Program "Search and Rescue" - In association with V sera VA Homeless Outreach Team, we assisted in the intake of over 350 homeless veterans for first time through our direct partnership in 2009 We disbursed the following to veterans 720 Health Kits (soap, toothpaste, deodorant, etc) 1077 Pairs of socks, T-shirts, and undergarments 117 Backpacks 518 Sleeping bags 420 Blankets 72 Bed mats 36 Tents 400 Bus Tickets (SCAT)
Program "Stand Down" - 250 homeless veterans served with 115 new veterans in-processed into VA system and given free hot breakfast and lunch, medical attention, law advice, supplies, haircuts, clothes, showers, etc We disbursed the following to veterans 250 military uniforms top/bottoms 406 Pairs of Boots 400 Rain Gear Outfits 300 Bicycles 86 Mess Kits (military field cooking pan and shovel) 250 Backpacks
Program "Warm, Full, Safe" - 20 Veterans were brought into hotels and given food, gifts, and supplies Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
Brevard Veteran Housing SupportCompleted acquisition and renovation of 4 residential properties producing 17 new transitional housing beds in Brevard County. 20 Veterans were assisted through our 17 beds in our 4 Brevard County Transitional Facilities.
Brevard Veteran Housing SupportSupportive services housing program that provides transitional housing to formerly homeless veterans and their dependents with the primary purpose being helping the clients achieve self-sufficiency and sustainability. The program currently has a maximum capacity of 17 beds located in 4 properties throughout Brevard County. In 2015, 24 clients were provided assistance through the program.
Program "Search and Rescue": 1. 100+ homeless veterans provided food, outdoor gear, and referrals to housing, food pantry, employment, and benefits assistance organizations throughout Brevard at any point in time (over 250 provided assistance total)2. 16 Homeless Veterans and their significant others directly assisted into housing2011 Aid Distribution:Bikes: 445 Outdoor Cookware Set: 121Tents: 337 Misc. Outdoor Equipment: 1254Boots: 307 Pairs Canteens: 52Food: 3789 lbs. Blankets: 445Hygiene Kits: 630 Rain Gear Set: 427Tarps: 362 Backpack: 397
Program "Search and Rescue"Homeless street outreach program where volunteers go out into the community and directly engage the homeless individuals that live there, looking for veterans and their dependents that exist amongst them. The primary purpose of the program is to connect homeless clients to the Department of Veterans Affairs, housing, benefits assistance, employment, and other service organizations as needed for the purpose of rapidly transitioning them from homeless to housed. Additionally, while working with the clients still on the streets, volunteers address all clients immediate needs by providing them with basic needs assistance (i.e. outdoor gear, food, clothing, etc) to alleviate the immediate burdens of homelessness while they wait to be transitioned. In 2014, 563 homeless and at-risk of being homeless veterans and their dependents were provided services through this program.
Program "Search and Rescue"Search and Rescue is our flagship and most unique program, consisting of dozens of individuals that go out into the streets of Brevard, Indian River and Orange Counties to assist the homeless veterans where they live. The primary idea behind Search and Rescue is that there are hundreds of community based organizations that provide valuable services beneficial to our veterans, however either the veterans do not know they exist or the organizations do not have any outreach to meet our veteransand so Search and Rescue was created to facilitate those connections. Our outreach personnel provide constant basic needs (i.e. food, clothing, hygiene kits, camping gear) to the veterans with the goals of reducing the immediate burdens of homelessness, help insure their survival, and build the vital rapport needed to insure the veterans accept our advice. Once the rapport is built, then we begin the process of connecting the veterans to housing organizations, benefits assistance providers, and of course the Department of Veterans Affairs for their medical treatment. During 2013 we provided assistance through this program to 608 Central Florida Homeless Veterans, and were able to place 66 of those into housing.
Program "Seasonal Support" Homeless Veteran and veterans in transition morale improvement program. Our 2011 3rd Annual Warm Full Safe event resulted in 51 homeless veterans and their significant others were provided hotel rooms for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2011, were provided grocery gift cards, new outdoor gear as gifts, and 3 warm holiday themed meals a day. Also several low-income veteran families received $100 Wal-Mart gift cards, and 12 homeless veterans were provided grocery gift cards because they refused to move to the hotel for Christmas. On Thanksgiving 2011 we provided 40 veterans a holiday meal in a Palm Bay park. We provided emergency hotel stays for 25 veterans between January and February 2011 for 5 nights during extreme cold snaps that overfilled local homeless shelters.
