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Promises Kept

"In the military...you learn pretty quickly that it doesn't matter what you say - it's what you do that matters. Nowhere has the contradiction between what politicians say and do been greater than in the area of caring for America's 75 million plus veterans, families, and surviving dependents..."

WHAT WE OWE OUR TROOPS, THEIR FAMILIES, AND OUR VETERANS

As a veteran, the son of a veteran, and the father of a veteran, Charlie Brown understands — first hand — the real cost of freedom. He knows that "supporting the troops" means providing them with proper training and equipment, sound intelligence to support clear missions, help for families separated by deployment, earned benefits, and seamless aftercare-no matter where or when it is needed--when our warriors come home.

THE ENDURING COST OF WAR

Wars don't end with the last shot of battle. Many veterans must overcome lasting physical and psychological injuries . Others face a daily struggle to access promised benefits and reconnect with the civilian world. There is almost no aspect of a veteran's life - their health, relationships, finances, education, or employment — that is not impacted in some way by their military experiences. And every veteran is trained and judged on self reliance, which means many who are struggling to the most won't seek out help until things reach a crisis point.

PROMISES NOT KEPT

The Walter Reed scandal was the tip of the iceberg in a longstanding, systemic pattern of neglect. A quarter of America's homeless are veterans - nearly 50,000 in California alone. Veterans are twice as likely to commit suicide (more here). Divorce (more here), child abuse , and substance abuse rates among veterans are sky high. And with the VA stretched to its breaking point, more than 600,000 veterans are waiting to have disability claims adjudicated, and still others are waiting months for medical appointments.

Politicians and others love to talk about “supporting the troops” at parades and rallies, but the truth is, the results simply don’t match the rhetoric. A promise made should be a promise kept. And to Charlie Brown, that means no veteran left behind.

WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY IS IT?

We are all responsible. Yes, government can do much more to streamline bureaucracy, expand service capacity and improve access to care-and Charlie will lead that fight in January of 2009. In the meantime, he will lead by example. VA professionals do great work with the limited resources they have, but the truth is, the VA is just one aspect of the multi-layered veterans aftercare system.

Non-Profit community based organizations do much of the heavy lifting in terms of filling in the gaps on outreach and service delivery, and those organizations count on support from the American public---not just during wartime, but long after the guns fall silent.

"...That's why in this campaign we will not wait until January of 2009 to make a difference. We're going to lead by example, by giving 5% of every dollar raised between now and election day to charities that serve veterans and families in need-here in the 4th District, and across the country..."

HOW OUR PROGRAM WORKS

Throughout the 2008 campaign, Brown for Congress will allocate 5% of every dollar raised to our Veterans Charity Challenge. We will identify both local and national organizations meeting critical veterans aftercare needs, and will describe their work on our website. We will then ask the public to learn more about them, and vote for their favorite. Funds will be distributed on an ongoing basis, and recipients will be listed on this page.

WHAT TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS QUALIFY?

Any non-profit organization can qualify for the program, provided they are not affiliated with any political party, and are providing real services to meet the aftercare needs of veterans and their families. We are most interested in programs working to address the transitional needs of OIF/OEF veterans, or veterans who are homeless (or at risk to become homeless), those in financial crisis, or those in need of substance abuse, mental health or family counseling services.

HOW CAN MY ORGANIZATION PARTICIPATE?

If you are a veterans service provider, please send a letter of interest, describing your program, and your needs to:

Promises Kept Veterans Charity Challenge
Charlie Brown for Congress
PO Box 368
Roseville, CA 95661

Please be sure to include a contact name, address, website address, and a 2-3 sentence description of your program that we can post on our website. Some of the organizations we've helped already include...

SACRAMENTO STAND DOWN & NEVADA COUNTY STAND DOWN ($11,000):

The Stand Down concept was first used during the Vietnam War as a way to provide a safe retreat, comraderie and access to services for units returning from combat operations. Today, Stand Down has proven a highly effective annual multi-day service model for reaching and empowering homeless veterans, by making a range of human services accessible at a single location in their communities-including VA Claims assistance, mental health services, legal aid, employment assistance, food, clothing, and connections to substance abuse and other transitional programs. The Sacramento and Nevada County Stand Down Programs each serve hundreds of local veterans in need each year. Click Here to learn more about Stand Downs here in CD4, and around the country.

HOSPITALITY HOUSE is a non-profit program in Nevada County servicing the homeless, working in collaboration with our local churches and other service organizations. More than 20% of Hospitality House guests last season were veterans, receiving a total of 890 shelter nights plus meals, clothing, medical attention and connection to social services.  http://www.hospitalityhouseshelter.org/

SIERRA COLLEGE VETERANS CLUB ($500):Nearly 200 Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom veterans are enrolled at nearby Sierra College in Rocklin. The VA expects that number to grow by more than 20% in the next year. Sierra College's veterans club was developed to help prevent the isolation of students transitioning from combat to college, and to help them more seamlessly connect with appropriate community services, and each other. The club has become nationally recognized for its success in providing our newest veterans with a safe and supportive environment to network, support fellow veterans who are struggling to heal, access scholarships and other assistance, educate the community about veterans readjustment issues, and connect with local veterans service programs. Read more about the Sierra College Veterans Club Here , and Here.

