Swords To Plowshares Veterans Rights Organization

Health & social servicesmore than 1,500 veterans sought services and case management at swords drop-in center, which provides critical services to homeless and at-risk veterans, including: emergency shelter; mental health and substance abuse counseling; homelessness prevention; rapid re-housing and referrals to a number of community agencies and the veterans administration. We provide assistance to stabilize veterans and to meet the full range of their needs as they prepare to enter a treatment program, start a new job or exit homelessness. Case managers arranged for brief emergency housing for over 250 homeless veterans and financial assistance to 300 veteran families moving into permanent housing. We were also able to retain housing for 150 veteran families faced with eviction. Swords' representative payee services helped veterans with mental illness and/or substance abuse issues manage their money and retain housing. Currently 145 veterans participate in this program and are thus protected from eviction and other consequences of poor money management. We also worked with the san francisco veterans administration, the city and county of san francisco, the department of housing and urban development and the san francisco housing authority to streamline efforts and collaboration to house the "hardest to serve" chronically homeless veterans. Our va-funded rapid re-housing program; supportive services for veterans and families (ssvf), consists of time-limited, short-term progressive components of individualized goal setting designed to build upon one another for a solid approach to housing stabilization and retention. This 'housing first" model provides immediate wrap-around support to each participant, establishing a solid permanent housing foundation - followed by supportive services that have been uniquely designed to help veterans maintain their housing. We served over 1,100 families is all bay area counties.

Employment and training servicesswords offers comprehensive services that help veterans overcome barriers to employment, stabilize their lives and become job-ready. We helped more than 350 veterans in san francisco and the east bay with pre-employment preparation, career counseling, job training, job placement and follow-up. We secured job training for 280 veterans and placed 264 veterans in jobs. 150 of our clients were homeless at time of enrollment. Swords also helps veterans with training, tuition, work clothing, tools, transportation and other needs so they can find and maintain long-term employment.swords works with workforce investment boards, employers, community colleges and vocational training institutions to develop customized job training programs in growth industry sectors. The trainings are tailored to meet the needs of veterans, many of whom served in iraq and afghanistan. We offer specialized curriculum and small class sizes so that veterans can secure accelerated certification to move quickly into jobs. These specialized trainings enable us to efficiently serve more veterans and to have a higher job placement percentage. We forged new relationships with employers to place veterans in jobs upon program completion, and we are working to strengthen partnerships within the corporate community through a statewide initiative.

Policy development -institute for veteran policy (ivp):swords' institute for veteran policy advocates for improved systems of care for veterans of all eras, specifically in the areas of access to benefits, housing, employment, mental health and the prevention of poverty and homelessness. The program delivers the highly acclaimed combat to community training to hundreds each year. Ivp also provides technical assistance and administers the re-granting of funds to veteran-serving agencies in california and texas which deliver employment, training, and wrap around services.legal services:each year, our attorneys provide free legal advice, assistance, and representation to more than 1,000 homeless and low-income veterans throughout the bay area. By assisting veterans attain va eligibility through the va character of discharge process and applications for records corrections and upgrades before the department of defense corrections boards, we fight to remove barriers essential to veterans' stability, including access to va homelessness prevention services, benefits, and healthcare. With the help of our robust pro bono program, we secured over $11 million in lifetime benefits awards for veteran clients in va disability compensation, vha medical services and va pension benefits. More than ninety percent of the cases adjudicated were in the veteran's favor.