potential for helping to address the fort’s affordable housing and homeless assistance obligations, and other guidelines.

Soldier On, a Massachusetts based nonprofit, has expressed interest in financing and constructing such a project on the fort, Burry said.

In August 2012, Soldier On announced that a $1 million federal grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs Supportive Services for Veterans’ Families (SSVF) grant program would be used to provide services for underserved veterans in Monmouth County.

Jack Downing, CEO of Soldier On, said the program would be implemented in two phases: installing case managers to gather information about veterans’ needs; and building transitional, low-income housing for homeless veterans at Fort Monmouth.

At the time, Downing said discussions were ongoing with FMERA, and the nonprofit was also working with AcuteCare Health System, a Lakewood-based health services company that will occupy the former Patterson Army Health Clinic building on the fort grounds in Oceanport.

Currently, Soldier On operates in two locations: a 165-bed shelter in two buildings leased from the VA Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System in Leeds, Mass., and the Berkshire Veterans Residence in Pittsfield, Mass., a transitional living facility

Burry confirmed that Soldier On is still an interested party, but said FMERA must consider all proposals.

No matter who occupies the site, Burry is confident that the veterans community would be a beneficial addition to the fort.

“It’s a good location, and it’s also close to the county’s properties that we have there. It’s easily accessible since it’s near the main road. You can walk to the medical center from the site,” she said.

“I am sure that it will grow beyond the homeless and will address the needs of the veterans in general. I am looking forward to the next step, and that is for the [request for proposals] to get out there, get the proper responses and to digging the first hole.”

Click here to see the article on The Hub

LEE — A local nursery has planned a Memorial Day weekend fundraiser in memory of Edward S. Passetto to benefit area homeless veterans.

On Saturday and Sunday, Clark’s Nursery in South Lee will match all sales tax on plants and gardening items, the money raised donated on Passetto’s behalf to Soldier On in Pittsfield, according to the family-run business.

Clark’s will also put out a collection jar at its Route 102 location for those wishing to make personal donations in Passetto’s name.

Soldier On is a nonprofit organization that provides housing for needy veterans in the Berkshires.

Passetto, a Lee native, was a 28-year-old Marine Corps veteran of Pittsfield who died May 11 in an apparent suicide on Monument Mountain in Great Barrington. He had long struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.

Brittany Clark, daughter of owner Rodney Clark, was a classmate of Passetto’s, and graduated from Lee Middle and High School in 2004. Clark says her family felt compelled to do something to honor Passetto who battled the Veterans Affairs over his claim for disability benefits.

“I work in he mental health field and deal with the struggles of having limited resources available,” Brittany Clark said.

She added, “It is so frustrating to wait while insurance companies and [government agencies] fight over who’s responsible to foot the bill, while someone is struggling, waiting for an answer.”

Passetto spent seven years in the Marines. As a Marine, he served one tour of duty each in Iraq and Afghanistan and is credited with risking his life to save two people from a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Passetto received a medical discharge in March 2011.

Clark’s will also put out a collection jar at its Route 102 location for those wishing to make personal donations in Passetto’s name.

http://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/ci_23313145/lee-nursery-will-donate-sales-tax-soldier-this

Honorary degree recipients: Elizabeth Coleman, Doctor of Humanities; Mardi Ann Crane-Godreau ’98 Ph. D, Doctor of Science; John F. Downing, Doctor of Public Service; and Diane B. Patrick, Doctor of Laws.

On Saturday, May 18, 2013, Soldier On president and CEO Jack Downing was awarded a degree of Doctor of Public Service, honoris causa, by the Board of Trustees of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Below is a letter to Jack from MCLA explaining the work he has done with veterans to earn this degree.

“Jack Downing, It is impossible to overstate the impact that you, and Soldier On, the organization you serve as a president and CEO, have had on how we treat out veterans in this country. Your passionate defense of your values, your sense of social justice, your empathy, and your boundless energy have resulted in an improved quality of life for the most vulnerable members of American society.

As a boy growing up in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, you were one of nine children. Your brothers and sisters were encouraged by your parents to engage in debate, and you learned early on how to argue the values and positions you held dear.

As a young man you won the heart of Mary Tobin, and Mary has been your source of strength, love, and truth through good times and bad. Together, you and Mary have created a home for your two biological children, and for the seven you’ve adopted.

You have been a powerful advocate for youthful offenders, and for the imprisoned and the addicted. These experiences, and your service to your community, prepared you for what would become your defining work: changing the end of the story for homeless veterans of U.S. military service.

In 2001 you became the head of United Veterans of America, Inc. in Leeds, Massachusetts. At the time, the UVA shelter program was in disarray and the Veterans’ Administration had cut the program’s funding. In your words, veterans were ricocheting between the medical center, the shelter, the streets, and prison. You went to Washington, made your case, and your funding was restored.

You recast UVA as Soldier On, an agency that would create permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless veterans. Speaking truth to power, you fearlessly advocated for new programs and increased funding for homeless veterans.

You sounded the alarm that women veterans were returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with all the injuries suffered by mal veterans, in addition to alarming rates of rape and abuse. You have borne witness, and your testimonies before congressional committees are both legendary and memorable.

You hired new, young professional staff, among them women. You trained Soldier On’s formerly homeless veterans to manage the facilities in Leeds, and embarked on unprecedented and ambitious effort to create a home ownership opportunity for homeless veterans. Your dream was that of veterans owning, occupying, and managing their own homes and living free of institutional constraints.

Today, the Gordon Mansfield Veterans Village in Pittsfield, Massachusetts is home to 39 formerly homeless veterans. Currently, Soldier On is building two new veterans villages in Massachusetts, and another is planned for New Hampshire. In nine more states across the country, Soldier on is providing technical assistance to others wishing to emulate the model. BusinessWest Magazine has recognized you as a Difference Maker and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has singled Soldier On out for recognition as well.

You have shown us that veterans deserve better, and that therapy, support, case management, and safe, decent housing can help our veterans return to productive lives once their military service is complete. You have opened our eyes to the plight of women veterans. You have rebuilt lives and sheltered battered souls. And, yes, you have changed the end of the story for homeless veterans.

John F. Downing, on behalf of veterans everywhere, the Board of Trustees of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is proud to award you the degree of Doctor of Public Service, honoris causa.”