Marking Veterans Day, a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization is teaming up with former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to honor veterans, especially those who are experiencing homelessness.
Village for Vets, which has been providing various free services to unhoused veterans since 2016, is hosting a lunch event. For the second year in a row, Schwarzenegger will join the organization to provide material for building tiny shelters for veterans.
Marcie Polier Swartz, the founder and CEO of Village for Vets, says her group supplied 114 of the 141 tiny homes and two dining halls for veterans through the help from donors like Schwarzenegger.
“We continue to support this vitally important VA program, which has helped hundreds of veterans, who moved through the program into housing or into the next level of care – whichever is most appropriate for them.”
Polier Swartz says Village for Vets was recently chosen as one of the few nonprofits in the LA area to receive a grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs. But more donations and volunteers are still needed to provide hot meals to unhoused veterans and continue building tiny shelters for those who served our nation.
Village for Vets is also participating in VA’s nationwide events called Stand Downs. Organizers are hoping volunteers will return to the event on the VA campus in West LA after two years of the coronavirus pandemic.
VA staff and volunteers, along with local partners, provide food, clothing and health screenings to homeless and at-risk veterans. Referrals for health care, housing options, employment, mental health services will be provided as well.
The Stand Down event in LA is taking time on Wednesday, Nov. 16.
Please email info@villageforvets.org to receive information on how to volunteer and donate.
