The help came as an odd mix of coffee and appliances. However, the donations fit the needs of TLS’ newest programs.

Coffee—three cases or the equivalent of 7,500 cups—went to a drop-in center where veterans and members of military families can sip some java and use the power of talk to overcome challenges of military life. A freezer will be used in conjunction with food giveaways held at the center each and every month.

A washer, dryer and stove—used but dependable—went to a farm house leased by TLS in partnership with St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in McHenry.  The farm house is for graduates of a TLS program for homeless veterans who have found a job but still struggle financially.

As for HOH: The all-volunteer group was formed by realtors with the notion that they wanted “to do something for those who protect us,” said Kathleen Ricketts Hager, chairman of the board. Hager herself donates 25 hours a week to the cause.

TLS thanks HOH for its donations. For more on the group, go to http://www.helpingourheroes.org/

Perhaps you belong to a social or civic organization that would be interested in holding a fundraiser to help veterans. Click here for event planning fundamentals, including ideas to get you started.

Contact TLS’ at 815-334-0540 or info@tlsveterans.org for more information.

Erica Borggren, the recently appointed director of Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, is slated to attend. Warriors’ Watch, a motorcycle group with mission to honor our nation’s warriors and to support their families, is expected. Nero, a bomb-detecting dog that served in Iraq and saved many lives, will appear.

The LM-VFS drop-in center serves as a hub for a Lake-McHenry County initiative to transform the way services that address the emotional well being of veterans and their families are delivered.

“There’s a pressing need to respond to the prevalence of post traumatic stress among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans,” Belcher said.  “The aftermath of serving in combat can be devastating. It affects not only the soldier but his family and community at large.”

The initiative is being led by a consumer-driven governance council in conjunction with the Lake County Health Department and the McHenry County Mental Health Board. It is funded through a grant from the federal government’s Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration and involves a network of community-service agencies. The program is entering its second year.

For details on the open house, call 815-322-2620.

VFS worker carries food to a car.

Each month, scores of veterans and military families can receive food assistance through a mobile pantry that visits the Lake-McHenry Veterans and Family Services’ drop-in center in McHenry, Illinois.

The visits are a collaborative effort: The mobile pantry is a Northern Illinois Food Bank program. TLS, a partner agency in the NIFB distribution network, sponsors the visits. McHenry County Veterans Assistance Commission screens for families in need of food assistance. Volunteers from TLS, the VAC and AmeriCorps help with distribution.

The need for visits was based on factors that include:

Unemployment among veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars is higher than the rest of the population, according to U.S. Labor Department data released in April.
Military assistance groups acknowledge that troops and their families are grappling with hidden wounds in the aftermath of 10 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. These include financial pressures related to multiple deployments.
McHenry County has 2,637 unemployed veterans, according to data collected last February for a homeless veterans’ summit.
Of the 202 homeless people surveyed in McHenry County last January, 51 were veterans.

The mobile pantry offers nutritious foods, including meat and produce. Visits can serve up to 250 households and are planned year-round at the VFS resource center (5330 Elm St., McHenry, Illinois).

Veterans and military families can call the VAC at 815-334-4229 to see if you are eligible to participate.

Lake-McHenry Veterans and Family Services is an initiative of the Lake County Health Department and the McHenry County Mental Health Board. Its overarching goal is to better provide for the well being of veterans, military members and their families. It is funded through the federal government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

For details, call 815-322-2620.

AmeriCorps volunteers at a pantry visit in July.

TLS workers accept donations from Snap-on Tools employees for a group home for veterans.

TLS thanks employees at Snap-on Tools in Crystal Lake for their donation drive that has helped TLS transform a farm house in rural McHenry into a group home for formerly homeless veterans.

Snap-on employees donated a van full of dishes, towels, coffee and other items that will be used by veterans who have decided to take part in TLS’ new supportive housing program.

St. Paul Episcopal Church in McHenry is leasing the home to TLS.  The program will be open to graduates of New Horizons, TLS’ transitional-living program in Hebron.

