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The War Cry | NOVEMBER 2015
T
he Salvation Army's Heartland Division, head-
quartered in Peoria, Illinois, is home to veterans
programming that has grown from one man's
desire to help homeless veterans into the thriv-
ing Veterans Outreach Center.
Bob Johnson began running a
breakfast program for homeless
men in Peoria as a volunteer in
2004. Learning that many of the
men who came were veterans, he
often spent his own money to help
them. A Marine Corps veteran him-
self, he longed to do more.
In 2005, The Salvation Army em-
ployed Johnson as an outreach
worker to help veterans get the as-
sistance they needed to become self-
sufficient. Knowing that space was
limited but the need great, Johnson
lined up community support for a
veterans' assistance center.
With Johnson's drive and sup-
port from at least 13 organizations
and groups--including the Military
Order of the Purple Heart, Habitat
for Humanity, Sears retirees, the
Kyle Harrell Memorial fund, local
businesses and anonymous do-
nors--a former storage facility was
identified and and renovated. Vol-
unteers, many of them military vet-
erans, did much of the remodeling.
The Salvation Army of-
ficially opened the Veter-
ans Outreach Center in
Peoria on November 10,
2011, the anniversary of
the Marine Corps.
The center launched
with the immediate goal
of helping veterans navi-
gate through the U.S. De-
partment of Veterans
Affair's entities to file for
disability claims, select healthcare
plans, and more. The center has
since become a Supportive Services
for Veterans and their Families
(SSVF) Grantee, expanding its work
to include both veteran service of-
ficers and SSVF case managers.
The center provides private coun-
seling, meeting rooms for group ses-
sions and workshops, casework
services and computers to assist
with r�sum� writing and job
searches. Run by volunteers, the
center complements other commu-
nity services by meeting needs not
addressed elsewhere.
A vet�to�vet peer group meets
each week and a weekly Bible study
is held for anyone want-
ing to attend.
"The very essence of
what we do is to try and
improve the quality of
life for those we serve,
and that certainly is
borne out by the work
the staff at the Veterans
Outreach Center has
provided for so many vet-
erans," said Major Kelly
Collins, divisional commander for
the Heartland Division.
Director Dennis Ward came to
the center after hearing about it
from Rich Glavin, who worked as a
veterans' service officer alongside
Johnson. "Rich came and gave a
talk to our Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder support group, and shortly
D
I G
N
I T
Y
T H
A N
K S
Serving
O u r
VetS
R E
S P
E C
T
O u r
on the
RIGHT
PEOPLE
Centered
According to one vet,
(the late) Bob Johnson,
Dennis Ward and Rich
Glavin are "a big
reason why this
place works."
RICH
DRAEGER
Case worker
Stephanie Sanchez.
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