VETERANS BRIDGE HOME INC

VETERANS BRIDGE HOME SERVES AS THE BACKBONE ORGANIZATION FOR NCSERVES MARKETS: METROLINA (CHARLOTTE REGION), TRIAD, TRIANGLE AND THE SANDHILLS (FAYETTEVILLE REGION) AS A COORDINATED CARE NETWORK CONNECTING SERVICE MEMBERS, VETERANS, AND MILITARY FAMILIES TO SERVICES THROUGH A COLLECTIVE IMPACT MODEL TO IMPROVE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH. IN 2023, VETERANS BRIDGE HOME CONNECTED 3,238 IDENTIFIED SERVICE MEMBERS, VETERANS, AND THEIR FAMILIES, A 10% INCREASE FROM 2941 IDENTIFIED SMVF IN 2022, TO 7,844 SERVICES, AN AVERAGE OF 2.42 SERVICES PER FAMILY. SEE SCHEDULE O.THE TOP 3 NEEDS WERE: HOUSING, EMPLOYMENT AND MENTAL/BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WITH THESE CATEGORIES MAKING UP 58.5% OF ALL NETWORK REQUESTS. IN 2023, THE NETWORK RESOLVED 79.4% OF ALL REQUESTS FAVORABLY. VBH AND THE NCSERVES NETWORK ARE COMMITTED TO SERVING A DIVERSE POPULATION OF SERVICE MEMBERS, VETERANS, AND THEIR FAMILIES THROUGHOUT OUR COMMUNITY. IN 2023, 31.6% OF VETERANS SERVED WERE FEMALE; 62.4% BLACK/AFRICAN AMERICAN, 1.5% AMERICAN INDIAN/ALASKA NATIVE OR NATIVE HAWAIIAN/PACIFIC ISLANDER, 4.9% IDENTIFIED AS HISPANIC/LATINO. 1,371 CLIENTS HAD 2+ IDENTIFIED CO-OCCURRING NEEDS; 958 OF THESE CLIENTS WITH 2 OR MORE NEEDS DID NOT INCLUDE HOUSING SUPPORT AS ONE OF THEIR IDENTIFIED NEEDS. OF ALL CLIENTS SERVED IN 2023, 29.6% HAD MULTIPLE CO-OCCURRING NEEDS, EXCLUDING HOUSING REQUESTS.DATA FROM THE U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS SHOWED A 20% INCREASE IN VETERAN UNEMPLOYMENT IN 2023, RISING FROM 2.5% IN JANUARY TO 3.0% BY DECEMBER. ADDITIONALLY, RECENT REPORTS FROM LINKEDIN INDICATE THAT NEARLY ONE-THIRD OF VETERAN JOB SEEKERS ARE UNDEREMPLOYED, A RATE 15.6% HIGHER THAN THAT OF NON-VETERAN JOB SEEKERS. THROUGHOUT 2023, EMPLOYMENT REMAINED THE SECOND MOST REQUESTED SERVICE, ACCOUNTING FOR NEARLY 15% OF ALL SERVICE REQUESTS. IN RESPONSE TO THE GROWING NEED FOR VETERAN EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT AND TO ASSIST THOSE WHO ARE UNDEREMPLOYED, VBH ORGANIZED 21 CAREER NETWORKING EVENTS AND 331 SOCIAL ENRICHMENT OPPORTUNITIES. VBH CONNECTS MONTHLY WITH MORE THAN 1300 EMPLOYERS ACROSS THE CAROLINAS. VBH ALSO REACHED OUT TO OVER 1,200 VETERANS MONTHLY VIA DIRECT EMAIL AND SHARED EMPLOYMENT-RELATED CONTENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA, GENERATING AN AVERAGE OF 15,000 IMPRESSIONS PER MONTH.IN SEPTEMBER 2022, VBH WAS AWARDED ITS INITIAL GRANT FOR $750,000 FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO COUNTER VETERAN SUICIDE. THE STAFF SERGEANT PARKER GORDON FOX SUICIDE PREVENTION GRANT SUPPORTS COMMUNITY-BASED SUICIDE PREVENTION EFFORTS THROUGH OUTREACH, SUICIDE PREVENTION SERVICES, AND CONNECTION TO VA AND COMMUNITY RESOURCES. BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 2022 AND SEPTEMBER 2024, VBH CONNECTED WITH 22,687 SMVF WHO ATTENDED A TOTAL OF 727 EVENTS FOCUSED ON SUICIDE PREVENTION OUTREACH, RAISING AWARENESS OF RISKS OF VETERAN SUICIDE. VBH SCREENED 2,246 INDIVIDUALS TO DETERMINE AT-RISK SUICIDE IDEATION, AND IDENTIFIED 909 AT-RISK VETERANS WHO WERE THEN CONNECTED TO NEEDED MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT SERVICES.