HELP USA, announced a three-year national expansion of permanent supportive service housing for returning war veterans called OPERATION HOME.  With the anticipated return of  over 140,000 service men and women from Iraq and Afghanistan, HELP USA is developing 1,000 units of permanent housing for male and female war veterans and their families in states along the east and west coasts over the next three years.

At HELP USA sites across the nation, veterans currently receive state of the art living accommodations in addition to a nationally-recognized comprehensive package of social, psychological, educational, and medical services.  Through OPERATION HOME HELP USA will now be able to meet the needs of an unprecedented number of women returning from active duty, many of whom are mothers, with an architectural and service model designed to support families and children

HELP USA's strong collaborative relationships with the US Dept of Veterans Affairs both locally and nationally ensure that services and benefits are coordinated for each veteran placed in permanent housing at each of the HELP USA sites.  The sites incorporate HELP USA's innovative model of comprehensive on-site human services tailored to meet the complex needs of veterans including specialized day care services to aid in re-establishing emotional attachment and allow service men and women the time they need to address personal issues; and family therapeutic counseling services to address issues of family reunification and reintegration that veterans and their families need.  Additionally, professional case managers assist veterans with the often difficult transition to civilian life by offering counseling and employment programs. 

HELP USA Chair, Maria Cuomo Cole states, "OPERATION HOME, the expansion of HELP USA's innovative and effective housing model will provide dignified homes for those who have served our country."

Currently, 1 in 3 homeless men is a veteran of war, with nearly 200,000 homeless male veterans sleeping on the street each night as a result.  This staggering statistic is compounded by the increase in women serving in recent wars and thus a corresponding increase in the domestic homeless female veteran population as well. To date, an estimated 8,000 female veterans are homeless in the United States and this statistic will grow as more and more women return from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.