The charity drive was part of Snap-On’s Blue Jean Day in which employees can wear denims if they donate an item from a wish list. Snap-on chose TLS as the recipient for July, 2011.

A big hit among veterans unloading the van: Snap-on coffee mugs featuring the American flag.

Please call the VAC at 815-334-4229 to see if you are eligible and for time and date of visits.

Up to 10,000 pounds of meat, produce, non-perishable food and other products will be delivered each time the pantry stops at the center (5330 W. Elm St., McHenry, Illinois).

Participants will be invited to select items that best meet their nutritional and personal preferences.

Questions? Please call 815-322-2620 or 815-334-0540.

When a service member is deployed for an extended period, stress for everyone around that service member is natural. Returning home is usually a joy-filled time but there frequently is a readjustment period after the initial reunion because not only has the service member has changed, the family has changed too.

Come in, have a cup of coffee and talk with others who are having similar experiences. Share your coping tactics or learn from others.

For details, call 815-322-2620 or 815-334-0540.

The initiative’s major goals are to reduce veteran homelessness, suicide prevention and reduction of hospitalizations by transforming the way services are delivered.

“Everyday, American military families cope with stress of multiple deployments and the fear that a loved one may be in harm’s way,” said Alan Belcher, TLS’ executive director. “A veteran may return home trying to fit into society but can’t because he has been forever changed by the trauma of war.”

The effort is being led a consumer-driven governance council in conjunction with the Lake County Health Department and the McHenry County Mental Health Board. It is funded through a five-year, $3.6 million grant from the federal government’s Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration.

TLS’ role will include operating a gathering place for military families planned to open in McHenry in spring. Services will be offered through TLS, Pioneer Center for Human Services and Family Service and Community Mental Health Center and are to include case management, peer-to-peer mentoring and professional counseling.

Call TLS at 815-334-0540 for details. Below is a link to a Chicago Tribune story about the initiative:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/northnorthwest/ct-x-n-health-veterans-funding-20101208,0,5079477.story

The assessment is based on an annual report HUD provides to Congress and explores in depth the demographics of veterans who are homeless, how the numbers of veterans compare to others who are homeless and how veterans access and use the nation’s homeless response system. HUD’s report, Veteran Homelessness: A Supplement to the 2009 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, examines the data in the department’s annual report to Congress in-depth.

“With our federal, state and community partners working together, more veterans are moving into safe housing,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “But we’re not done yet. Providing assistance in mental health, substance abuse treatment, education and employment goes hand-in-hand with preventive steps and permanent supportive housing. We continue to work towards our goal of finding every veteran safe housing and access to needed services.”

Last June, President Obama announced the nation’s first comprehensive strategy to prevent and end homelessness, that puts the country on a path to end veterans and chronic homelessness by 2015.

Jewett is a retired lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy. He now is working to spread the word about mesothelioma (asbestos cancer) among veterans. He is the executive director of the Veterans Assistance Network and a veteran liaison for the Mesothelioma Center.

Mesothelioma attacks the lining of the lungs, heart and abdomen. Symptoms of the disease—shortness of breath, severe cough, chest pain—may not appear for 20 years or more. Consequently, mesothelioma is often diagnosed in its later stages when treatment is complex.

There are roughly 25-million living veterans, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Hundreds of thousands may have been exposed to asbestos.

The Navy was the primary branch to use the toxic material, starting in the 1930s and stopping sometime in the mid-1970s. Every ship and shipyard built during that period was fitted with materials containing the product.

The Mesothelioma Center’s Web site, http://www.asbestos.com, provides a complete list occupations, ships and shipyards that could have put veterans at risk for developing the disease.

“They have thousands of articles,” Jewett wrote.

In addition, Asbestos.com’s Veterans Assistance Department can answer questions about asbestos-related illnesses and help with VA claims and other benefits. For an electronic submission form, go to http://www.asbestos.com/va-claim.php.

Asbestos.com is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

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