4-H Fishing Club helps HVAF of Indiana
March 16, 2017Bike donation helps homeless veteran at HVAF
March 24, 2017HVAF Case Manager connects veteran with services
“I’ve always been the type of person who wanted acceptance to make sure people were taken care of,” Ellen M. said. She served in the Army from 1990- 2013. Ellen wanted to be a part of something bigger than herself—the military. She was looking for a purpose in life. Her story about choosing the Army is interesting. Originally, Ellen wanted to join the Air Force. She went to Danville, IL to the recruiting station and the Air Force recruiters were off to lunch. An Army recruiter approached her and the rest is history. Ellen appreciated the cohesiveness of the Army. She faced many challenges, especially after she started to have kids. The military helped her learn research skills, which lead to her research veteran support organizations. Since Ellen started having trouble paying her rent last November, she turned to the Military Family Relief Fund and other resources to help her out. The Military Family Relief Fund referred her to HVAF. Although Ellen was never homeless, she believes she would be homeless without HVAF’s efforts. Adam Velazquez, her case manager, went above and beyond to help Ellen out. “He connected with me and got me help right away,” she said. Ellen currently works at Aspire/InteCare and Great Clips on the weekends.