Operation Homefront Opens First Village on West Coast for Wounded Warriors
Operation Homefront and the Bank of America Charitable Foundation today announced a new two-year, $250,000 grant for supportive transitional housing and support services for wounded service members, recently returning service members, and their families. The announcement was made at the grand opening of a new Operation Homefront Village housing facility serving Southern California, the first ‘Village’ on the West Coast.
“This is another special day for us since it allows us to expand our
services to more joint service members in the Southern California area,”
said Jim Knotts, Operation Homefront President and CEO. “Due to the
generosity of our many private and corporate donors, we are able to
expand our Village footprint to this very important area that serves so
many Marine Corps and Navy servicemembers. We’re proud to open what is
essentially a mini-military community for the wounded warriors and their
families where they can comfortably and successfully transition to
civilian life without having to worry about their housing, utilities or
home furnishings."
The Village provides transitional family housing for wounded warriors leaving the military due to their injuries. This new facility, located in Oceanside, CA near Camp Pendleton and also servicing the Balboa Naval Medical Center, will ultimately house 13 military families. It is the fourth Village opened by Operation Homefront, with three additional Village facilities in the Washington DC area and San Antonio, Texas. Service members and their families live in the fully furnished apartments rent free while working with on-site case managers to customize plans to transition back to civilian life through participating in mandatory support groups, financial budgeting workshops, benefits briefings, college needs and job integration support. Once residents have become self-sufficient, Operation Homefront counselors help them find suitable housing. View the full press release.
Photo caption: Jim Knotts, President and CEO of Operation Homefront (left) graciously accepts a check for $250,000 from Dannielle Campos, who heads the Bank of America Charitable Foundation and Rick Bregman, San Diego market president, Bank of America (center). The first Village resident, Retired Marine Staff Sergeant Obom Bowen (right), assists in its receipt. Thanks to Glenn S. Robertson, Operation Homefront SoCal volunteer, for the photo.