Food insecurity and unstable housing is, unfortunately, something a number of Veterans face across the country. According to the Point-in-Time count done by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, there were 32,882 Veterans who experienced homelessness as of January 2024. Of those Veterans, 19,031 Veterans experienced sheltered homelessness, and 13,851 Veterans experienced unsheltered homelessness

As an organization that supports at-risk and homeless Veterans, we know the importance of discretion when offering services and the power of leveraging partnerships to serve those who need it most. While we get to interact with Veterans face-to-face during some events, other support services are not handled in the same way. Here’s an overview of how we approach that type of support and the services we provide.

Food Insecurity

One of our biggest Veteran support programs is our Miltary & Veteran Food Distributions. These events happen in several cities across the country and are massive shows of support. At-risk and homeless Veterans can participate in this program by registering for support. While support is limited, the roughly 200 we serve at each one go home with 75 lbs of fresh produce, meat, and sundries to help them prepare nutritious meals for their families.

These events are a great way to show our support and thank Veterans face to face. Volunteers have so much fun interacting with Veterans who come through, and we share lots of photos of their happy faces as they receive their groceries.

Another way we support Veterans with food is by handing out Box Lunches to Caseworkers, who have daily interactions with Veterans visiting the VA for any number of reasons. For Veterans who are unsure of where their next meal is coming from, the Box lunch serves as a nutritious meal while they are at the VA.

Box lunches are requested throughout the year from the many VA Hospitals we support and are also utilized nearly every month by our staff and volunteers attending Stand Downs. They are filled with non-perishable but nutritious items so that they can be easily distributed and shipped if needed. While you may see lots of photos of companies and volunteers packing lunches, unless we are at a Stand Down, you will not see photos of Veterans receiving them because they are given out by Caseworkers and not Soldiers’ Angels staff.

Housing Needs

Soldiers’ Angels collaborates with the VA through their HUD/VASH program to support Veterans transitioning into housing with essential needs. HUD/VASH social workers and case managers who assist Veterans in securing housing can register them for our program. On move-in day, a Soldiers’ Angels representative welcomes the Veteran to their new home with a Soldiers’ Angels Homeless Veteran Housing Pack that includes everything from pots and pans to dishes, trash cans, towels, and even a plunger. 

At times, we can take photos of Veterans receiving and unpacking their items. However, there are instances when we choose not to share photos due to privacy concerns.

Health and Hygiene

Did you know that the VA doesn’t provide toiletry items for patients? This is why we pack and distribute Hygiene Kits! These kits are a big deal to patients who may not have family or friends who can bring them items easily. We also give our hygiene kits to at-risk or homeless Veterans during Stand Downs. Angel volunteers who conduct patient visits often take photos of patients as they hand out the kits.

Another way we support at-risk and homeless Veterans is through Operation: Warm Winter. This campaign aims to collect warm items that will be shared directly with homeless Veterans in need across the country through VA Hospitals we support. The items we collect include coats, hats, gloves, and blankets – all to ensure that Veterans have the means to keep warm during the winter months. While you might see photos of blankets being distributed at the VA or during some of our Military & Veteran Food Distributions, most of the items collected are sent to Caseworkers so that they can get them into the hands of those who have the most need. This is why you don’t see many photos of the Veteran recipients.

Privacy and Discretion

For all of these programs, our goal is to ensure dignity, discretion, and privacy when necessary. While some of the services we support are public, some of them are not. For example, with Box Lunches and Operation: Warm Winter, we hand the items off to VA case managers, and they distribute the items to homeless Veterans as they are needed. Soldiers’ Angels volunteers are not in the streets directly distributing items to homeless Veterans—we conduct all of our work through the VA to support their homeless services. Not only that, but unhoused Veterans are in a situation of extreme vulnerability. In some cases, they are in that situation because of an abusive relationship, drugs, alcohol, or some other time when their lives and the lives of their family may be at risk in one way or another. Because of this, 90% of the time, we do not pursue taking photos to share publicly of homeless Veterans.

If you are a Veteran in need of support, learn more about our support options and reach out here. If you’d like to get involved with any of our programs mentioned above, the best way to get started is by becoming an Angel volunteer.

About the Author

Ashley Ray has been a member of the Soldiers’ Angels communications team since 2013. She supports blog writing and social media and loves telling stories of Angel volunteers, Service Members, and Veterans.

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