Through out history, we as a species have lived in small groups of closely related humans. We lived by hunting and gathering our food. When we developed our culture we moved to an agricultural community where the family tribe lived on small farms or in close proximity to each other. It wasn’t until recent inventions of mass transportation that we moved from a close large family group to individual single families with one or two parents. The change in the dynamics of the family unit has left us without the support and safety of the large family.

When trouble happens (like a bad economy or mental health issues), the individual might not be strong enough to be able to make ends meet and withstand the tumult. This is why many of our homeless individuals end up on the street. Thier family of origin is not able to care for their needs and the individual has no place to go. In previous times, the family was large enough to take the person in and help them. Today, our families are too small and can not stand the burden of caring for someone who can not care for themselves.Vet LIFT is a community of previously homeless veterans who have banded together to help sustain each other in their time of trouble.

Cindy Leming
Vet LIFT Program Coordinator

Grant and Per Diem is a program to help get veterans off the streets and into housing as soon as possible. The Veterans Administration pays on a daily basis for their housing costs and for their supportive services. The program that I manage is a 24 month program. We focus on helping the veteran set goals for permanent housing, increasing their skills or income, and with their own self determination. The methods we use to help the veteran facilitate change is by using a client centered approach. We focus on the veterans strengths and resiliency factors. We encourage the process of change by respecting the veterans self efficacy.

This is our inaugural blog post.  To find out what we are doing please view the video. We hope to help homeless veteran get housing and stay safe in our wonderful United State of America.

Cynthia (Cindy) Leming MSW CSWA

Vet LIFT Program Coordinator

www.svdp.us