Reaching the “Unreachable”
While VA and other systems of care offer a broad range of benefits and services to greatly improve the lives of at-risk and high-risk veterans, far too many of these veterans have difficulty accessing (or simply will not fully engage in) these services.
As a result, critical and even life-saving benefits are often not used by the population that needs it most. These are the cases that “fall through the cracks,” with the most tragic consequences.
GCVF’s groundbreaking Mobile Veteran Outreach program (MVO) is the long-awaited solution to this problem, saving lives and reducing or eliminating suffering for American veterans.
Our “Secret Weapon”
Our secret weapon in the battle against veteran homelessness is a total commitment to doing whatever it takes, whenever and wherever it is needed, to prevent or reverse homelessness and suffering for veterans.
Gold Coast Veterans Foundation’s Mobile Veteran Outreach is the best example of this; we take our services to where the need is, instead of waiting for the highest risk veterans to walk in to an office for services.
No other organization uses this approach of “relentless engagement”. This simple but powerful idea has saved hundreds of lives.
MVO brings human services and human compassion directly to high-risk veterans wherever they are, going out to homeless encampments, tents, freeway overpasses, or any other location… to provide critical services for veterans, and begin their journey back to wellness.
The Warriors of Compassion
MVO’s success is not just the story of people who care, it’s also the story of skill, resources, commitment, and never giving up. Homelessness is a deadly and unrelenting enemy. Our warriors are every bit as relentless in the battle to save a life.
The MVO outreach and rescue team is led by Jesse Gomez (veteran, U.S. Marine Corps), Michael Housego (veteran, U.S. Marine Corps), and Jordan Howary (University of Denver MSW program intern).
Together, they bring an unmatched level of commitment to the task of caring for every veteran or veteran family member in need of assistance. They serve as the region’s ‘first responders’ to veterans in crisis, then manage the correct sequence of in-house and community partnership services & resources.
Through the efforts of our MVO team (and the tremendous resources made available to them by our partners), more homeless veterans were housed in one year than in than the previous ten years combined!
After serving on the front lines of the battle against veteran homelessness at GCVF, Cassandra Villarreal transitioned to become a warrior at one of our leading partner agencies, Salvation Army of Ventura County. This created an incredibly powerful synergy, further strengthening the partnership between agencies!
Still on the front lines, but now as the Director of Salvation Army’s Supportive Services For Veteran Families (VA SSVF) program, Cassandra is able to greatly improve and expedite housing resources… from emergency and short term housing for veterans in crisis, to permanent housing placements.
Prior to 2019, there was no program capable of fully addressing the unique needs and challenges of homeless veterans and their families in Ventura County.
At that time, an average of 250 homeless veterans were living in Ventura County per year.
The MVO model of care was built upon a fundamentally different approach, originally pioneered by a formerly homeless Army veteran.
Just a few months after its launch in late 2019, MVO found itself on the front lines of a world health crisis, and was rescuing a population at the highest risk of death from COVID.
Now after only five years of operation, the average number of homeless veterans in Ventura County is five! Over 300 veterans and veteran family members have been rescued or prevented from becoming homeless.
Lives were saved and hope restored. But that’s not all.
MVO has grown into a primary component of a new comprehensive model of care for veterans, the blueprint for a new national standard of care to end veteran homeless nationwide!
Government agencies and social service providers throughout the region now call upon GCVF’s MVO program for guidance and help, whether to rescue one individual veteran or to shape entire policies and programs.
Why Outreach Matters
Many veterans simply do not have the means, mobility, sobriety, or mental focus to physically access benefits and services that would greatly improve (or often save) their life. Homeless veterans on the streets are by far the most difficult to serve. They routinely decline contact or services from social services, law enforcement, or faith-based organizations. The vast majority (90%+) are below accepted low-Income, poverty, and “high-risk” thresholds.
But these veterans are also at the highest risk of having significant problems with physical and mental health, substance abuse, injury, and violence. They are the hardest to reach, the hardest to serve, have the poorest quality of life, and are at the highest risk of premature death. MVO saves lives.
Success Stories
ANA and MICHAEL
2 Veterans, living in a vehicle on the street, wife 6 months pregnant
- Ana is an Army veteran who served in Kuwait.
- Michael is a Navy combat veteran (Iraq) suffering from PTSD
- Our MVO team was working with this family for months to get them into safe low-income housing
- Ana gave birth to a baby girl at 3 PM on August 8th
- An hour after she gave birth, the largest nonprofit in the region denied their housing application…because her husband had not turned in his paycheck stubs on that day (He had taken Ana to the hospital instead)
- Our MVO team didn’t want Ana’s baby to be born into homelessness and live in a vehicle
- We went into full crisis mode, and reached out to all of our community partners
- We secured a month of immediate emergency motel housing
- We finally got them qualified for long-term subsidized housing
- This veteran family is now moving toward self-sufficiency, with a healthy baby!
- Our motto: We catch the veterans that “fall through the cracks” in the system
- We caught their baby too.
FRANK B.
Honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy
Has onset of dementia
Forced out of family’s home under difficult circumstances
- Age 82, no proof of military service, no vehicle, no driver’s license or ID card
- Found in a room behind a horse stable – an unsustainable situation
- MVO immediately got this veteran out of harm’s way by working with Ventura County’s Continuum of Care to place him into a motel via Project Room Key
- MVO created an individualized plan to address and repair the underlying causes of homelessness, along with a plan for permanent housing
- MVO helped Frank access his military records, secure a DMV ID card, and research available VA benefits for which he may qualify
- MVO intervened with hospital and social workers to prevent Frank from being discharged into street homelessness
- MVO intensely worked to secure long-term care options for Frank while continuing to provide weekly emotional support and client advocacy
- MVO helped Frank move into a board and care in North Hollywood, where he is still currently receiving the care that he needs
