We have a colleague named Mrs. Yvette Jones. She's a HUUUUGE success with Veterans in the Chicago area.
Her specialty is helping Veterans secure housing; emergency AND ownership.
We have a story to tell you about one Veteran she introduced us to. It's a worthwhile read.
She met a Veteran we shall call "Rob" in early August. He enlisted in the Navy in 1960. (The year I was born.
Hold your amusing comments thank you very much.)
He saw, experienced and was exposed to A LOT. And much of it has taken its toll on his mind and body.
But, even in my brief chats with him, he never complained about any of it.
He served on the USS Valley Forge, CVA 45, then discharged in San Diego, CA.
Eventually he relocated back to his hometown of Chicago where he currently resides.
Sounds all normal.
Until it isn't.
See, here is where the train derails, Rob has been bounced between VA and other community shelters
across several states and to make matters worse, SSA, his sole source of income, is raping his miniscule
monthly checks to the point where he's little to use for the basic necessities of life.
Most of August he has been confined to a wheelchair, in a hallway.
No shower. Np bed. No adequate medical care. No ability despite the limited availability of public transportation,
to leave the premesis.
"What kind of facility treats ANY human like this? Especially an American Veteran?" you ask.
Well, when I tell you, you will very likely become immediately ill. So, I will.
Rob, has been "parked" at the Jesse Brown Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center.
He has never applied for his benefits. He was unaware of them or how to even apply and fight for them.
Thanks to Mrs. Jones, this mistreatment is soon coming to an end.
There were however, logistical issues. Sure, we could interview him and prepare the mountain of paperwork required from
the VA to submit his claims, BUT, he has no access to a computer or printer to effect the execution of any documentation
sent him.
Remember...the US Patriot Fund, Inc. is in Las Vegas and New York and Rob, well, he's wayyyyyyyyyyyy over there in Chicago.
The solution?
Outside of physically flying to him, executing the docs, then flying back, we decided on the next best thing.
Rob has a beautiful friend in Wichita who we spoke with numerous times about how to facilitate Robs documentation.
She graciously offered to accept the initial documentation and help Rob complete it over the phone.
(The trust factor hard at work here.) She returned them to us but we still needed Robs live signatures.
Once that was completed, we then located and hired a notary public in Chicago who loves serving our Veteran community, and
arranged for her to receive and print the docs, contact Rob for an appointment at his location,
secure his signatures and return them to us so we could process them.
As of today, that has occurred and we are immensly pleased to report that Robs claims for VA benefits have been filed.
We will now begin the journey of securing all he's entitled to creating a "safety net" to greatly, if not completely, eliminate
him as a "Homeless Veteran" statistic.
None of this would be even remotely (see what I did there?) possible without the incredible, selfless assistance from key people
we would like to recognize here.
Mrs. Yvette Jones, Real Estate Broker and owner of VentMentors, LLC in Chicago. 312.593.8901
Ed Esmenda for assistance with claim prep.
Sharon Scroggins Insurance Services, 316.518.5870
Michelle Rocco, Mobile Notary services in Chicago. 847.476.0693
And as always, our donors and contributors for which the financial support and encouragement are paramount in keeping us moving forward.
Please always remember and never forget; we, as Americans, live under an umbrella of freedom provided by those who served.
It is now our duty to repay them.
Thank you everyone.
