VFW UnMet Needs Program Assists Servicemembers and Recent Vets
By Debbie Gregory.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) traces its roots back to 1899, when veterans of the Spanish-American War and the Philippine Insurrection arrived home wounded or sick. There was no medical care or veterans’ pension for them, and they were left to care for themselves.
Veterans from these wars banded together and formed the VFW. As the nation’s largest organization of combat veterans, the VFW understands the challenges veterans, service members and military families can face and believe that experiencing financial difficulties should not be one of them. That’s the premise behind the VFW’s Unmet Needs program.
Unmet Needs is there to help America’s service members who have been deployed in the last six years and have run into unexpected financial difficulties as a result of deployment or other military-related activity.
The program provides financial aid, up to $5,000, to assist with basic life needs. The funds are disbursed in the form of a grant paid directly to the creditor, so there is no repayment required.
To date, Unmet Needs has distributed over $5.4 million in assistance to qualified military families, with almost half of those funds going directly toward basic housing needs.
The needs of our nation’s veterans, service members and their families should never go unmet. The VFW’s Unmet Needs program offers a hand up, at a time when finances are at a low.
Through the VFW advocacy, the organization’s voice had been instrumental in establishing the Veterans Administration, creating a GI Bill for the 20th century, the development of the national cemetery system and the fight for compensation for Vietnam vets exposed to Agent Orange and for veterans diagnosed with Gulf War Syndrome.
Please review the Unmet Needs eligibility criteria to see if you or someone you know qualifies for a grant through the Unmet Needs program.
If you’re eligible, APPLY TODAY.
Contact Unmet Needs at 1-866-789-6333 or by email at unmetneeds@vfw.org with any questions.
Military Connection salutes and proudly serves veterans and service members in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve, and their families.
