A Home for the Holidays

In an effort to draw more attention to the need for supportive housing for Veteran Families, the owners of the Howard Johnson/Day’s Inn have agreed to partner with EscaRosa Coalition on The Homeless and The Women’s Empowerment Center Pilot Project, to donate rooms for homeless families during the holidays at the Pensacola Inn on Hwy 29 in Escambia County, Florida.  Homeless Veteran and non-veteran families will be provided emergency housing from December 21, 2012 to January 21, 2013.

The Women’s Empowerment Center Pilot Project hopes to be ready to commence operation of their transitional housing program with a full array of supportive services by January 21, 2013 and that these families will be able to transition directly to that Pilot Project . The Women’s Empowerment Center is a Project created by the Monument to Women Veterans Inc. in cooperation with Poe In Action, Inc. and the EscaRosa Coalition on the Homeless, Inc., for the purpose of preventing and ending the homelessness of our veteran families.  The Women’s Empowerment Center Pilot Project has been designed to be easily duplicated and taken anywhere across the nation to help homeless veterans.

For the past several months the Center for Strategic Military Excellence (CSME) ,who has developed an integrated approach for Veteran centered care and  founded the Monument to Women Veterans, Inc. ,  has been meeting with several non-profit organizations, George Hawthorne from Diversity Program Advisors, Inc.,  and Jay and Nash Patel, international leaders in the hotel/motel industry, with LHS, Inc.  to develop plans for an effective supportive housing program that will help aid the goal of the Department of Veteran Affairs to end homelessness among our veterans by 2015. It is hoped that not only will our local businesses help support this project, but also HUD and VA since all have a vested interest in ending homelessness.

The Pensacola Inn will be adding additional rooms for more families as funding permits.  EscaRosa Coalition on the Homeless, Monument to Women Veterans, Poe In Action will identify eligible families and solicit a hosting fee from local businesses, organizations and individuals who want to help a veteran family for 30 days. We need your support and donations to provide a homeless family “A Home for the Holidays.”

Donations are still needed. If you can donate anything on the list, please bring to the Days Inn on Hwy 29 just south of “W” Street on Friday, Dec. 21 or Sat. Dec. 22 between the hours of 10a.m. to 3 p.m.  For more information and to see what items are needed, please contact: EscaRosa Coalition on the Homeless – echo.org or 439-3009