Vets 4 Veterans Programs
Our Veteran Training Program assists veterans transitioning into civilian life. Through this program, veterans learn how to transition their skills and learn new ones that will assist them in obtaining employment after military service. Local businesses partner to provide opportunity for veterans.
This program offers far more than job skills. The camaraderie and commitment of the veterans establishes a non-judgmental work environment where they can grow as individuals and as members of the community. Along with technical skills that help the veterans compete in the civilian world, the program offers a safe structure of fellow veterans and those familiar with their service. The mentoring provided firmly establishes confidence and trust in the unit setting. Veterans learn to be independent interdependent-individually each helping the other.
Research shows that once a person is homeless it is far more difficult to get them housed than it is to maintain them in current housing. So, with the goal of preventing veteran homelessness, Vets 4 Veterans aids veterans who are in severe financial need and at risk of homelessness.
We help with groceries, utilities, rent assistance, transportation needs, and other daily necessaries to prevent the loss of their secure housing.
In dire situations we provide temporary shelter to get veterans off the streets.
We also deliver food boxes once a month to area veterans to assist with food insecurities.
Vets 4 Veterans is committed to meeting the needs of local veterans. We are well aware that many situations can quickly put at-risk veterans on a slippery slope towards homelessness. As COVID was making itself known, we became aware that there were more and more veterans that were experiencing food insecurities.
We began addressing this issue by having monthly food distributions at the Armed Services Site. As COVID began raging through our vulnerable population, we became concerned about the gathering together. So we developed a program where we would purchase food, pack it in boxes and have volunteers deliver the boxes-thus limiting contact but still being able to check on the vulnerable veterans.
When Northrop Grumman offered us a large COVID Relief Grant, we knew we were on the right track. Thanks to local donations from corporations and individuals – and hundreds of hours of volunteer work – we have been feeding over 50 veteran families for 2 years.
Provides safe, secure, very low-cost transitional housing to qualifying veterans, with the goal of helping them become financially stable.
Operation Restart House was purchased in 2018 from funds raised within the Antelope Valley community, including fundraising events, donations from local individuals and businesses, and grants from large corporations with a local presence.
After the house was purchased, Home Depot came on-board with a $10,000 grant to upgrade all appliances, bathroom and kitchen fixtures, window coverings, closet doors, and interior paint. They also sent a crew and supplies to landscape the front yard. A local landscaper and a local contractor landscaped the backyard and built fencing all around the yard.
The Grand Opening was held in August 2018 with the community, elected officials, and community veterans and service groups in attendance. Since that time, Operation Restart House has provided a home to 4 families, for various lengths of time.
Memorial and Honor bricks were sold to provide a tranquil garden reflection spot under a pergola built by veteran Michael Shaub of Sentry Residential of Lancaster.
Provides individual therapy with a licensed therapist. Also, Art as Healing Group, which addresses PTSD and other veteran issues, at no cost to the veteran.
In war there are no unwounded soldiers. ~~Jose Narosky
The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. ~~Douglas McArthur
And the truth is that all veterans pay with their lives. Some pay all at once, while others pay over a lifetime. ~~JM Storm
Combat trauma not only affects the veteran who is living everyday with it, it affects the entire family—and consequently the entire community.
After having served in the military, veterans can experience difficulty with readjustment to post-deployment life. They can struggle with issues caused by their deployment, post-traumatic stress issues, and frequently grief and loss issues. They can feel like they don’t fit in, or struggle translating military skills and ethos to civilian life.
Sometimes veterans need support that goes beyond food or financial help. Here Vets 4 Veterans can step in to offer emotional support, provided by Vietnam combat veteran, Gerry Rice, LMFT, who is available to provide therapeutic intervention. Processing sensitive traumatic events in narrative with a licensed therapist who is also a combat veteran can provide the foundation for living better with painful experiences.
Due to COVID restrictions, the Vets 4 Veterans Art as Healing program has been on Hiatus. We are hoping to be able to bring it back soon.
Provides Scholarships to veterans who are attending higher education or job training. Vets 4 Veterans has invested over $52,000 in scholarships for veterans.
Each year, Vets 4 Veterans awards 6 scholarships to veterans who apply thru the Antelope Valley Foundation Scholarship program.
Vets 4 Veterans joins many local businesses, individuals and families in offering annual scholarships to Antelope Valley College students.
Vets 4 Veterans and the Marine Corps League scholarships are the only ones offered specifically to veterans.
We annually award the Jim Sholund Memorial Scholarship, the Tom Hilzendeger Vets 4 Veterans Memorial Scholarship (endowed), as well as four additional Vets 4 Veterans scholarships for student veterans.
Applications are available at Antelope Valley College during the regular scholarship application timeframe.
Vets 4 Veterans Surviving Spouse Program
Since its inception, the primary goal for Vets4Veterans has been to help the AV veteran. We have expanded our efforts and resources to assist the veterans’ surviving spouses.
Times are increasingly difficult for everyone and we must be attuned to the needs of the veteran’s surviving spouse who may no longer have access to veteran benefits any longer.
Immediate need assistance will be provided to surviving spouses on an individual basis with proof of dependency. We aim to provide a service that we feel is sorely lacking.
For more information, please contact us and leave a voicemail message.