After serving from 1963 to 1969, Kulju found a roof over his head in Bells Shelter, a Salvation Army-run facility that was his home for some time until he was housed in his current apartment through a program with the organization.
“It’s a good program,” Kulju said. “They helped me get into the apartment and gave me money for the deposit.”
To make his apartment feel more like a home, Major Judy Hedgren, Salvation Army social service/community coordinator, introduced Kulju to the Welcome Home Kit program.
The kit supplies military veterans with dishes, pots, pans, flatware, kitchen towels, utensils, bath towels, bath mats, a trash can, soap, a toothbrush holder and a $40 gift card to WalMart.
The program started in 2013, according to Hedgren, and every year since then, the Salvation Army tries to help approximately 100 veterans. From 2014 to 2015, the number of veterans helped has climbed from 65 to 135. As of press time, Hedgren said 75 veterans are already signed up for the program.
To receive aid from the Welcome Home Kit program, a veteran’s case worker must get in contact with the Salvation Army after the client is housed via the government’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program called HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH).
Since 2008, HUD and the Veterans Association (VA) have awarded HUD-VASH vouchers to veterans based on geographic needs and the quality of local public housing agencies.
Once the VA determines which areas of the country have the highest number of homeless veterans, it identifies its facilities in the area. HUD then selects housing agencies nearby to the identified facilities and sends the agencies invitations to apply for the vouchers.
Congress appropriated $50 million in 2011 to serve approximately 7,000 voucher families and $60 million in 2016 to serve approximately 8,000 families, according to HUD.gov.
Hedgren said she enjoys working closely with veterans.
[aesop_image imgwidth=”500px” img=”http://www.signaltribunenewspaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Screen-Shot-2016-11-03-at-3.51.45-PM.png” credit=”Infographic by Sebastian Echeverry” align=”right” lightbox=”on” caption=”Since the program’s introduction in 2013, the Salvation Army has aimed to help veterans with household essentials via the Welcome Home Kit program. The numbers above show how many veterans have benefited from the kits.” captionposition=”right” revealfx=”off”] “My husband served with the 82nd Airborne Division during the Vietnam War,” she said. “So, this morning, it was neat to talk to a veteran who served with the 101st Airborne Division during the same war. It was nice to talk about his experience.”
Hedgren said that a struggle veterans face when they get a new home is they don’t always know what they need to purchase for the home. The Salvation Army pre-purchases all the materials for the veterans and includes additional items if the veteran has kids to care for.
“At first, the program was just for female veterans and their children,” Hedgren said. “When I took over, I opened it up for the men as well.”
The items are purchased using the organization’s credit card. The money collected for the credit card comes from various donations and charity events.
The Salvation Army recently hosted a golf tournament to raise funds for the kit program.
“The more support we get, the more we can do,” Hedgren said.
With Christmas and other holidays quickly approaching, she said that donors can call the Salvation Army and request to specifically help military families. If people choose to help in that way, all proceeds go toward a veteran and his or her family. Hedgren said that the support from people helps maintain approximately 70 percent of veterans housed.
“Gosh, I was in shock with all the things they gave me,” Kulju said. “They gave me really nice stuff for my home. It helped me so much, I couldn’t believe it.”
He still makes visits to the Salvation Army’s facility, collects food from a food bank and keeps in contact with Hedgren.
Having traveled to different corners of the globe, Kulju said that the poverty he has seen in various countries is sickening and that even though the area in which his apartment is located isn’t the best, there is no other place like home.
Citizens can call Hedgren at (562) 247-3524 or email judy.hedgren@usw.salvationarmy.org to help with the organization’s program.
