What We Help With
VAP is an EMERGENCY FUNDING SOURCE and should only be used as such. Since everyone has a different definition of "emergency" let’s take a look at what ours is.
A VAP Emergency is defined as a "state where the veteran is in peril of losing a basic utility (water, electric, gas), cannot feed family members, will be evicted from his or her dwelling, or cannot get to and from work due to vehicle repairs that need to be made".
Let’s break this down a bit.
1 - Utilities - If you have a disconnect notice, and then you are in peril of losing the utility. If you do not have a disconnect notice then we cannot help you at this time. Also the utility must be a necessity. Phone, Cable, and Internet are NOT necessities. Electric, Gas, Propane, Water are all examples of needed utilities.
2 - Cannot Feed Family Members - If you have family members that you cannot feed due to lack of funds, exhausted food pantries in your area (we will check), the we can possibly help. If it is just you, the veteran that cannot currently be fed due to lack of funds there are pantries and other means available to you to assist in this matter.
3 - Will Be Evicted - If your landlord has given you an eviction notice because of lack of payment of rent, the we may be able to help. If you are behind on your rent, then we cannot help you yet.
4 - Vehicle Repairs - If you have a job (we will check) and cannot get to and from work because of a vehicle repair, then we may be able to help.
5 - MISC - These are not draconian rules, but good rules of thumb to work with. Call and ask if we can help. Based upon your situation we might be able to.
How We Help
VAP will grant UP TO $200 to a particular issue based upon the situation, need, and other factors. More rules of thumb and the most important rule, Completion of Mission.
Factor 1 - Completion of Mission – VAP will help out a veteran as long as we can solve a problem… FULLY. This means that our assistance should get the utility turned back on, make it so you are not getting evicted, or get the vehicle back on the road so that you can get too and from work. What this REALLY means is this:
Example: If you have a disconnect notice for a utility that is for $314.00, you must first pay $114 dollars. Once you have proven that you have paid this amount, we will pay the remaining $200 dollars and get your utility turned back on or stop the disconnect.
This is just an example, however it applies to virtually ALL of our grant based services. All we can help with is up to $200 dollars, and that money MUST Complete The Mission. This might mean that multiple sources are needed to solve your problem. It is up to you to find those other sources.
Factor Two – Complete, Valid, and Truthful Information – Honestly, 75% of the grants that we deny, we do so because we find out that the person lied to us in some way, shape or form. You must be completely honest with us about your situation. If we catch you in a falsehood, then we will turn your grant request down.
Factor Three – Proper Back Up Information – In order to get a grant, you will have to provide us certain information, which will be laid out in the initial interview. At a minimum you will have to provide proof that you are a veteran (DD-214), paperwork regarding your situation (disconnect notice, estimate from car repair place, etc), and a basic application. Failure to give us any of the information that we ask for may result in not getting your grant.
Factor Four – You must be an Honorable, Medical (non drug related), or General Under Honorable Conditions Discharged Veteran with a minimum of six (6) months service in a United States of America Military Service (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard or Reserve or National Guard versions of such) in order to be considered for a grant. You will be required to prove this through the use of a NON-REDACTED version of your DD214 Discharge Papers.
Factor Five – Discrimination. Simply put, we don’t. We do not discriminate based on race, gender, age, sexual preference, handicap or anything else. As long as you are a veteran with six months of service, we will consider your request based unless it triggers other factors.
Factor Six – Abuse of Public Resources – You must apply for assistance with your local Veterans Service Officer and have been denied in order for us to consider your request. You must also give the VSO permission to talk to us about your case so that we can find out WHY you were denied. If you were denied because you have miss-used or abused your privileges with the VSO or other public resources, chances are we will be denying your request as well.
Factor Six – We Reserve – “Veterans Assistance Program reserves the right to not fuffil a grant request based upon any of the factors listed above as well as unlisted factors that come up during the course of the Grant Application, Investigation, and Fulfillment.
Funding
We are not a government assisted program and therefore we can only help people when funds are available. All of our funding comes from fundraising events in front of various stores in the states that we work in. What does this mean?
1 - Funding is based on State. If we are out of money in a particular state, then we cannot help you until we have done another fundraiser in that state.
2 – Funding is based upon demand. We will do all we can to help as many people as we can in a state. If we have three requests in front of us, and only $400 dollars, we will put the money toward the two veterans who have the most need, or split the money up as best as we can to complete as many missions as possible.
As another example, we recently had a situation where an official from an organization sent us ten separate requests, and informed us that she had an additional seventy requests waiting. We could not possibly help all of them, and we had to send a great number of them away disappointed because we were flooded from one group or organization.
3 – Funding is not Guaranteed – Simply put, if we do not have the money, we can’t help. We will do all that we can, possibly putting you in touch with other organizations, but if we do not have the money at the time of your request and it is important that it is taken care of immediately, then we may not be able to help.
In Short – We will try to help as many people as possible with the funds that are available.
