Hitting the Streets to Help the Homeless
If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a community to end homelessness. Nowhere is this more evident than Miami, where the number of homeless living on the streets has dropped from the thousands into the hundreds in only a few years.
Such a huge success would not be possible without the hundreds of volunteers, partners and community organizations, along with the Miami VA Healthcare System, coming together with a single goal: Ending homelessness in South Florida.
However, to help the homeless, you have to know where they sleep and how many there are. This is why, along with community partners such as the Homeless Trust, the Miami VA took to the streets Jan. 24 to conduct an overnight census of those living on the streets.
Although the final count won’t be available for a few days, these counts allow organizations like the Miami VA to better find and help those who have ended up on the streets, said Cheryl Smart, homeless program manager for the Miami VA.
Any Veterans identified during the census were given information about local VA offices and had their location marked so an outreach specialist can go back and provide more individualized services.
If you are homeless, in danger of becoming homeless or know a Veteran who is, please call 1(877) 4AID-VET.
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