Veterans Helping Hands Project

Description

Veterans Helping Hands Project (VHHP) is a 501(c)(3) started by U.S. Army veteran Dave Gates. Through collaboration with several veteran organizations and community leaders, the thought of bridging the gap to help veterans with certain financial needs was born. Dave found that every veteran’s organization that can help a veteran financially was watered down with a “system” of limited funding and pre-qualified needs. Nearly 100% of the time, the financial needs of the veteran could not be fully met for one reason or another. As an example, the Department of Veterans Affairs can pay a monthly rent voucher, however they have no funding available to cover discretionary funding for a security deposit, first or last month’s rent, pet fees, or water, electric, garbage, and gas bills. Most of the time, utility companies will also require a deposit just to turn service on for a new homeowner. This is where VHHP has an opportunity to help. The Veterans Helping Hands Project will build residential home units from sizes 14’x32’ to 1,200 sq foot 3-bedroom, 2-bath with a garage for residential developments, plus smaller apartment complexes, to be built by Veterans for Veterans.

Mission Statement:

We must first solve the opportunity problem before we can solve the suicide and substance abuse problems. We will be getting our workers from the VA Compensated Work Therapy Program, which is the VA’s drug & alcohol rehab program, along with homeless vets who are housed in the Hot Springs VA Hospital Domiciliary. When the vets in rehab come out of “detox” and go into rehab they are then put to work to complete the rehab program, since the VA doesn’t offer OJT that is where we come in. The Veteran’s Affairs says “The most important aspect of veteran recovery from substance abuse is WORK” but they don’t offer it themselves .