Here at The Journey Home, every Veteran we work with comes to us in a unique position. The individual support they require to get back on their feet is vastly different from Veteran to Veteran.

We are classified as a “low-barrier” program. This means we meet homeless Veterans where they are, regardless of what support they need, and we structure supportive services to impact each Veteran individually.

Even our agreement with the VA upholds our commitment to low barrier services:

Lowering barriers often means supporting Veterans in their recoveries through relapse and increasing recovery supports rather than discharging Veterans who have relapsed to the street. Ideally, programs will continue to assist Veterans towards permanent housing placement plans… The goal is to keep Veterans engaged and continue to work with them towards permanent housing if at all feasible.

“High-barrier” programs specialize in supporting Veterans through a specific path of recovery. These programs are necessary of course, but high barrier programs tend to restrict some Veterans who otherwise need help. Often, these programs even refer homeless Veterans to The Journey Home because we are equipped in our programming to individualize paths of recovery to the capacity of each Veteran.

We are proud that The Journey Home is a “low-barrier” transitional home. From a Veteran’s very first day with us, we get to know them and over time build an Individualized Recovery Plan to help them into permanent housing. This plan is highly individual, which is why The Journey Home has such a high success rate.

When we meet a homeless Veteran for the first time, we learn about them, not judge them. We know these Veterans have already felt far too much judgement as-is, and this causes them to shut down.

The needs of a homeless Veteran can vary dramatically.

They may suffer from conditions like PTSD and depression. These conditions are often tied to challenges with drug addiction.

They may need significant support to overcome physical disabilities, with injuries or conditions often stemming from military service or long-term homelessness.

They gentlemen are often isolated from their families and friends, depriving them of an essential feeling of stability and belonging.

They always need someone to believe in them – someone to meet them where they are and help them through their challenges, whatever it takes. That’s where we come in.

We support homeless Veterans with a unique approach, and we couldn’t do that without significant support we are blessed to receive from the community.

If you know a homeless Veteran who needs help, please help them get in touch with us.