These folks risked their lives to protect ours ... and far too often never got the thanks and the respect that they deserved. Perhaps now we can do a little something to give something back.
ONE THOUSAND
HOMELESS VETS AND THEIR FAMILIES NOW HOUSED THANKS TO GRASS ROOTS EFFORT
SUPPORTED BY
ZZ TOP’S DUSTY HILL, KATY PERRY,
JOHN MELLENCAMP, MITCH ALBOM,
SUSAN SARANDON AND OTHER NOTABLES
Veterans Matter is an innovative grass-roots effort started in
Toledo, Ohio by a formerly homeless man in an effort to house 35 local veterans.
From that homespun campaign and with the help of the entertainment industry,
20+ musicians, bands, actors, actresses, managers, publicists, writers, singers,
individual and corporate donors, Veterans Matter has raised $800,000 and housed
over 1000 veterans in eleven states.
“There are over 47,000 veterans still homeless on our
nation’s streets. Streets where they are being beaten, robbed, even killed. If
this kind of thing happened while they were serving we would be outraged. The
celebrity advocates who have come out to help this cause are really providing a
voice for the voiceless,” said Ken Leslie, the founder and Advocate-in-Chief of
Veterans Matter.
Coordinated with the VA’s homeless outreach
coordinators, Veterans Matter essentially passes donations, less very minimal
program costs, directly to landlords to
provide deposits which open the door to immediate long-term housing and case
management. This partnership gives Veterans Matter an evidence-based 100%
success rate in housing veterans in a program that has a 91% success rate in
keeping them housed.
Urged by music industry friends who wanted to help
house homeless veterans in their home states, Leslie grew the Veterans Matter
program and created an on-line cloud-based system to allow Veterans
Administration coordinators to quickly access and secure deposits literally in
minutes.
Whether donating several minutes, several hours or
several dollars, these supporters see the fruits of their efforts week by week,
state by state. For example:
· Operation Texas was started by Dusty Hill of ZZ Top
when he convened a group of businessmen in Houston. The return for his efforts
resulted in that group’s raising over $250,000 and housing nearly 500 Texas
veterans.
· The same day John Mellencamp became chair of Operation
Indiana, Veterans Matter received a $37,000 donation that resulted in 96 Indiana
veterans being housed to date.
· Operation Michigan was started by writer Mitch Albom
who has donated $35,000 to house Michigan veterans. With additional funding
raised or donated by Katy Perry, Kid Rock, and a compassionate corporation, over
150 homeless Michigan veterans have been housed to date.
· Katy’s support also garnered the creation of Operation
Mid-Atlantic which has to date raised $25,000 and housed a dozen
veterans.
· Many of these and other celebrity advocates have
recorded national radio/video PSA's and provided social media support.
The impact of the efforts of these celebrities
transcends the additional revenue raised. Using the online system to refer veterans, the VA can
yield immediate approval with a confirming email sent to the landlord. The
support of these notables has been critical in getting many landlords to allow
the veterans and their families to cross the threshold into their own homes with
only the confirmation email.
Veterans Matter can help accomplish in minutes what
can take existing programs two weeks to two months to accomplish. Services and
resources are provided by the VA help many of these now-housed vets and their
families to recapture their lives and return to domestic
autonomy.
The partnership with the VA gives the program a
documented 100% success rate in housing veterans through a long term VA program
that has a 91% success rate in keeping them housed. Depending on revenue,
program costs are running 14% - 17%.
Veterans Matter is a program of 1Matters.org, a Toledo
based non-profit which creates and funds new programs to house the
unhoused.
With the government set to release up to 10,000 more
housing vouchers this year, the group is currently reaching out to agents,
managers, publicists and entertainment industry personalities to ramp up the
recruiting of additional celebrity advocates. The hope is to raise at least
$1.5 million to house another 2,000 veterans and veteran families this
year.
“Fans may forget that no matter the level of fame and
achievement, these high profile people are regular Americans like you and me who
simply believe that veterans matter and that we must take care of our own,”
Leslie said.
Current Veterans Matter celebrity advocates
roster
Ann Heche
Ann & Nancy
Wilson
Big & Rich
Darius Rucker
Darryl Worley
Dusty Hill and ZZ
Top
Emerson Drive
Gary Sinise
Gene Hackman
Ice-T
Jennifer Nettles
John Fogerty
John Mellencamp
Katy Perry
Kid Rock
Kix Brooks
Mario Lopez
Mitch Albom
PJ O'Rourke
Stevie Nicks
Susan Sarandon
Willie Nelson
For more information or to get involved, visit www.veteransmatter.org
