It takes a community to fight the homeless veteran crisis. The homeless veteran crisis is not only going out and finding those veterans that are living on the street, but those that are couch surfing and those who struggling and could become homeless without a little support.
The Veteran Drop-in Center in Rockford is a place that helps veterans from all walks of life, and they are not in the fight alone. The 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development took a snapshot of the homeless population. One day of capturing the amount of homelessness in the United States showed that the total homeless veterans were reported to be 32,882. The report categorized the homeless veterans that were counted into two groups: those who were in some type of shelter or shelter program and those that were unsheltered. The unsheltered, or those that were living on the street numbered 13,851, while the sheltered were 19,031. This was just a snapshot of one day and of those that were reported.
The report did not cover those veterans that are couch surfing and counting people on the street is much harder and can be inaccurate. The number of homeless veterans is sure to be higher than reported. The Loves Park Rotary Club, Windsor Pizza in Loves Park, VFW Post 1461 and the Veterans Drop-in Center came together to provide one meal to veterans. One meal does not sound like much, but when you are struggling it can be a lifesaver. One organization working with others to provide one meal a month will change the life of someone that is struggling. Rob Bland, a member of the Loves Park Rotary Club and a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom and a member of the Veterans of Wars Post 1461 in Belvidere, IL presented a check for $500 to the Veterans Drop In Center from the 815 Club, a satellite of the Loves Park Rotary Club.
In order to end the homeless veteran crisis, it will take a team of organization working together and bringing different skills to the table to accomplish the mission. As you look at the problems in your community, look at the other organizations that you can partner with to increase community resilience for the homeless veterans, struggling veterans and others that need our support.