How would you feel if you had to make a choice between having a place to live, and being able to share your life with family? What if that family member was the only family, the only friend, and the only love & companionship you had left in your life?
Over half of the American military veterans who are experiencing homelessness in Ventura County have to make that choice.
- 55% of the homeless and high-risk veteran clients that our programs serve have a pet.
- Almost 100% of low-income housing landlords & property owners don’t accept tenants with pets.
- We all know the unique bond we share with our pets. But for homeless veterans suffering from isolation, PTSD, and estrangement from their human family… pets become even more important.
- These veterans may have lost their limbs in combat. They may have lost their job, their car, their sobriety, and maybe even lost part of their mind.
- But even after losing everything else and living on the street, they didn’t lose their soul: Each and every one of the veterans who would have to give up their beloved pet to get low-income housing…chose to live on the street and keep their loyal companion.
The Vets With Pets Rescue Fund provides dedicated funding for these homeless veterans and their pets to finally have a home. It funds increased security deposits that give GCVF’s caseworkers far greater negotiating power with landlords, plus contingency funds to address insurance and property damage issues during the veteran’s tenancy. This gives us a powerful tool to overcome the barrier that keeps many American veterans living on the street. The Vets With Pets Rescue Fund will also provide emergency veterinary medical care for the pets of homeless and low-income / high-risk veterans who cannot afford veterinary care, but love their pets as much as the rest of us.
As with all of GCVF’s other services and program components, this program disrupts and defeats the underlying and ongoing causes of homelessness, suicide, and suffering for American military veterans.
The Vets With Pets Rescue Fund was launched to honor the memory and legacy of Leo, the giant service dog who helped rescue nearly 300 veterans and veteran family members in Ventura County. The friendly giant who melted the coldest heart in an instant, Leo made it possible to approach, engage, and create a bond of trust with the most difficult and anti-social veterans. Leo was the secret weapon that allowed Gold Coast Veterans Foundation to launch the Mobile Veteran Outreach program with his partner and best friend Rafael. Together, they brought compassion and care directly out on the streets where the problem was greatest, to rescue the veterans that all other agencies had “written off” as unable to save.
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