On Saturday, November 20, 2010, at 11:00 am, US Dept of Veteran Affairs Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs Major L. Tammy Duckworth will speak at the opening ceremony and reception of Volunteers of America Los Angeles’s Hollywood Veterans Center.
The reception celebrates the opening of both the Hollywood Veterans Center, a residential facility for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars having extreme difficulty readjusting to civilian life, and The Barracks, a “Safe Haven” program for chronically homeless veterans.
More than 2 million U.S. troops have deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001. Pace, length and number of deployments is unprecedented. An unthinkable number of newly returning veterans are suffering from TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). These invisible wounds, left untreated, often lead to drug and alcohol addiction, unemployment, poverty, homelessness, violence, and crime.
Both programs employ innovative approaches to veterans’ issues and provide long term transitional housing with case management and support services including treatment and counseling, advocacy, family reunification, etc.
Tammy Duckworth
Guest of honor Major Duckworth lost her legs in combat in Iraq. Since her recovery, she has dedicated her life to public service and advocating on behalf of the disabled and veterans. She is the recipient of the Purple Heart, the Air Medal, the Combat Action Badge, the Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award, the Disabled Veteran of the Year award, the American Veterans Silver Helmet Award, and the George Washington University Colin Powell Public Service Award.
Volunteers of America Los Angeles
Volunteers of America is a social services organization committed to serving people in need, strengthening families, and building communities. They are focused on anticipating the needs of newly-returning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan and ramping up services to deal with new challenges. Their veterans programs have a long history of comprehensive care for high-risk cases - VOALA has been serving Los Angeles since 1896. www.voala.org
