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If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that we can’t do this—any of this—on our own. Maybe this is the year you’ve gotten closer with your family, or developed a new appreciation for your kids’ teachers, or maybe that weekly Zoom with some of the dads in your circle is what’s keeping you from completely untethering. Either way, right now, community is everything.
But this year hits different for the most vulnerable among us. One group in particular need? Our veterans who experience homelessness, the number of which hovers around 40,000 on any given night, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“When you’re in the military, you deploy, going from base to base every few years,” says Kathryn Monet, Chief Executive Officer of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. “So often, you aren’t able to build up the same level of community that a civilian might have—a solid network of peers, family members, and friends to call on. A veteran may not have that luxury, and that depth of community connection that is so important when you’re on the brink of crisis.”
It’s an uncomfortable realization, but a crucial one to face if we’re to remedy this crisis. “People in our country don’t like to be reminded of our failings, and when I think of veteran homelessness, I think of it as a massive failure for people who deserve better,” says Monet. “You don’t become homeless in a vacuum. Something fails you upstream, whether it’s the legal system, the military, your ability to access VA health care, or the lack of affordable housing.”
The hopeful news is that there are tangible things we can do as social citizens to be there for the folks who have served and sacrificed for us.
Simple, Impactful Ways to Help Homeless Vets
1. Support brands and movements that are doing the work.
Identifying all the veterans experiencing homelessness by name, and then intervening with individualized solutions is arduous work. But it’s being done as we speak.
And the brands behind these data-driven movements to end homelessness aren’t hard to find —in fact, they’re right where you would most expect them to be. For instance, most recognize Rocket Mortgage® as a major player in moving the entire mortgage process online, but what a lot of people don’t realize is the assistance the lender has provided for veterans. Rocket Mortgage® has helped house more than 20,000 veterans across the country through its partnership with Community Solutions and the Built For Zero initiative over the last three years. The movement is all about working with real data—aka, every single name affected by the problem so that no one falls through the cracks—and finding the right solutions to secure stable housing for each individual.
“The importance of housing is near and dear to our hearts, and we fundamentally understand the value of a secure and stable home,” says Laura Grannemann, VP, Strategic Investments, Rocket Community Fund.
“We are obsessed with finding a better way when it comes to both our clients and our communities,” says Grannemann. “We saw that same principle at work in Built For Zero and their vision of rethinking the way we’re solving homelessness.”
2. Rent to veterans exiting homelessness.
“If you’re a landlord or someone with an affordable housing unit you can rent out, reach out to your local VA to see if they’ve got a veteran who could use it,” says Monet.
If you’re a tenant, you can also talk with your landlord about renting out units to veterans exiting homelessness—there are added protections (also called landlord guarantee or risk reduction funds, which cover costs for any lost rent, damages, or legal fees beyond the security deposit) available for landlords who are willing to rent to someone who’s facing challenges like limited income or a nonexistent rental history.
3. Help qualified and skilled veterans land a job.
If you’re an employer, recruiter, or anyone with a job opening to fill, reach out to your local VA community employment coordinators. They can post position openings and connect you with prescreened veterans from all education levels and a wide range of skilled backgrounds. “Give someone a chance to get back on their feet,” says Monet.
“The resume translatability of military skills for some veterans is a big challenge,” she explains, “so finding civilian employment is hard—it’s like you’re starting all over again. The assistance and counseling [you receive as a vet] has predominantly been focused on the time when you’re transitioning out of the military and the first few months after you leave. Beyond that, it’s tough.”
You can also find local faith-based groups or services that help veterans get their resumes in shape and practice interviewing skills. And talk with your employer to see what veteran-hiring programs, if any, are on offer.
“Quicken Loans is a prominent employer of veterans,” says Grannemann. “We have successful initiatives for hiring and training veterans to work within our family of companies through the Tour of Duty program, which enables transitioning veterans to try several areas of the business.”
As Monet says, “Give a hand up, as opposed to a handout.”
4. Advocate for affordable housing in your neighborhood.
“Encourage your community to build more affordable housing, especially housing targeted to veterans,” says Monet. “Get involved in some of the processes and pull together your neighbors to drown out the voices that sometimes come in opposition to affordable housing for veterans. When communities unite and say, ‘we need affordable housing options because these folks have served, and we need to do right by them,’—that’s a powerful thing.”
5. Volunteer your time or your funds to homeless shelters.
“If you have the means to give, engage with the homeless shelters in your community and see what they need,” says Monet. “One of the things that worries me the most about this COVID era—when a lot of people are unemployed and struggling financially—is what the funding environment looks like for homeless shelters. These organizations rely on donations from neighbors and folks like you and me to stay viable.”
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Being Better Neighbors
No doubt, veteran homelessness is a major problem in our country, but Monet is hopeful that we can turn it around. “Communities have worked together to end veteran homelessness in a coordinated way, and that’s been great to see. Community collaborations have been key,” she acknowledges. “We’ve seen unprecedented commitments from Congress to continue to fund, innovate, and team up with federal partners and local community partners to surface the very best ideas and figure out ways to bring them to scale.”
Built For Zero is just one of those innovative approaches moving the needle. “The initiative has built a system strong enough that when someone experiences homelessness in a community, they’re rapidly housed and they do not experience homelessness again,” says Grannemann.
Since Rocket Mortgage® joined the movement as a Built For Zero partner in 2018, the number of communities that have reached this “functional zero” level has grown. “The movement is seeing meaningful, data-driven impacts across the country.” Granneman says.
There’s never been a more important time to step up to be better neighbors to our veterans—and together, create the supportive community they deserve.
Quicken Loans, LLC; NMLS #3030; www.NMLSConsumerAccess.org. Equal Housing Lender. Licensed in 50 states. For additional information please visit RocketMortgage.com.
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