KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On Veterans Day, Hope Faith Ministries launched the Homeless Veterans Assistance Coalition.
"Why not have everyone here on-site instead of sending our veterans out across the city and the majority of them getting lost in the process," Hope Faith programs director Chris Stout said.
Kansas City has dozens of organizations that help veterans, but HVAC was created to bring many of them together to make it easier on veterans.
"It's hard to get them to ask for help in the first place, so when they finally get to that point, we want to smother them with those services when they do," Stout said.
Rodney Summers is a veteran and said what hurts him the most is seeing fellow veterans on the streets.
"Don't ever feel you have no help, no outlet, because you do," Summers said.
After Action Network is a group that does case management and connects veterans to opportunities. The group has an office at Hope Faith, where they're now taking all the 211 veterans calls that used to go through the United Way.
"How do we figure out the different symptoms that are out there, whether it's employment, housing, food insecurities. Whatever it is, we're here to help them navigate that," After Action Network founder Joey Williams said.
The annual StandDown event in Kansas City was canceled due to COVID-19, but Hope Faith held a smaller version on Wednesday to provide lunch, clothes and services to veterans.
"I always have someone I can rely on," Summers said." I have help at all times."
