Candice Owley & Tracy Sperka
Serving those that served--Homeless Vets
On March 15th, WFNHP president, Candice Owley, joined nurse members from Local 5032--the VA Staff Nurses Council--to help with a breakfast program for homeless veterans in the Milwaukee area. The program, which is located just a few blocks from the VA complex, began just over a year ago by the Veterans for Peace. The data about homeless veterans is quite shocking. Vets are twice as likely as other Americans to be homeless and about 25% of the homeless in the Milwaukee County area are veterans. The goal of the project is to seek out, engage, and act as a transitional bridge for those veterans who have a diminished personal capacity to access help and have lost touch and trust with the Veterans Resource Network.
Kudos to our VA local for indicating they want to have an ongoing relationship with this important project. Local 5032 is hoping to establish a regular schedule when members and activist volunteers can help at both the breakfast program and food pantry. It is well known that the number of veterans is growing, plus there are more homeless women vets with children, so the need is great and growing. All homelessness is a tragedy, but it is doubly disturbing to see those who have served our country in uniform ending up on the street.
Any other local or members that want to help contribute to this program with time or money should email us for more information.