We firmly believe that no Veteran should experience homelessness. In 2011, HOM, Inc. began partnering with the Arizona Department of Veterans Services and Arizona Veterans Supportive Services to assist Arizona Veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF/OIF) to secure and maintain affordable, decent, and safe housing in our community. The Transition in Place (TIP) program assists eligible Veterans in the payment of rental application fees and security deposits and six months of rental assistance for rental units in the community.

The TIP program provides our nation’s heroes housing stability while they transition into civilian life. Veterans work with Arizona Veterans Supportive Services to find employment, apply for benefits, receive medical care, and work toward full self sufficiency. The Transition in Place (TIP) program is funded through the Arizona Military Family Relief Fund to assist Arizona Veterans.

Following is a letter we received from a service member that we recently assisted in the program.

I want to thank you, and everyone at HOM Incorporated that is helping Veterans like myself get back on our feet. Thanks to your hard work and dedication, I have a place I can call home for the first time in almost three months. It’s hard to describe how mentally and physically difficult it is to be homeless, the level of despair it creates, and the feeling of hopelessness I experienced on a daily basis is hard to describe. It’s virtually impossible to find a job when you have to explain to a potential employer, that the reason the address line on a resume or application is blank, is because you are living in your car. Simple tasks like showering and doing laundry, things I once took for granted, become tremendous stressors when you’re always trying to figure out where you can go “tomorrow” to get these types of things done. I now have a closet to walk into to find clothes for the day, instead of looking through a suitcase trying to see what I have left that’s clean.

My kids wanted to see my new apartment…I never told them I was living in my car, because I told them I’m now in a place that has enough room for them to come and stay with me on the weekend. I am able to put on a pretty good “public face,” so they never knew how hard it was to get through some days, and they will probably never know me in a different way than they always have, despite all the changes that have taken place. They’re not sure why I’m so happy to be in a place that doesn’t have beds and furniture like their house does, but I feel a level of gratitude that’s indescribable!

I want to thank you for working so hard, even though there are others that don’t, because without it, I would still be in my car today. I was greeted with respect, and thanked for my military service by the woman working the front desk, and watched as you went to work to personally help me have a place to call home. You even gave me your extension so I could contact you directly to work through all the small things that came up during this process. I have gotten used to individuals telling me they will do their job, and then doing the opposite as soon as they were done talking to me, but that has never been the case with anyone I’ve dealt with at HOM, Inc. You are true professionals!!

Again, I want to thank you for helping me! I have never needed it before, but am forever indebted to you and all those involved with this program!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!