News

Former Chapin School in Chicopee to be used for veterans' housing

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – A former Chicopee school will soon serve as affordable housing for veterans who were once homeless.

Soldier On plans to turn the old Chapin School on Meadow Street in Willimansett into a housing complex. The facility will include several living units, along with veterans’ services.

John Downing, President of Soldier On told 22News that we owe it to veterans to provide them with a place to live.

“Everybody that is a veteran, everyone that has ever put on the American military uniform has said to you and me ‘I will die for you,’ and we don’t clearly hear that, and we thought if the people who have said ‘I will die for you’ and give us their life, should be able to own where they live which will stabilize their lives,” Downing said.

The plan is also a win for Chicopee; it will be the first time the building is on the tax rolls, and it will bring in an extra $30,000 a year in property taxes for the city.

Soldier On has facilities in Pittsfield and Northampton, and is planning on adding housing for veterans at the site of the former State Police Academy in Agawam.

Read the full story 

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Success Story: Willie Ledbetter

Each month Soldier On highlights a formerly homeless veterans success story.

 

The low point is easy to remember for Willie Ledbetter.

“Sitting in a graveyard in Hartford, injecting with heroin – that was my rock bottom,” Willie recalls. It was the mid-1990s, and the U.S. Army infantry veteran was homeless and strung out. “A tombstone waiting for the exact date of death,” as he puts it.

Fast forward to the present, where a rejuvenated and reborn Willie Ledbetter serves as Outreach Coordinator for Soldier On, visiting prisons, jails, shelters and boarding houses in an effort to bring homeless veterans to a more appropriate place to begin recovery. An ex-convict himself, who served three long jail sentences for drug-related crimes following his military discharge in 1976, he carries substantial street credibility when dealing with troubled homeless veterans.

“Guys relate to me because I’ve been to jail and I’m a product of the streets,” Willie said.

Willie grew up in Hartford, with dreams of becoming an Air Force pilot or astronaut. Instead, he dropped out of 9th grade on the day Martin Luther King was assassinated.

“I realized later that went directly against Dr. King’s teachings,” Willie said. “I dropped out instead of staying in school and furthering my education.”

Willie soon hooked up with the wrong crowd and spent some time in juvenile detention. Recognizing what might lie ahead on the streets, he joined the National Guard in 1972, and two years later enlisted in the Army. He was stationed in Germany, trained as a gunner. It was during this time that he started smoking heroin. He had earlier dabbled with alcohol and marijuana, but after his discharge from the military, his addiction led to street hustles, robbery, drug deals and the three jail terms over the next 19 years. He has a daughter, Robin, but was barely there for the early years of her life. The product of addicted parents, Robin was involved in the murder of a Hartford cab driver when she was 14 and is now 15 years into a 50-year state prison sentence.

In 1995, Willie was on a two-year run of street hustling to support his drug habit, dodging arrest despite committing crimes including larceny and shoplifting. It was then that he hooked up with a counselor who helped place him in a 21-day in-patient substance abuse treatment program at the VA Medical Center in Leeds. When the 21 days were up, he was offered a bed at Soldier On, located on the VA Leeds campus, plus help finding work. He was a materials handler at a local plastics company, worked as a welder and nursing assistant, and kept up with his 12-Step Program. He has been sober since 1995, is a born-again Christian and is unapologetic about his passion for playing chess. The consummate team player at Soldier On, Willie has responded to the agency’s needs by serving in a number of capacities, including general manager.

Soldier On, he said, “granted me an opportunity in life. I was fortunate that I was a veteran. Because of my history, I didn’t believe I’d be given an opportunity like the one Soldier On gave me. Soldier On doesn’t judge your past. They look at your future and your goals and work with you to become a productive member of society again.”

Willie recognizes the role of spirituality in his own turnaround, and emphasizes that element when speaking to fellow veterans.

“It’s not just about going to meetings and getting  yourself a sponsor,” Willie said. “You’ve got to get yourself a spiritual foundation. You give it your all to get that drug, so you’ve got to have that same drive to get your faith, and that’s what keeps you sober.”

Now, as a way of giving back to the community, Willie also speaks with at-risk students about his own background, including its terrible effects on his daughter’s life. For Soldier On, he seeks out at-risk veterans in the courts and jails, makes the rounds of homeless shelters, and brings the homeless veterans to Leeds if they are sober and willing.

“He’s a man who believes in redemption. He’s living proof,” a Springfield newspaper columnist once wrote of Willie.

“This program can change your life,” Willie says.

