Wounded Warrior Project Awards Grant to Rocky Mountain Human Services
WWP Grant Program Broadens Network of Support and Services for Injured Service Members
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., June 11, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Rocky Mountain Human Services (RMHS) has received a grant from Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) to provide intensive job coaching and peer mentoring to veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. This program's overarching goals are to prepare veterans for civilian employment, provide support on the challenges they will face during employment, and assist employers in creating a work environment that is supportive of veterans.
The program educates employers on issues that many veterans experience, including post-traumatic stress; brain injury; accommodations for disabilities (e.g., mobility restrictions, anxiety, and light sensitivity); challenges associated with the transition to a civilian workplace; and how to educate other employees regarding military culture and common disabilities. In support of their transition to civilian employment, the program also offers one-on-one job coaching for veterans with significant challenges to achieving stable employment, and one-on-one peer mentoring of veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
"Meaningful employment serves many purposes," said Dr. Erin Wilkinson, retired US Army Lt. Colonel and Director of Military & Veteran Programs at RMHS. "It provides veterans with financial resources, but it also provides a sense of accomplishment and dignity. Employment can restore pride. For many veterans, particularly those with visible and invisible wounds, the barriers to employment can be substantial and the transition overwhelming."
WWP's Grant Program, now in its fourth year, is expanding the availability of programs and services that provide support to this generation of injured service members. RMHS' Military and Veteran's Programs serve military personnel, along with their families, who are wounded, unemployed, or in need of safe, stable housing. The Military and Veteran's Programs provide assistance annually to more than 1,800 Colorado veterans across the state.
"Working together with these excellent organizations, we are expanding and strengthening the network of support we can provide to our warriors, free of charge," said Steve Nardizzi, chief executive officer at WWP. "Side by side with WWP, our grant recipients are creating and deploying critically needed, specialized programs and services across the country, ensuring that no warrior falls through the cracks."
WWP focuses on providing grants to organizations that operate in underserved areas or provide services outside the scope of WWP's 20 free programs and services. RMHS' Military and Veteran's Program was selected as a grant recipient because it delivers services that improve the health, self-sufficiency and overall quality of life for individuals impacted by the visible and invisible wounds of war. Addressing the critical aspect of employment barriers is a funding priority that WWP selected based on direct feedback from injured veterans in WWP's Annual Alumni Survey. Since 2010, WWP has been using survey data to identify gaps in existing services and support. The results help WWP gauge the top issues that injured veterans, their families, and caregivers struggle with as they transition from military to civilian life.
It is estimated that over 50,000 servicemen and women have been physically injured in recent military conflicts; another 320,000 have experienced a traumatic brain injury while on deployment, and as many as 400,000 additional service members live with the invisible wounds of war, including combat-related stress, major depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
For more information on WWP's Grant Program and a description of the grant recipients, please visit 2015 WWP Grant Program.
Get social! Follow WWP on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/wwp), Twitter (@WWP), Instagram (https://instagram.com/wwp/) and Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/user/WoundedWarriorProjec), and Rocky Mountain Human Services on www.rmhumanservices.org/mvp, Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/RMHumanServices), and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/RMHumanServices) to see how we're working together to honor and empower Wounded Warriors.
About Rocky Mountain Human Services
Rocky Mountain Human Services (RMHS) specializes in human services expertise to improve the health, self-sufficiency and overall quality of life for individuals who face challenges from developmental delays, cognitive and intellectual impairments, brain injuries, aging or social conditions. RMHS' mission is to serve humanity, provide opportunity and encourage a world of compassion and hope. By providing resources, care coordination, training, direct services and technical expertise to over 10,000 individuals, families, nonprofit organizations and government agencies, Rocky Mountain Human Services delivers unsurpassed human services to the western region of the United States. For more information on Rocky Mountain Human Services visit: www.rmhumanservices.org
About Wounded Warrior Project
The mission of Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors. WWP's purpose is to raise awareness and to enlist the public's aid for the needs of injured service members, to help injured servicemen and women aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs. WWP is a national, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. To get involved and learn more, visit woundedwarriorproject.org.
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SOURCE Wounded Warrior Project
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