Final report summary: Good Shepherd Ministries

Overview:

Good Shepherd Ministries, with funding from The Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund, provided services that helped homeless and at-risk Veterans find and sustain appropriate housing, build their social skills and support networks, and manage health issues.

Project goals:

The project’s goals were to:

1. Engage with and serve 35 homeless or at risk Veterans each year, with an average of three new Veterans helped per month;
2. Secure housing for 24 of the 35 Veterans;
3. Provide two rounds of Trauma Informed Life Skills groups each year; and
4. Conduct outreach to at least 10 outside agencies each year.

Project activities:

• Helped Veterans to find and sustain affordable, appropriate housing by performing housing assessment, facilitating access to necessary documents and furnishings, and doing regular post-move home visits;
• Accompanied Veterans to various appointments with, for example, landlords, physicians and service providers;
• Provided outreach, engagement, case management and crisis management to Veterans when needed;
• Facilitated access to community-based supports and services for Veterans;
• Supported Veterans in developing and enhancing the skills needed to use community-based supports and services independently;
• Administered Veteran-specific life skills group sessions; and,  
• Delivered annual presentations to agencies serving the homeless and coached agency staff on how to inquire about a client’s status respectfully and appropriately.

Project results:

This project had a substantial impact on the lives of homeless and at-risk Veterans despite pandemic-related limitations. It achieved the following results:

• Received 55 new Veteran-referrals to the project;
• Provided case management to 72 Veterans for the full duration of the project;
• Secured housing for 38 Veterans;
• Completed outreach to 74 outside agencies; and,
• Provided three rounds of Trauma Informed Life Skills groups.