Veteran transition focus of Camp Hope for Heroes

Camp Hope for Heroes (CHFH) began with one basic mission in mind: the successful transition of veterans to civilian life.

However, a significant part of this mission, according to CHFH Executive Director Janelle Bollman, is in aiding homeless veterans. Bollman said she “personally knows of 72 to 78” veterans who fit that description in the Fort Smith region.

According to a national study from Continuum of Care Inc., 76,329 U.S. veterans lived in emergency shelters, transitional housing or on the streets as of 2010.

Most veterans were between the ages of 31 and 61, the study said. Approximately 43% were without shelter of any kind. Close to 13,000 were younger veterans between the ages of 18 and 30.

In Bollman’s short time with CHFH, each of these statistics have proven true.

One veteran, “in his late twenties,” slept under the Garrison Avenue bridge despite having family in Little Rock that might have been able to help. His reason: “He didn’t want them to know he was homeless.”

An older jobless veteran refused to seek help because he “could still work” and “there were others who needed it more,” Bollman said.

“So many of them remain service-minded and want to help others,” she added.

OUTREACH AND TEAMWORK
With much election year talk centering on the abuse of entitlement programs, veterans like those Bollman has met since working with the organization are not seeking benefits for which they qualify.

This means outreach is critical for Bollman and the 32 other volunteers who make CHFH a reality. But to stay focused and keep the mission together, it takes a home and coordination.

The first part of the equation — the home — came this year when Chaffee Crossing donated the use of land and a building for the group’s headquarters. A Home Depot grant and a lot of elbow grease enabled the headquarters to open on Nov. 3, Bollman said.

“We just finished renovating a couple of weeks ago. The way that we’re able to man the building is to come up with a work schedule for our volunteers. And then we’ll have about nine intake assessors who will be on call, and then we’ll give their contact information to all of the organizations in the Old Fort Homeless Coalition (OFHC) so if they run in to a veteran who needs assistance at one of the shelters, they will know how to reach us, and we can go out there and meet the veteran,” Bollman said.

A LARGER MISSION
These are the beginnings of an organization with a bigger goal in mind—a $24 million campus devoted to transitioning and homeless veteran services.

Bollman said, “We’re trying to do this in sections. We hope to do the core part first and find funding. Just for that part, to include medical and mental health services and the chow hall, the cost would be $12 million. This (core part) would also house 32 beds for the ones who need medical or mental services close-by.”

Marty Cormier, a project manager at Guest Reddick Architects and CHFH board member, donated design work for the campus which would total 93,000 square feet through three phases—core (53,000 square feet), additional housing and care (two 20,000-square-feet sections), Cormier said.

The campus would also aid veterans in career training and education, which for veterans like Walter Robertson, is a program that is much needed.

“You’ve taken a man that basically — you tore him down. You tore him down, so you could build him up to something that he wasn’t,” Robertson explained. “If you tear him down and build him up, get another program for when he’s coming out. Try to build him up again and get him back into society. Because, if he was infantry, what does he know, but infantry?”

And that’s precisely what Camp Hope for Heroes intends to do, Bollman said.

“As an example, we have a veteran, who was a petroleum refueling specialist. But when he got out, that didn’t transfer into a CDL or a HAZMAT. Even though he has all those credentials in the military, the certificates don’t just automatically transfer into the civilian community. So we have to work with him to find the money to get his tests done.”

Bollman continued: “Or if we could partner with some of these trucking organizations, maybe they’ll pay for him to take his test. I mean, he can pass it because he did it in the military. And then, (they could) hire him from there once he’s able to get his civilian credentials.”

PARTNERING TOGETHER
While existing CHFH headquarters offers access to most of these services, it is Bollman’s hope the effort can grow larger and more integrated.

“It’s terrifying and almost seems unrealistic at this point, but we’ve got to try. And this isn’t just a local thing either,” Bollman said. “We’re looking at being able to service veterans in a regional area kind of like the Veterans Administration. Because there is such a need for this program—all veterans, National Guard, Air National Guard, Active-Duty Military—could utilize it.”

Bollman continued: “We’ve had interest from people in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma — and they’ve been asking us, ‘Will you service veterans from our area as well?’ Well, yeah, we wouldn’t say no to any veteran. And that could also help with resources as well. I mean, if you’ve got all these states together then that means you have more resources as well.”

Until everything comes together, however, Camp Hope for Heroes will remain focused on both immediate and long-term needs of the veteran community, and will utilize every resource available, Bollman said.

“The smartest thing is for everybody (homeless and veteran organizations) to work together as a team to help the veteran because, honestly, he is not going to get the optimum performance in his transition if we don’t all come to the table and combine our knowledge, our skills and our abilities. Because everybody has a special gift or talent that they bring to the table that can help that veteran, and it would be unwise not to do that.”

Bollman continued: “So that’s our dream. I don’t know if it’ll happen, but we’re going to work on it. Until then, there’s plenty of veterans (to help).”