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INTRODUCTION TO THE SANCTUARY PROJECT With description by John Harris of NC-DHHS The Sanctuary Project is a
non-profit corporation whose purpose is to create a Veterans
Recovery Center and Community in Duplin County NC. It consists of approximately
130 acres bordering the NC-903 at I-40 exit 373. The new community will serve Wounded Veterans and their families, and Senior Citizens. Services and facilities will
include o- Veteran's
Shelter and Recovery Center with rehabilitation facilities o- Independent
and Assisted Living Apartments and services o- Day-care for
Seniors and Children o- Auditorium
for Concerts, Lectures and Social Events o- Sports Center
including Indoor-Outdoor swimming pool. o- Ancillary
services including Vocational Rehabilitation Classrooms; Dining room and
Kitchens; Launderette; Internet Cafe; Library; Non-Denominational Chapel;
Mechanic and Carpentry shop and Park and Picnic Area o- Mixed
Residential Areas: Town Houses, Garden Apartments and small businesses o- Boardwalks
beside 10-acre lake and in wetlands nature reserve o- Bus station
and parking o- Franchise
development areas ++++++++++++++++++ Detailed description - by John W. Harris of the NC-DHHS The Military and Veterans Rural Community Reintegration Project (MVRP) Executive Summary
With the fiscal support of rural, homeless, incarcerated, women veterans and faith-based VA departments, the program can successfully reintegrate military, veterans and wounded warriors back in to their HudZone communities. The project will serve as an information and rural Veterans development resource for community organizations and government entities that are planning to Implement such programs, or are exploring ways to enhance the programs they already administer.
Critical System Components Though the geo-political locations, organizational structure and populations served by this program vary widely, there are several critical components that are Important to its growth and overall success:
Community Collaboration - The MVRP program is designed to serve all wounded warriors active duty, veterans, national guard and reserves facing a multitude of barriers to reintegration, and their needs most often include the entire continuum of support: immediate access to emergency shelter, food, clothing, personal hygiene facilities, medic4l care, dental care, mental health assessment and services, transitional housing, transportation assistance, personal development counseling, legal aid, and employment readiness and placement services. No single organization or government agency can provide all of these services. The MVRP program will enter Into contracts or detailed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with local government agencies and community and faith-based service providers to support their reintegration support program.
Comprehensive Employment and Vocational Supports Those Veterans deemed capable of re-entering the workforce are assisted in obtaining and maintaining suitable employment consistent with the Veteran's rehabilitation plan. This includes job readiness assistance; resume development, development of interview skills, job placement services, and post-placement follow-up, coordination with State workforce development personnel, and coordination with VR&E Counselors and Employment Coordinators. At every stage, contract counselors will consider and recommend additional services needed, including but not limited to: Remedial or developmental instruction, personal or adjustment counseling; adaptive equipment or assistive technology; independent living services; medical services; financial services, etc.; and/or other benefits from the VA, State vocational rehabilitation programs, and/or community programs.
The Contractor will establish employment objectives and outline career counseling/education required to achieve the educational/vocational goals. The following training, rehabilitation, and employment needs shall be addressed by the Contractor for service members and Veterans receiving services from the Chapter 36 program: (1) Vocational testing to include assessment of academic functioning, interests, aptitudes, and abilities. (2) Vocational and medical history, including assessment of transferable skills from military to civilian careers, along with consideration of the labor market the Veteran or service member will be entering; (3) Vocational exploration results in assisting the service member or Veteran to develop educational and employment goals, including steps necessary to achieve those goals and academic and/or adjustment counseling.
Comprehensive Military and Veterans Mentoring - It may seem like stating the obvious, but there is a tremendous difference between preparing someone for community reintegration and actually ensuring they are integrated. MVRP mentoring along with its E-mentoring service will successfully support veterans navigating through the Immediate barriers of employment, poverty, need for vocational training, legal problems and disabilities - is only the beginning. Approaching a potential employer with clients who have compromised work and personal histories is, at best, an Herculean challenge.
All of the MVRP mentoring consultants involved in this project ensure success by creating job opportunities for their students. In some cases, It is through cooperative agreements with local businesses or through subsidized employment and training programs for special needs populations. In other cases, it is through job-specific training at local facilities and subsequent placement, or on-the-job training facilitated by me management and employer support services. Some of the MVRP mentoring consultants will make agreements with local businesses that employ program participants directly, offering them work experience and management training. ++++++++++++++++++ (End DHHS description) ++++++++++++++++++ The county zoning currently
permits all such development. The Project is expected to provide over 100 jobs at first
and more when complete. There is a growing awareness
that the level of care available to veterans should be improved, especially for
wounded veterans and the often nearly helpless state of our senior citizens.
Each month nearly 28 percent of all deaths from old age in the USA are veterans;
this is about 50,000 people each month. About 40 percent of the roughly 23
million veterans live in rural areas where medical services are in short supply.
About 200,000 veterans lack shelter and medical services on any given night.
According to the US Census in 2000, about 14% of the population of 18 or over
are veterans in the South Eastern region, or 4.6 million people. According to
the VA office, over 3 million veterans are seniors over 65, or about 40%. These
are enormous figures. (Ref.: Quality Care - article) Among the general
population too, care for the elderly is often of modest quality when available
as they too often experience the same problems of disability, poverty and
concomitant lack of care, which can be too expensive for many families.
