Bob Woodruff Family Foundation Awards $100,000 to Jericho Project for Homeless Veterans

Bob Woodruff Family Foundation Awards $100,000 to Jericho Project for Homeless
Veterans

NEW YORK, May 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Bob Woodruff Family
Foundation has awarded a $100,000 grant to the Jericho Project for use in
serving veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who have sustained
Traumatic Brain Injury and/or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The Jericho
Project, a nonprofit leader in solving homelessness, is breaking ground later
this year on the first of two Veterans Residences in the Bronx, New York, to
deliver permanent supportive housing and comprehensive counseling services to
low-income and homeless veterans.
"This generous grant will enable us to focus additional resources on those
veterans who are struggling with the often invisible effects of Traumatic
Brain Injury and PTSD," said Jericho Executive Director Tori Lyon. "Our work
will help those who are homeless to reunite with their families and reenter
the society that they sacrificed so much to defend."
For many troops, war-induced trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are
leading to a cascade of financial dislocation, family estrangement and
homelessness. Extended tours and intensive violence abroad accelerate these
effects and threaten to deepen the national disgrace that one-in-four homeless
individuals is a veteran.
"Even though doctors can repair a body, veterans often need more help in
putting their lives back together. By tackling a complex issue with
intelligent and compassionate strategies, the Jericho Project will enable
low-income and homeless veterans from the War in Iraq and Afghanistan to
regain their sense of self and community," said Rene Bardorf, Executive
Director of the Bob Woodruff Family Foundation.
Jericho's Veterans Initiative is the latest in a series of innovations
introduced at its recent 25th Anniversary Gala, Where Hope Finds a Home, which
honored Senator Bob Dole for his work on behalf of veterans, as well as other
nonprofit and individual leaders, including the Bob Woodruff Family
Foundation, that address the root causes of homelessness, especially among
veterans.
The event raised over $525,000 for Jericho, including $300,000
specifically earmarked for the Veterans Initiative.
After being nearly killed in early 2006 by a roadside bomb in Iraq,
journalist Bob Woodruff and his family were determined to shed light on the
challenges injured service members, veterans and their families face.
Together with his family, he created The Bob Woodruff Family Foundation to
raise awareness of "signature injuries" of the war -- traumatic brain injury
and combat stress -- and assist the injured as they navigate their road to
recovery. Today, the Foundation works with private industry and government to
promote excellence in education, prevention, treatment, support and resources
for the injured and their families as they reintegrate back into their
communities.
Jericho's Veterans Initiative will be designed to meet the unique needs of
homeless and low-income individuals who have served in the nation's armed
forces. It will draw upon Jericho's highly effective model of supportive
housing and counseling services that stress recovery, employment, and
graduation to independent living. The Jericho Veterans Residences will
feature small studio apartments, staff offices, a community room, a computer
lab, and a garden.
Although veterans are disproportionately represented among homeless adults
in the New York City shelter system, there are only two supportive housing
projects for veterans currently in operation in New York City. According to
the The Homelessness Research Institute, the research and education arm of the
National Alliance to End Homelessness, veterans comprise 26 percent of the
homeless population, despite the fact that they represent only 11 percent of
the civilian adult population, and as a group typically have a lower poverty
rate than the general population.
The Jericho Veterans Residences include its first location at 355 East
194th Street in the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx, and its newly announced
second location at Kingsbridge Terrace in the Bronx. Jericho expects to begin
construction on the first residence in 2008 and open the doors in early 2010.
An architectural rendering has been completed by HOK architects. The second
residence is slated to open in 2011.
About the Jericho Project:
Established 25 years ago, the Jericho Project provides permanent,
supportive housing to 253 men and women in Manhattan and the Bronx through
five meticulously-managed housing projects. The Jericho Project's holistic
counseling treats the root causes of homelessness and supports its residents
in approaching the financial, vocational, educational, medical, and emotional
challenges that may have overwhelmed them in the past. Although Jericho offers
its services as long as residents need them, its success is rooted in its
culture of "moving on," illustrated by its active alumni network of some 200
"graduates" who demonstrate that dignified, productive independence can be in
everyone's future.
Of those who graduate, 96 percent over the last two years have moved into
stable housing; 66 percent are employed at an average salary of over $10.00
per hour, with the remainder using government benefits; and only 5 percent
experienced relapse.
For more information please visit www.jerichoproject.org
About Bob Woodruff Family Foundation:
Established under the auspices of the Brain Injury Association in early
2007, the Bob Woodruff Family Foundation (BWFF) became an independent 501(c) 3
in January 2008. BWFF provides resources and support to injured service
members, veterans and their families, with special attention to the signature
hidden injuries of war -- traumatic brain injury and combat stress. BWFF
raises awareness and educates the public on the signature injuries of war,
provides direct charitable and individual giving through community based
initiatives, and works collaboratively with private industry and government to
promote excellence in education, prevention, treatment, support and resources
for our nation's injured.
For more information please visit www.bobwoodrufffamilyfund.org
SOURCE Jericho Project

Lynthia Romney, RomneyCom L.L.C., +1-914-238-2145, romneycom@aol.com