We at Homes 4 Families believe in putting a roof over the head of someone who fought for our freedom. These young men and women have undergone tremendous hardships. To have them come back and deal with the burdens of everyday life, potentially compounded by PTSD, just doesn’t seem right which is why we created the Hard Hats 4 Heroes Club.
Hard Hats 4 Heroes is a 3 tiered monthly donation system ($10, $25, or $50) that contributes to building homes for low-income families in a Veteran Enriched Neighborhood®. These are communities made of up of veterans, so one never has to go far for a sense camaraderie and understanding.
Veteran Enriched Neighborhoods® also ensure that no one will be forced out of their home like Veteran Steve Anderson. He rented the same house for 33 years only to be abruptly alerted by his landlord that he had 30 days to move out after the landlord sold the house without warning. Unsure of what to do, Steve’s VA social worker told him that Homes 4 Families could help him get a roof over his head. Due to the support from generous individuals like yourself, Steve now resides in our Veteran Enriched Neighborhood® in Santa Clarita, California, paying a modest mortgage and has no fear of being evicted.
Where Does My Monthly Donation Go?
Some of the benefits of the Santa Clarita Veteran Enriched Neighborhood® are:
- Wraparound enrichment services
- Community gardens
- Community playgrounds
- Fully ADA accessible housing for disabled veterans
- Veteran-specific disability modifications
- Green features
But perhaps the most potent program we have created through donations is My TIME (My Trauma Informed Military Enrichment). It includes a variety of military-specific resiliency-building programming, including:
- Trauma-informed Art Workshops
- Veteran mentorship Autobiographical Writing
- Beat the odds drumming- equine therapy
How You Can Support Veteran Success in a Veteran Enriched Neighborhood®
The social support and close interpersonal relationships that result from living in veteran-specific communities is a vital component to a veteran’s success in a Veteran Enriched Neighborhood®, with veterans connecting and developing relationships long before they become neighbors.
Two types of services are suggested to help veterans reintegrate: support groups for veterans, in which they have the opportunity to share their stories, and transition groups for families and friends of veterans, in which they would have the opportunity to learn about military culture and how to bet support their veteran. This is why our workshops are veteran-to-veteran, and why they have also been developed for military family members.
Programs like My TIME and Veteran Enriched Neighborhoods® are a direct result of small donations. If you support the idea of healing through community-based social interaction and developing relationships, please consider signing up for a small monthly donation through Hard Hats 4 Heroes, you’ll be changing lives.