KANSAS CITY, Mo. - - Just like how the leaves change in the fall, U.S. Army veteran Willie Fleming Jr. is altering, too.
" I'm on my method up," he stated.
He served in the Army from 1986-1989 but stated he got a respectable difficulty discharge to help his mommy who was passing away of cancer. From there, things got hard.
" It was just generally trials and adversities of life," he stated. "I had my own company and after that a great deal of things went wrong, so I had to start over."
Fleming wound up homeless years later, something an estimated 40,000 U.S. veterans will experience in 2023, per the Department of Veterans Affairs, in addition to nearly 500 veterans in Missouri.
That's how he arrived at Benilde Hall in
Kansas City's eastside.
The organization assists more than 160 veterans each year through its 3 various programs.
Benilde Hall's objective is to offer services for dealing with substance use condition, psychological health and homelessness, so individuals can go back to the community as accountable, used and permanently housed contributing members of society.
At any given time, 55 beds are readily available to veterans whether they require aid with real estate or getting rid of dependency.
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Veterans like Fleming get to Benilde Hall through the VA's office, which figures out which of the three programs they're taken into: Grant and Per Diem, Emergency Bed or Safe Haven.
The last two programs are housing-first designs, indicating their leading priority is helping veterans enter into permanent real estate.
" Our veterans have actually certainly given a lot, and to be able to give in return, that's just a lovely thing," said Hannah Bradley, the organization's medical director.
Fleming just sent an application for an apartment Wednesday, so he wishes to be on his own within the month - - something he knows would not be possible without the services supplied at Benilde Hall.
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"It's a blessing more than anything because I would not really understand how to truly get there from here," he said.
Benilde Hall gets federal financing each year, including $400,000 from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which it used to produce a brand-new onsite building to supply 8 veterans with their own room and restroom.
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