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Moving On, Thanks to “Soldier On”

Former Soldier On resident Mark Coleman is featured in the Department of Labor’s newsletter:

Moving On, Thanks to ‘Soldier On’

Physical and emotional issues caused Army veteran Mark Coleman to separate from his family and then lose his job. But Coleman turned his life around, thanks to Soldier On, a departmental grantee in Massachusetts, which offers housing, meals, recovery treatment, career counseling and job placement to veterans. Coleman said the program provides “the environment to decide what you want to do with your life, and the tools and resources to succeed.” Soldier On helped Coleman get a temporary shipping job with a local candle maker. This work experience led to his landing a full-time job with benefits at a large firearms manufacturer. Now that his life has changed for the better, Coleman said he eventually hopes to attend college and become a substance abuse counselor to “allow me to help others.”

To view the newsletter visit http://www.dol.gov/_sec/newsletter/ .

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Moving On, Thanks to "Soldier On"

Former Soldier On resident Mark Coleman is featured in the Department of Labor’s newsletter:

Moving On, Thanks to ‘Soldier On’

Physical and emotional issues caused Army veteran Mark Coleman to separate from his family and then lose his job. But Coleman turned his life around, thanks to Soldier On, a departmental grantee in Massachusetts, which offers housing, meals, recovery treatment, career counseling and job placement to veterans. Coleman said the program provides “the environment to decide what you want to do with your life, and the tools and resources to succeed.” Soldier On helped Coleman get a temporary shipping job with a local candle maker. This work experience led to his landing a full-time job with benefits at a large firearms manufacturer. Now that his life has changed for the better, Coleman said he eventually hopes to attend college and become a substance abuse counselor to “allow me to help others.”

To view the newsletter visit http://www.dol.gov/_sec/newsletter/ .

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Soldier On Hosts MassVetsAdvisor Showcase

Berkshire Eagle:

Friday August 17, 2012

PITTSFIELD — State and local officials Thursday introduced a new website aimed at making it easier for veterans to connect with benefits and service programs offered in Massachusetts.

MassVetsAdvisor.org can quickly tell veterans of all stripes and ages which of the 320 benefit initiatives offered in Massachusetts they qualify for, and likewise, it can connect them with any of the 95 veteran’s service programs offered in the state, according to its creators.

“[Massachusetts] has the best benefits system in the country … but it’s created so many programs that when veterans try to access that system, it’s like putting a fire hose in their mouth and turning it on,” Coleman Nee, the state Secretary of Veterans’ Services, said to a room full of veterans at Soldier On’s Pittsfield campus.

The site was developed by the Massachusetts Broadband Institute in collaboration with the state De partment of Veterans Services.

In addition to helping veterans, the goal of the website is to demonstrate the value of broadband internet connectivity to populations that are currently underserved, according to the institute, whose mission in part is to increase adoption of broadband use.

“What this site does is create relevance … they now have a reason to go online,” said Jason Whittet, the institute’s deputy director.

Kyle Toto, a recent veteran of thewar in Afghanistan, helped design the website. He described coming back to the U.S. and feeling lost in the jumbled system of benefits and programs.

“Everyone’s out there to help us,” he said. “It’s a sea of goodwill, but it’s confusing. … I knew [benefits] were out there, but I didn’t know where to look for them.”

John F. Downing, the CEO and president of Soldier On, said MassVetsAdvisor.org would directly benefit the veterans his organization serves and others by preventing people from “falling through the service gaps.”

“Our veterans in this building are going to be able to go online and pop from portal to portal and cloud to cloud to get all the information they need,” he said.

The event doubled as a campaign stop for U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, a Springfield Democrat currently running for re-election in the new 1st Massachusetts District, which includes Berkshire County.

Downing delivered a strong endorsement of Neal, who touted his support of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The stimulus bill has provided $45.5 million in funding to the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, according to the state auditor’s office.

Neal said the state’s new veterans’ portal, made possible by that stimulus funding, will make sure struggling veterans have “the opportunity to bounce back.”

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TIME Magazine Features Soldier On in “Battleland” Blog

Dealing with the nation’s veterans – both those who have served since 9/11, and the older ones who came before – has always been a challenge. That’s what makes the approach being championed by Soldier On in Massachusetts interesting.

It’s a veterans’ outreach nonprofit in the western part of the state that believes that only by letting vets earn a stake in their own home can they begin to climb from the depths many find themselves in after waging the nation’s wars. And it’s growing: the Department of Veterans Affairs gave Soldier On nearly $3 million last month to help fight veteran homelessness in New Jersey and New York.

