Local Non-Profit Assists Homeless Vets During Winter Storm

With the recent snow storms and freezing temperatures, some are not as fortunate to have a warm home, and unfortunately some of the homeless are veterans and their families.

Community Hope, which has a local branch in Parsippany, opened their doors to those who have served our country and helped them find housing.

The organization recently found housing for “a 39-year old veteran and his eight-year old son who recently became homeless in this cold snap; a single mother and her daughter living in their car this winter and a veteran unable to take refuge at any homeless shelters this month because they could not accommodate his severely-disabled son,” according to Community Hope.

“This is a proactive approach to helping our veterans and their families who have already sacrificed so much,” said Community Hope CEO Michael Armstrong. “We are proud to be on the cutting edge of ensuring that those who honorably served our country do not fall into poverty, despair and homelessness.”

Community Hope expanded its Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program and provided rapid re-housing and other essential services to veterans struggling with homelessness in Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Hunterdon counties. The nonprofit organization, which is the largest organization in New Jersey serving homeless veterans, has been serving homeless veteran families in Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren Counties in NJ since 2011.  

SSVF staff provide wrap-around services to quickly secure housing for homeless veterans and to help the family achieve housing stability long-term. The program helps veterans facing eviction and are at imminent risk of losing their housing without any other means of support. The SSVF program is funded by a U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs grant and the program also provides financial aid with rental and utility security deposits and initial rental payments.

New Jersey and PA veteran families in need of help can contact the SSVF program at the 24-hour hotline 1-855-483-8466. Referrals to the Hope for Veterans transitional housing programs for single homeless veterans can be made to the Veterans Intake Coordinator at 908-647-5715 ext. 325.