CHARLOTTE — Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte is expanding its services with the help of a new Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The $500,000 yearly grant, received Oct. 1, has allowed Catholic Charities to hire and train two case coordinators to facilitate the program, said Sandy Buck, Regional Director for Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte.
The federal VA’s SSVF program awards grants to private non-profit organizations and consumer cooperatives that can provide supportive services to very low-income veterans and their families living in or transitioning to permanent housing.
Catholic Charities will provide eligible veterans and their families with housing location services, case management and assistance in obtaining VA and other benefits.
The program serves very low-income veterans and their families who are homeless or are in danger of becoming homeless, Buck said. The primary goal is to establish housing, she explained.
Catholic Charities has subcontracted with Veterans Bridge Home to provide outreach and assessment services. They will also work with other Charlotte-area agencies to identity and find housing for the veterans. According to Buck, there are more than 300 known homeless people in the city who may be eligible for this aid.
“Our ultimate goal is to eliminate homelessness,” Buck said.
After the veteran has a safe place to live, then their focus moves to case management, access to health care, personal financial planning, transportation, child care if needed, legal services and assistance obtaining other benefits, Buck said.
“Catholic Charities is a case management agency,” Buck said, “so this is an expansion on what we already do. The funding from Veterans Affairs allows us to do that. We are excited we can assist our veterans in providing these extra services.”
Now that Catholic Charities has the staff in place, the program is beginning to take on cases.
Catholic Charities’ goal is to serve 120 veterans and their families during this initial grant year, Buck said, focusing on those in need in Mecklenburg County at first. As the grant is renewed next year, the goal is to expand to other counties in the Diocese of Charlotte, she noted.
“Catholic Charities is working to expand the services we can provide,” Buck said. “We’re excited we can start assisting our veterans in providing these services.”
— Kimberly Bender, Online reporter