M.A.S.H. Comes to Volunteer!
We are very excited to announce our recent award! As part of a national effort to assist veterans and their families fight homelessness, VBHCS is now a part of the Supportive Services to Veteran Families initiative. Our program, Mission Accomplished: Stable Housing (M.A.S. H.) will help veterans and their families achieve permanent housing and access supports to maintain housing.
M.A.S.H serves the entire family system and engages community agencies and services to assist these families. Veterans Outreach Case Managers will work with families to address their needs and access resources in their community. The development of strong community networks and linkages to resources are key to the success of the program. Community partners may include housing counseling and search, health service providers, personal financial planning services, assistance with daily living, transportation services, legal services, representative payee services, child care, accessing VA benefits and income support services. As the community mental health and addictions treatment provider, VBHCS will also assist veterans and their family members in accessing treatment services when needed.
M.A.S.H. will cover the Upper Cumberland and Southeast areas of Tennessee and serve a largely rural part of the VBHCS service area. The program expects to place over 80% of veteran families who are homeless in permanent housing and maintain 90% of families at risk of losing housing in current housing. Our mission will truly be accomplished when all veterans and their families have safe, affordable and permanent homes.
Initially, we will conduct assertive outreach to veterans and their families, and to partners in the communities targeted for the program. Program eligibility is determined by a standard screening tool provided by the SSVF program. Veteran families must be very low income per VA identified standards. A veteran family is defined as a single person who is a veteran, or a family in which the head of household, or spouse of the head of household is a veteran.
Mission Accomplished: Stable Housing begins October 1, 2014! Join us in fighting the battle against homelessness for our military veterans and their families. We look forward to serving those who have dedicated their lives to serving us.