Program "Stand Down" a. Homeless Veteran Stand Down On September 21, 2013 NVHS held its 5th Annual Stand Down event in Titusville, Florida. Stand Downs are events where the entire community comes together to offer our veterans free medical/dental treatment, legal assistance, employment assistance, benefits assistance, housing assistance, hot food, clothing, haircuts, and dozens of other services. At our 2013 event, we provided these services to 173 Homeless Veterans and 40 Non-Veteran Homeless on that single day, all provided by more than 400 volunteers and 30 organizations that attended the event. b. Stand Down Grants- Through a grant appropriation we received from the Department of Children and Families, NVHS was able for the first time to award funding for 21 Stand Down Days for an amount not to exceed $5000 per day to organizations throughout the State of Florida. The results of these events resulted in 2,807 Homeless Veterans, and 614 Non-Veterans being provided assistance by events similar to ours in Titusville including the State of Floridas First Ever 3 Day Event which took place in Tallahassee last Spring 2013.
Program "Stand Down" A. Stand Down Event:NVHS hosted our 6th Annual Stand Down event in Titusville, Florida September 20, 2014. Event provided 2 hot meals (breakfast and dinner), medical/dental treatment, showers, non-perishable foods, clothes, job search/resume assistance, benefits assistance, VA enrollment assistance, and access to over 20 community service organizations throughout Brevard to 208 homeless veterans and their dependents. Over 200 volunteers provided assistance to this event.B. NVHS Stand Down Grants to Other 501(c)(3) Organizations: (1).Through a grant appropriation we received from the Department of Children and Families beginning in July 2013 and concluding June 2014, NVHS was able to award funding through reimbursement grants for 8 Stand Down events throughout the State of Florida, of which provided 12 total event days due to 2 multi-day events. Grant reimbursements were limited to no more than $5000 per Stand Down event day. In 2014, 1,236 homeless veterans were provided assistance at these events, with $53,064 issued back to the organizing agencies to reimburse their event related costs. C. Seasonal Support: (1). NVHSs 2014 Warm Full Safe event was once again a success resulting in having supported over 100 people during the 2014 Christmas Holiday season. (a). Homeless Veterans were provided 2 night stay at hotels in Titusville and Palm Bay, with 3 hot meals provided each day, presents of grocery gift cards and outdoor gear/clothing, as well as access to service officers to assist with benefits assistance during their entire stay. In total, NVHS provided this service to 24 homeless veterans at the Best Western Hotel in Titusville, and 25 homeless veterans at the Motel 6 in Palm Bay; including 6 veteran spouses. (b). 11 Needy Veteran Families were provided up to $500 each in support ranging from bill payments to gift cards. We also provided presents for the kids of those families, which totaled (13 total). All assisted were nominated throughout the community as needing assistance. (c). 21 additional children were provided gifts from an angel tree collection at DAV Chapter 109 in Titusville, FL (2). Thanksgiving 2014 (A). Thanksgiving 2014 was also an exciting day for NVHSs Seasonal Support program. In Titusville 60+ volunteers gathered at our Gilbert St Transitional Facility to package and prepare 400+ meals that were distributed to homeless camps (both veteran and non-veteran), low income veterans in local housing organizations, veterans in Hospice, and needy non-veteran families within Brevard County.
Program "Stand Down" - One day event located in Titusville in which 255 homeless veterans were provided 2 hot meals (over 650 meals distributed), clothing, outdoor gear, bicycles, haircuts/showers, medical/dental care, legal advice, employment and benefits assistance, and access to dozens of community organizations offering various types of services such as housing. Other notes include 75 non-veteran homeless were provided access to several local organizations that help non-veteran homeless where they were given non-perishable food and clothing.
Seasonal SupportA. Warm Full Safe 201548 Volunteers provided morale support, outdoor supplies, and hot meals to 35 homeless veterans and 10 dependents while they spent the night in hotel rooms located at the Motel 6 in Palm Bay and the Best Western in Titusville for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2015. Additionally, over $14,000 in financial assistance was provided to 27 veteran families going through hard times, all of which were nominated from the community. Of those 27 families, 27 children were among them.B. Thanksgiving 201570 volunteers met, prepared, packaged and delivered more than 377 meals on Thanksgiving Day 2015 to low income and homeless individuals throughout Brevard County. All food was packaged at the NVHS Transitional Home located in Titusville, Florida.