Here in central Illinois, the latest homeless veteran population was at 550. Not many compared to Chicago or the warm states of California, Texas, and Florida, but still too many. I am priveleged to be work with homeless veterans on a daily basis. Here in Peoria, we just opened our new Goodwill Commons. For those of you who just think of Goodwill as a place to drop off unwanted clothes and household items or to purchase inexpensive items in our stores, you only know a small part. While each of the 143 Goodwill's in the county has its own mission, our mission is to support individuals and families who are working to better their lives. We opened our General Wayne A. Downing Home for Veterans in 2005 and have been growing our service to veterans ever since. Last month we opened our new vocational and training center, and since this time, we've seen 48 veterans come through our doors, some homeless, others just looking for work or needing help. We work closely with the VA and all other service providers in the area, so if can't provide a service, we give a veteran a place to go and a bus pass to get there.
Five years ago we saw many older veterans who were homeless. Today, we are seeing veterans in their early 20's and homeless, and as we know, many horrors of the wars may not affect the younger veterans for years to come, so our mission will continue to grow.
Here is a current list of our Veterans' Services:
Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP): A program designed to expedite the reintegration of homeless veterans into the workforce, reduce barriers to employment through assessment and training, provide access to resources and job opportunities, and create a cohesive community network to offer veterans secure and stable employment.
Goodwill Veterans Employment Program (GW-VEP): Similar to HVRP, this program is open to any veteran who is unemployed or underemployed and looking to advance his or her career.
Benefits Center: A veterans’ benefits specialist or veterans’ service officer (VSO) is available on scheduled days to meet individually with any veteran to answer benefits questions and discuss what services are available. Scheduled group presentations and workshops will also be offered.
Veterans Resource Center: Our center is available to any veteran to stop in and learn about benefits, talk with our staff about services for veterans, search through our library of materials, and have computer access to search the internet for job openings and other resources.
Seminars and Workshops: Each month we provide events covering topics that are of interest to veterans of all ages. This schedule is posted on
www.Goodwillpeo.org.
Home for Veterans: The General Wayne A. Downing Home for Veterans, located at 403 S. Olive Street in Peoria, opened in 2005 to provide an intensive and holistic environment for the rehabilitation of honorably discharged male veterans who have been homeless and are dealing with a diagnosed disability. Our goal is to assist veterans by assessing their needs and creating customized programs of services and support to help them reach their goals and achieve self sufficiency.
As part of our HVRP program, each year we host a Stand-Down for homeless veterans. We put together a short video two years ago. If you want to watch it, go to this link,
http://www.goodwillpeo.org/veterans-ser ... down-eventand click on the video to the right of the page. This year's Stand-Down is on Saturday, October 12, at Dozer Park here in Peoria.
If any of you make it to Peoria, stop by our Goodwill Commons, and I'll be glad to show you around.
Have a great Monday.
Bill Bontemps
"C" Company, 106 Minehune, Mortar Platoon, Battalion Photographer
Feb. '68 - April '69