CARE PACKAGES FOR THE TROOPS ($2,137):  We packed and shipped more than 230 care packages to U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

THE GATHERING INN ($14,500):  Placer County's only emergency overnight homeless shelter, the Gathering Inn offers social, health and case management services that help residents become active and productive participants in our community. With a third of its residents being veterans of America's armed forces, the Gathering Inn works with our local veterans service officers to help homeless veterans connect with the permanent housing, medical, dental and other social services they need to get back on their feet: Learn more: http://www.thegatheringinn.com/.

FRANCIS HOUSE OF SACRAMENTO, RESOURCE COUNSELING CENTER ($9,500): Serves veterans and others who suffer poverty of body, mind or spirit. Francis House provides life-changing opportunities for area veterans through resource counseling, support groups, education, spiritual resources, referrals and direct services for transportation, ID's, shelter, and other needs. Many of Francis House clients are veterans and those numbers are growing as more of our men and women in uniform are welcomed home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Learn more: http://www.francishouse.info/

SOLDIERS ANGELS, SACRAMENTO VA COMMUNITY TEAM ($7,000): As a bridge between the Northern California VA Healthcare system and the community at large, the mission of Soldiers' Angels Sacramento Team is to reach out to Northern California veterans most often overlooked and forgotten through OPERATION LIFELINE---a project which involves distribution of toiletries and other sundries to wounded vets at VA Hospitals, adoption of Northern California Homeless Shelters and direct support to veterans in their care, assistance to veterans housed at Folsom State Prison, and any/all special requests made by veterans and military families in need. Learn More: http://www.directcon.net/lstanley/SacVASoldiersAngelshttp://www.soldiersangels.org/

COTTAGE HOUSING INC. ($19,500) creates healing residential communities where homeless people are able to support one another while accessing the full range of supportive services they need to make the transition from the streets to self-sufficiency. A significant number of Military veterans and their families are among the over 500 adults and children served annually. More than 75% of those enrolled in Cottage Housing's award-winning supportive housing programs graduate, and eighteen alumni have moved from homelessness to home ownership. Although inflation rose by 33.1% in the last decade since these projects opened, government funding sources have not provided a single cost-of-living adjustment. Funding from the Promises Kept Initiative is being used to offset the rising costs of Cottage Housing's services to homeless veterans. http://www.cottagehousing.org/

THE GREATER OROVILLE HOMELESS COALITION ($9,500): helps homeless families or those who are at risk of becoming homeless, acquire, access, or maintain safe, temporary or permanent shelter---often veterans, or women with children. GOHC is composed entirely of concerned community volunteers, with fully 100 percent of every donated dollar providing direct services to the homeless in our community. According to a recent homeless census conducted with the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, a majority of the thousands of Butte County's homeless population are military veterans, and with the help of Promises Kept Challenge funds, GOHC expects to serve several hundred during the coming year. gohc.home.comcast.net

REBUILD HOPE ($14,500) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to mobilizing individual Americans to improving the financial health of severely injured soldiers, veterans and their families during their transition from military to civilian life. Rebuild Hope operates the nationʼs only online financial support network that enables individual Americans to directly and efficiently donate money to pre-qualified beneficiaries who suffered life-altering injuries since September 11, 2001. The Rebuild Hope website displays the personal profiles of individuals who need financial assistance along with their specific unmet needs and enables donors to meet those needs--100% of the dollars designated by donors for beneficiaries are distributed to them. Veterans residing in District 4 (Modoc, Sierra, Plumas, Lassen, Butte, Nevada, El Dorado, Placer and Sacramento) will be given priority for all Veteran's Charity Challenge Funds.   http://www.rebuildhope.org/

But we're not stopping there. I'm calling on every candidate in any party, running for every level of elected office, to do much more than just say they "support our troops," by joining us in this effort to truly "leave no veteran behind."

CAMPAIGN SPENDING IN PERSPECTIVE

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, in 2006, Candidates for federal offices spent $1.5 billion, and in 2004, (the last Presidential year) they spent $2 billion. In 2006, Candidates for State office and their committees spent $2.6 billion. By almost every estimate, Federal campaign spending in 2008 is expected to dwarf spending in 2004. Much of that spending will finance tv ads, websites, and mailers designed to show how much candidates support our troops, our military, our veterans, or some combination thereof.

VETERANS SERVICES SPENDING IN PERSPECTIVE

According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, VA programs and spending serve approximately 100,000 of the nearly 500,000 veterans experiencing homelessness in the course of a year-providing approximately 15,000 beds at VA facilities, as well as counseling, benefits and medical care. The cost is between $200 and $250 million — much of it allocated in grants to non-profit community organizations nationwide.

WHAT IF EVERY CANDIDATE ANSWERED CHARLIE'S CHALLENGE

If 2008 campaign spending matched 2006 spending on state races, and 2004 spending on federal races, the total would be $4.6 billion. If everyone gave 5% to charity, that would raise a minimum of $230 million. That would be enough to match current VA spending on homeless veterans services, for example, enabling community based providers to help an additional 100,000 homeless veterans annually.