In November 2007, an eleven year veteran of the Air Force came into the HVRP* office seeking any help that he could find. He was homeless and living at a local shelter with his wife.

After speaking with the vet for awhile we found out that over the past year he had been attempting to help his children out financially. This caused him to fall behind on his bills. It wasn’t long after this, that he and his wife found themselves homeless. The stress of living in a shelter, without work, had put a great strain on their marriage and they were worried about losing the last asset each other held; their marriage and love for one another.

HVRP* referred him to the Employment Security Commission and Job Link to attain steady employment. We also encouraged him to look into public housing so that he and his wife would not have to end up separated due to the segregation of men and women in shelters.

Two days later, he returned to the office. We gave him a haircut voucher because he had an interview with Ryan’s Steakhouse and he wanted to give a good impression. We gave him a gas voucher as well to assist him in going to interviews.

The vet was so overjoyed at being hired at Ryan’s, that he returned to our office to tell us the good news. At this point, we assisted him with another gas voucher until he received his first paycheck. He has kept the job for two months now and is very conscientious about keeping in touch with our office.

Two weeks ago, the veteran and his wife attained housing at Bartlett Arms allowing them to stay together as they get their lives back on track. The veteran had dreamed about returning to school, and we referred him to the VWIP program which is assisting him in furthering his education. He is enrolled in the federal vocational rehabilitation program in Winston-Salem due to this referral.

With the help of these two programs, he will be attending classes at Haywood Community College to major in forest and wildlife management.

The HVRP* staff believes that this veteran is very determined, diligent, and focused on turning his life back on track. There are no doubts in our minds that this veteran will become stronger through this experience. While some have given up hope after similar experiences, through strong will, and the assistance of supportive agencies like HVRP*, this veteran will become a positive example for others in the same circumstances.

VETS (Veterans Employment and Training Services)

This program has two Department of Labor Grant Programs:
*HVRP- Homeless Veteran's Reintergation Project
This project works directly with homeless veterans to help them find living wage employment and to help them successfully reintigrate back into the community.
VWIP-Veteran's Workforce Investment Program
This program works with any vetran who is seeking training to help them with employable skills to enable them to find better employment.

Volunteer Today

For more information on our ABCCM services please email or call us at (828) 259-5300.