Veterans Support

LVMAC News — Local War Veteran’s Family Receive Specially Equipped Van

Result of Joint Lehigh Valley Effort with Recycled Rides Program

In a joint effort between the Lehigh Valley Military Affairs Council (LVMAC), Reliable Auto Body and the National Auto Body Council’s Recycled Rides Program™, the keys to a newly refurbished 2010 BraunAbility EntryVan (wheelchair adapted) were presented to the Mescavage family at an 11 a.m. on 23 May at Reliable Auto Body, located at 967 Sumner Ave., Whitehall, PA.  (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

LVMAC Tidbit — Department of Banking and Securities Offers Financial Management Conference

Register for 9 June Event Now

Although originally created to address a Pennsylvania Guard “Family” need, the program has application to veterans and their families as well.  In fact, the Pennsylvania’s Department of Banking and Securities is offering the event to both groups.   Click here to go directly to the registration site.  After attending, give us your feedback.  Perhaps an event can be arranged in the Lehigh Valley in the future, if we hear good words about it. (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

LVMAC News — Lehigh Valley Community Foundation Steps Forth to Assist Our Veterans

lehigh-valley-community-foundationAt the 18 January Council Meeting, Vice President Michael Vath announced the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation had recently awarded our organization a Community Partnership Grant of $5,000 towards its efforts to assist in eliminating homelessness among our Lehigh Valley veterans.  The Foundation, an important and respected part of the warp and woof of this community’s fabric,  whose origin lies 1967 with Bethlehem’s 225th anniversary celebration and the donations of school children and steelworkers among others, promotes philanthropy in order to improve the quality of life in our region, encourage collaboration among area philanthropists, and to serve as a source of information and expertise regarding charitable giving.LVMAC Logo (Best Small PNG)

The funds will be used by the Lehigh Valley Homeless Veterans Action Committee (LVHVAC), an LVMAC coalition whose membership consists of the leading organizations which address the plight of homeless veterans in Lehigh and Northampton counties and are willing to combine their efforts with those of the local Allentown VA Outpatient Clinic’s homeless team, whether or not they are VA contractors.  The committee was formed out of the belief that in order to be successful, outreach, assistance and recovery efforts required more integration and the use of a continuum of care approach in the Lehigh Valley.  There was also a need for a forum where these organizations could sometimes problem-solve together with the local VA. (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

Forward Observer — Calling All Veterans. Need Your Help for a Good North Valley PIT Count

LVMAC Poster Art 2005Recently we learned the Lehigh Valley Regional Homeless Advisory Board (LVRHAB) is conducting a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) homeless point-in-time survey the evening of 24 January extending through 25 January.

HUD is the government agency overseeing home mortgage lending practices and is centrally involved in solving the issue of homelessness by the nature of its purpose.  Every year it conducts a Point in Time (PIT) Count of the un-housed on the predicted coldest day of the year.  The count involves seeking out those who are unsheltered and those in emergency shelters or transitional shelters — that is, homeless households.  The numbers obtained are important to HUD’s reporting of its accomplishments and to their funding practices.  But as its name may imply, its tendency is to focus geographically on urban areas. (more…)

By LVMAC, ago