FOB Hope’s Veterans Village has been in operation since May 22, 2022. Since that time, our Site Manger and her team have permanently housed 34 previously street homeless Veterans. There are several stories we could tell, but one stands out as exceptionally successful. According to FOB Hope’s confidentiality policy we cannot disclose the Veterans name so we will refer to him as “Arthur”.
“Arthur” came to the Village the first week of June in 2022. Prior to coming to us he had been living on the street in downtown Tacoma for seven years. When he arrived at the Village he was heavily addicted to alcohol. Through spending time with his FOB Hope case manager, he realized he needed to quit drinking. Arthur used the “cold turkey” method to get sober while living at the Village. He was successful and still remains sober to this day.
Our team began working with Arthur to get him housed through the Department of Veterans Affairs HUD VASH program. However, Arthur did not feel he was deserving of permanent housing because of all the mistakes he made in the past. Through peer support and socialization he realized he was worthy of having his own place to live. By mid-July Arthur had his HUD VASH voucher in hand. Two weeks later he was given the keys to his new permanent home.
Although Arthur was happy with his new housing, he kept coming back to the Village to enjoy the camaraderie Veterans are accustomed to. He took it upon himself to mentor other Veterans at the Village who had similar stories. After Arthur shared his story, two more Veterans realized that if Arthur can do it, they too can do it. Both Veterans are now sober and permanently housed! Arthur still comes to FOB Hope’s Veteran’s Village every other week for socialization and to speak with his peers.