The chart of Levels of
Disability shows that about 15 percent of seniors need help in day to day life,
and their numbers are huge and growing; of 70 million seniors 15% means nearly
11 million people. Naturally, many of the 15 percent that need help are also
below the poverty level of about 10 percent overall (Ref.: Report on Health
Insurance - files). Fifteen percent may sound small, but actually means 11 million people in dire need of help; it is not just that they would be better off with help - they will die without it.
These are important subjects of
concern because of the huge numbers of veterans across the country, wounded or
otherwise, who are inadequately treated and sometimes homeless; and the growing
numbers of seniors requiring care.
Duplin County is a "Tier
2" county as designated by the state of NC, meaning it is among the least
well-off in many aspects, and qualifies for special economic breaks. It can be
seen from the Comparison Cart that it is also considerably disadvantaged where
VA spending for Education & Vocational Rehabilitation / Employment is
concerned, by as much as 60% per person less than its neighboring counties
(Ref.: Veterans Affairs website -files). It is however well located for the
proposed purpose and very rich in agricultural production. We have decided to try and help
because of our increasing personal understanding of the pain suffered within
these demographic groups; and because the location of our property between major
military bases is ideal for this venture. We have formed a non-profit
corporation called The Sanctuary Project, to further sorely needed social
assistance for the county and surrounding area. Our concerns are easy for anyone
to understand when considering the numbers of people that need help. The
location of the proposed property is not only between the major military bases
in North Carolina but also central between Raleigh-Durham and Wilmington with
its rapid expansion. The causative problems in
society are widespread and far too complex for any easy or short term solution.
But they do result in large numbers of veterans in need of care and,
increasingly, elderly persons as the waves of so-called baby-boomers arrive at
80 to 85 years of age; when their families are forced to face the growing
nation-wide crisis of the limited availability and high cost of care. The Sanctuary Project will
develop a community dedicated to veterans' service and care of the elderly. We
will seek funding for completion of purchase of the property (about 170 arable
acres) and build facilities for this service. In addition to funding and grants,
TSP could also use the services of a for-profit company, as there are
professional levels involved beyond our scope
Companies such as Pacifica Senior Living (Wilmington) and others do this
kind of work. Among other things, Duplin
County lacks sufficient hotel room space and the property is ideally located for
a new hotel (Duplin Tourist Board - letter). Also, as most NPOs in the USA
generate about 65% of their income doing normal business, an hotel would be an
extremely useful asset for both The Sanctuary Project and surrounding area. The services provided will
increase and develop over the years. An example is the recently opened center
for wounded and needy female veterans near Charlotte, NC, which has 'only' seven
places, and cares for those persons until they are established with sound
health, vocational training as required and a full-time job. It is the first
such veterans facility in NC (Ref.: Family Services - news item). We also expect to provide
day-care for senior citizens, so that their families can be free to attend
full-time employment. To the best of our knowledge such facilities are not
available anywhere in this state. Staff will be hired locally in
as much as possible; but professional personnel can also be drawn from
Wilmington, Jacksonville and Fayetteville as they lie within commuting distance
of about 50 miles. The property is about 300 yards from I-40 exit 373 and is
therefore easily accessible to staff and clients alike. We expect many staff
members to take advantage of the residential housing to be provided. The Sanctuary Project aims to
combine green construction with minimal energy consumption, as well as mixed
commercial and residential buildings so there can be genuine community living
and minimized commuting (Ref.: Duany et al - book). As we expect the need for senior
citizens services to grow and the services provided for veterans to improve, it
is clear The Sanctuary Project will expand. We hope it can serve as a model for
other similar projects, as there is no doubt that more such centers will be
needed in due course. References:- Duany et al (book) - Duany,
Plater-Zyberk and Speck - "Suburban Nation - The Rise of Sprawl and the
Decline of the American Dream"; describes a future of mixed commercial
& residential development as used in Europe for hundreds of years. Duplin Tourist Board (letter) - R.
Wells (Director of Tourism of Duplin County); Open letter re.: Potential for
hotel expansion in Duplin County and I-40 Exit 373; dated Sep 2008.
Family Services (news item) - LFS Carolinas Opens New Facility for
Homeless Female Veterans in North Carolina Wed Feb 4, 2009 11:21am EST;
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/; Sabrina Goins, +1-704-940-3316,
Fax: +1-704-569-9633, sabrina.goins@lfscarolinas.org Quality Care (article) - Reaching Out: Quality Hospice & Palliative
Care for Rural & Homeless Veterans; February 25, 2009; Funded by the
Department of Veterans Affairs, the grants program is designed to increase
access to hospice and palliative care services for rural and homeless veterans.
http://www.nhpco.org/ i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=4269 Report on Health Insurance (files)
- 2008 Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC).
Report on Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States:
2007. Data released Aug. 25, 2008
Veterans Affairs website (files) - "http://www1.va.gov/vetdata/docs"
; files "GDX_FY07_Rev_090401.xls" and "GDX_FY08_V2.xls"
Estimates as of Sep 07/08 by the VA Office of the Actuary (VetPop 07/08). +++++++++++++ |
