VetREN QUARTERLY: Summer 2020 Spotlight on Veteran Enriched Neighborhoods®

SUMMER 2020

VetREN QUARTERLY

A Spotlight on Veteran Enriched Neighborhoods®

Our Services

VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS

Military Children's Drumming

Our Children's Drumming workshops are a huge hit with our Military families! These workshops are energetic and give the children a creative outlet for learning and increasing their self-confidence.

Military Spouse's Workshops

In our most recent Military Spouse workshops, the focus has been on Needs. At left you can see the beautiful "Personal Needs Tree" that one of the spouses has created.

Starting at the roots, with the most basic needs, and growing all the way to the leaves for important but less foundational needs. These workshops allow the spouses to focus on themselves, their families, and what they are feeling while creating the art. This helps the spouses to process, think, and talk about their emotions.

Events and Builds

Our Women’s Empowerment Build is on the Calendar!

Due to current circumstances with COVID -19, we have pivoted this event to our first ever WE Build WEEK! This will be an in-person, socially distanced event, limited to 50 participants per day. We have 10 acres and so many exciting things to do that we will easily be able to keep participants in groups of less than ten people. We are very excited about this version of our traditional WE Build. WE can come together safely and make a difference for Veterans!

WE BUILD WEEK

September 12-18th

(spots limited to 50 participants)

12th 8:00 am- 11:30 am

13th 8:00 am- 11:30 am

14th 4:30 pm- 8:00 pm

15th 4:30 pm- 8:00 pm

16th 4:30 pm- 8:00 pm

17th 4:30 pm- 8:00 pm

18th 4:30 pm- 8:00 pm

October 2, 2020

7:00 pm- 8:30 pm

Please join us for a dynamic evening exploring the power of art and raising funds to build the homes and lives of our Veterans.

The artwork that will be displayed at this Veteran Art Show is a small sampling of the artwork created by veterans and military families in our program.

They are proud to have these on display in hopes of helping other veterans cope, helping civilians to better understand military life, and in hopes of creating a better future for all military families.

Your contributions will be used to purchase beautiful art pieces, to support this trauma informed program and to build 56 new homes for Veterans.

Trauma-Informed art is different than clinical or other types of therapy. They use childlike materials intentionally so that they can focus on the process of what they are feeling while they are creating. This program is a tool to help the veterans to process, think, and talk about their emotions in a non-invasive setting.

Each of the art works are done in our My Trauma Informed Military Enrichment (My TIME®) program. The workshops follow a theme but also allow for freedom in how the individual might process differently than others.

We use materials like crayons, sharpies, construction paper, magazines, cut out paper heads, ribbon, beads, and more. These materials are also things that people will likely have easy access to around their home or at a low cost so that they can continue to create outside of our workshops and use therapeutic art as a tool in their daily lives to work-through and talk with their families and other veterans in their Enriched Neighborhood or larger community.

We partnered with experts in the therapeutic art field to create this program and then added our components that are specific to Homes 4 Families expertise on military families. Each workshop is carefully tailored to have inclusive military terms and recognize the blended family dynamics unique to the military.

Construction Update

In Palmdale we are installing curbs, gutter, sidewalks, and streets! Stay tuned for vertical construction this fall!l!l

Our Projects

WELCOMING OUR VETERANS

We are excited to introduce you to the newest family in our Palmdale Veteran Enriched Neighborhood; Mike and Anna Reyes, and their adorable son.

If you or any veteran you know wants to apply for our program, click here!

The Wendy Doss Orchard

The garden in our Santa Clarita Veteran Enriched Neighborhood® is looking so lovely this year. We just had to share our joy that the garden in honor of such a wonderful person continues to grow.

Our Mentors

VETERANS HELPING VETERANS

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

― Fred Rogers

During this time of unprecedented challenges our Santa Clarita Veteran Mentors have stepped up to aid their neighbors in substantial ways. For two Saturdays, they held a free Drive-Thru Hot Dog Lunch for Veterans and their families. This collaboration was generously sponsored by Santa Clarita Grocery led by Bradley Grose, along with the volunteer group the Guardians, comprised of Veterans, Firefighters and Law Enforcement, and aided by American Legion Post 507 and VFW Post 6885. In addition to the Saturday lunches, there are also grocery boxes for any Veterans in need that are given out. Two of the Guardians, Dave Narvell and Dan Paulson, are also Veteran Mentors for our Santa Clarita Community.

Our New My TIME® Center in Palmdale

We are all set up at our new Palmdale My TIME® Center. In addition to our previous center's amenities, we are excited to have a dedicated space for our longtime collaborators Vets4Veterans and look forward to partnering with them as we build our neighborhood in Palmdale!

Meet Our Newest Staff Member!

Alejandro Castillo is the new Military Enrichment Manager at the Palmdale My TIME® Center. He conducts the enrichment programs and assists Veterans and their families with any questions they may have. Alejandro is a Veteran of the Marine Corps and was part of the Sylmar Veteran Enriched Neighborhood®. We are thrilled to have him on the Homes 4 Families team!

In Memory of Tom Hilzendeger

Tom Hilzendeger, a Vietnam War veteran, founded Vets4Veterans in 2010. A support group, the organization raises funds for scholarships for veterans attending community college and provides resources for basic amenities for veterans in need.

We at Homes 4 Families are honored to have known Tom and look forward to continuing to work with the organization he founded and uphold the ideals he strove for. Tom will be honored in our Palmdale Veteran Enriched Neighborhood® with a beautiful bench and plaque in his memory.

Run 4 Vets Challenge

Always wanted to run a full Marathon?

You have four weeks to finish your marathon from the date you register. That’s 6.5 miles per week (or less than a mile per day).

Are you more interested in posting your personal best? Sign up for our 5K or 10K.

Regular exercise is important in boosting your immune system, as well as staying happy and healthy. The COVID Challenge Virtual Run is a great way to stay active and become part of a team…our Homes 4 Families Family!

Did you know that in the military a challenge coin is given to challenge and enhance morale. This coin is usually given to a person for a special achievement. Earn yours today by supporting Low-Income Veterans through doing what you love!

Run or walk your way to supporting Veteran housing and wrap-around services.

An Easy Way To Give

With so many of us staying home and relying on online shopping, please consider adding Homes 4 Families as your Amazon Smile designation. It costs absolutely nothing and we appreciate you taking the time to give in both big and small ways to our organization.