“The fight doesn’t end when they get home,” declares Jack Downing, Soldier On’s voluble president, reciting his agency’s motto. But the welcome that Soldier On offers addicted, convicted or homeless vets – some are all three – is total. “You can’t fail here,” Downing says. “There are no rules here more important than the person.”

Battleland toured Soldier On’s Gordon Mansfield Veterans Community in Pittsfield, Mass., last week with Downing. The neat community of 39 small apartments, clustered around a central courtyard, is named for a former VA deputy secretary who hails from Pittsfield, and who was severely wounded as a company commander in Vietnam. It’s an approach Downing wants to spread around the country.

“Soldier On’s development and growth in western Massachusetts has developed a model of outreach and services for underserved veterans that is now being recognized as a model for other states,” Downing says. “We look forward to continue the growth and development of this model.” Veterans can gain partial ownership of one of the units for $2,500 down and $580 a month.

At Soldier On, in both the permanent and transitional housing (different buildings for each gender), panels made up of residents – vets – are the ones who set the rules, counsel the vets and encourage, cajole and nag newcomers to shape up. They speak highly of the organization and housing that have given them hope and restored their sense of self-respect; one likens it to “Disneyland.”

Downing – perhaps because he comes from the world of helping the addicted and homeless, rather than the military – isn’t shy about declaring where he believes the system is failing. “We’re trying to challenge the whole VA system,” he says, while noting that more than 85% of his outfit’s funding comes from the VA.

Last month, he called VA Secretary – a former Army general, chief of staff and wounded veteran – Eric Shinseki on the carpet his remarks at the 4th annual Pentagon-VA suicide prevention conference. “Veterans who commit suicide, perhaps as many as two out of three, are not enrolled in the VA health care system,” Shinseki said. “So as good as we think our programs are — we don’t even get a shot at these veterans.”

Downing suggests Shinseki has it backwards. “The model that the veteran needs to find the VA, rather than the VA needs to find veterans, is at the center of what is wrong with the VA today,” Downing said. “We cannot continue letting young people die and say ‘too bad they didn’t come for help.’ It is our duty to seek out the men and women who were willing to die for us.”

To view this story visit: http://nation.time.com/2012/08/03/the-fight-doesnt-end-when-they-get-home/#disqus_thread#ixzz22UMFL6ci

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TIME Magazine Features Soldier On in "Battleland" Blog

Dealing with the nation’s veterans – both those who have served since 9/11, and the older ones who came before – has always been a challenge. That’s what makes the approach being championed by Soldier On in Massachusetts interesting.

It’s a veterans’ outreach nonprofit in the western part of the state that believes that only by letting vets earn a stake in their own home can they begin to climb from the depths many find themselves in after waging the nation’s wars. And it’s growing: the Department of Veterans Affairs gave Soldier On nearly $3 million last month to help fight veteran homelessness in New Jersey and New York.

“The fight doesn’t end when they get home,” declares Jack Downing, Soldier On’s voluble president, reciting his agency’s motto. But the welcome that Soldier On offers addicted, convicted or homeless vets – some are all three – is total. “You can’t fail here,” Downing says. “There are no rules here more important than the person.”

Battleland toured Soldier On’s Gordon Mansfield Veterans Community in Pittsfield, Mass., last week with Downing. The neat community of 39 small apartments, clustered around a central courtyard, is named for a former VA deputy secretary who hails from Pittsfield, and who was severely wounded as a company commander in Vietnam. It’s an approach Downing wants to spread around the country.

“Soldier On’s development and growth in western Massachusetts has developed a model of outreach and services for underserved veterans that is now being recognized as a model for other states,” Downing says. “We look forward to continue the growth and development of this model.” Veterans can gain partial ownership of one of the units for $2,500 down and $580 a month.

At Soldier On, in both the permanent and transitional housing (different buildings for each gender), panels made up of residents – vets – are the ones who set the rules, counsel the vets and encourage, cajole and nag newcomers to shape up. They speak highly of the organization and housing that have given them hope and restored their sense of self-respect; one likens it to “Disneyland.”

Downing – perhaps because he comes from the world of helping the addicted and homeless, rather than the military – isn’t shy about declaring where he believes the system is failing. “We’re trying to challenge the whole VA system,” he says, while noting that more than 85% of his outfit’s funding comes from the VA.

Last month, he called VA Secretary – a former Army general, chief of staff and wounded veteran – Eric Shinseki on the carpet his remarks at the 4th annual Pentagon-VA suicide prevention conference. “Veterans who commit suicide, perhaps as many as two out of three, are not enrolled in the VA health care system,” Shinseki said. “So as good as we think our programs are — we don’t even get a shot at these veterans.”

Downing suggests Shinseki has it backwards. “The model that the veteran needs to find the VA, rather than the VA needs to find veterans, is at the center of what is wrong with the VA today,” Downing said. “We cannot continue letting young people die and say ‘too bad they didn’t come for help.’ It is our duty to seek out the men and women who were willing to die for us.”

To view this story visit: http://nation.time.com/2012/08/03/the-fight-doesnt-end-when-they-get-home/#disqus_thread#ixzz22UMFL6ci

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Soldier On Receives $2.9 Million to Fight Veteran Homelessness

Soldier On, which serves homeless and at-risk veterans with facilities in Leeds and Pittsfield, Mass., today was awarded three grants totaling $2,976,402 by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to continue the fight against veteran homelessness in New York and New Jersey.

Soldier On was awarded two separate grants of $1 million each to serve veterans in four Central New Jersey counties and 18 counties in upstate Central New York. In addition, Soldier On received a $976,402 renewal grant to continue to provide housing services to veterans in 18 counties in upstate Eastern New York.

These awards are among nearly $100 million in Supportive Services for Veteran Family (SSVF) grants targeted to provide housing stability for approximately 42,000 homeless and at-risk veterans and their families nationally. The grants, going to 151 community agencies in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, were announced today by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.

“We are committed to ending veteran homelessness in America,” Secretary Shinseki said. “These grants will help VA and community organizations reach out and prevent at-risk veterans from losing their homes.”

Soldier On, which serves homeless veterans through its programs in Western Massachusetts and Eastern New York, has already served nearly 500 at-risk veterans, spouses and children through a $1 million SSVF grant awarded in 2011 for 18 counties in Eastern New York. Soldier On also received a $300,000 grant June 19 through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program to conduct employment training for veterans in Eastern New York.

The New Jersey grant will serve approximately 400 participant households in the Central New Jersey counties of Burlington, Monmouth, Middlesex and Ocean. Principal cities served in the new Central New York grant include Binghamton, Syracuse, Rochester and Utica, where approximately 400 more households will be served.

“Soldier On’s development and growth in Western Massachusetts has developed a model of outreach and services for underserved veterans that is now being recognized as a model for other states,” Soldier On President and CEO John F. Downing said. “We look forward to continue the growth and development of this model.”

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.

All SSVF grants go into effect October 1, 2012. After that date, veterans seeking to enroll in the program, or service providers wishing to refer veterans, should call Soldier On at 1-866-406-8449.

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

Soldier On provides safe affordable housing to homeless veterans, including permanent limited-equity ownership units at the Gordon Mansfield Veterans Community in Pittsfield, Mass. 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.

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Three Soldier On Kitchen Staff Members Complete ServSafe Certification Program

Three Soldier On kitchen staff members recently completed the ServSafe Food Safety Certification program. Arthur Pritchett, John Shinners and Executive Chef Jason Stump join the rest of our kitchen staff members in Pittsfield in being certified in proper sanitation and food serving practices.

Participants in the ServSafe program are taught food sanitation, safety practices for preparing and serving food and the causes and the prevention of foodborne illnesses.

The Soldier On kitchen serves about 70 formerly homeless veterans three meals a day, seven days a week. The knowledge obtained from the ServSafe training and certification will be used by the kitchen staff daily, as they do all of the food ordering, preparation and serving at Soldier On.

“We implement our knowledge to ensure safe, properly cooked food,” said Executive Chef Stump.  “We are also able to identify potential problems, provide corrective action for these potential problems, and prevent problems before they become an issue. We monitor ourselves daily.”

Not only is the certificate useful while working in the Soldier On kitchen, but if staff members ever decide to leave and seek another job in the food service industry, the certification gives them a “leg up” on the competition as food service employers favor candidates with this certification when hiring.

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Help for homeless veterans – “Soldier On” recieves $400K grant

LEEDS, Mass. (WWLP) – There’s some much needed relief for homeless veterans in Western Massachusetts trying to make their way back into the workforce. One non-profit organization in Leeds is helping our heroes get hired. 

Soldier On’s president John Downing says the homeless veteran population is at risk of being permanently unemployed. Downing told 22News close to 60% of homeless veterans are unemployed and more than a quarter of returning vets have no job.

Soldier On helps homeless veterans in western Massachusetts with housing, health care, and employment. On Monday the Department of Labor awarded a $400,000 grant to Soldier On. Downing says the money comes at a critical time.

Click here to read the rest of this story at WWLP.com.

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