POINTMAN SOLDIERS HEART MINISTRY

No Greater Love!Peace and Justice for Vulnerable Veterans:

The Veterans Outreach and Stand-Down Center

WHO WE ARE

WHAT WE DO

MISSION STATEMENTThe Pointman Soldiers Heart Ministry (PSHM) is a tax-exempt Veteran Service Organization based in faith. PSHM is a search and rescue resource ministry. We provide spiritual support; assist with acquiring individual and group benefits for ALL Veterans and their families. Our mission is to help secure veterans benefits and healthcare for vulnerable veterans using voter education so they may maintain their dignity and honor as citizens.

President Barack Obama is Bringing Home Our Iraqi and Afghanistan Soldiers

ARE OUR COUNTIES READY?• OUR SOLDIERS ARE COMING HOME WITH:• SUICIDE• DEPRESSION • DOMESTIC VIOLENCE• HOMELESS• MENTAL ILLNESS (PTSD, TBI)• NO VET PREFERENCE • SUBSTANCE ABUSE• INCARCERATION

The Pointman Soldiers Heart Ministry Veterans Outreach Stand-Down Center

04/18/23

THE CASE: THE NEED

• 84,000 veterans live in Philadelphia with more coming home every day.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HFGZ-3dpen0

04/18/23

The CASE: THE NEED

1. There is no Veterans Affairs Office serving the County/City of Philadelphia.“…the state requires county commissioners to appoint a director of veteran’s affairs, whose duty is to oversee those obligations assigned to the county by law. It is up to the county to budget to ensure the position is filled!” (Examination of Rural County Veterans Affairs Offices by The Institute of State and Regional Affairs, Penn State, 2011)

04/18/23

THE CASE: THE NEED

2. The city has no KNOWN OR PUBLICIZED program to assist, facilitate or advocate for veterans and their families obtaining benefits for their patriotic and honorable service, pursuant to Senate Bill 915, PN 1436 was signed into law as Act 66 of 2007.

04/18/23

THE CASE: THE NEED

3. The City of Philadelphia has not conducted a formal needs assessment of their veteran citizens?

4. The City of Philadelphia does not promote and educate families about benefits veterans earned?

04/18/23

THE CASE: THE NEED

5. The City of Philadelphia does not promote and educate families about benefits veterans earned?6. The City of Philadelphia account for any services to veterans during any time frame in reference to measurements of quality, outcome, and the impact of those services?

04/18/23

The Case: The Need

7. The City of Philadelphia is un-ready to assist and serve veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan!8. The City of Philadelphia must to hold hearing on matters relating to veterans unemployment, homelessness, veteran disability, and incarcerated veterans.

04/18/23

04/18/23

PEACE AND JUSTICE FOR

VULERABLE VETERANS

• SUICIDE PREVENTION COUNSELING• PTSD GROUP COUNSELING• TBI SUPPORT• ADVOCATE & EDUCATE FOR USE OF VETERANS

BENEFITS EARNED• STAND-DOWN SUPPORT FOR HOMELESS VETS• UPGRADE OF MILITARY DISCHARGES• SUPPORT FOR INCARCERATED 04/18/23

04/18/23

2012 POINTMAN PEACE & JUSTICE

• RECON OUTREACH:

Triumph Baptist Church, May 19,2012–Identified 111 Veterans and 12

spouses–Conducted 15 Intakes–Former U.S. Congressman Admiral Joe

Sestak, Keynote Speaker.

04/18/23

2012 POINTMAN PEACE & JUSTICE

• RECON OUTREACHChurch of the Advocate, Saturday, June 9,

2012–Identified 17 veterans and 3 spouses

–Conducted 9 Intakes

04/18/23

2012 POINTMAN PEACE & JUSTICE

• RECON OUTREACH–Deliverance Evangelistic Church, June

16, 2012–Identified 23 Veterans and 6 spouses–Conducted 11 Intakes

04/18/23

2012 POINTMAN PEACE & JUSTICE

• RECON OUTREACH:–Greater Bethlehem Temple Church,

July 14, 2012–Identified 3 Veterans –Conducted 3 Intakes

04/18/23

2012 POINTMAN PEACE & JUSTICE

• RECON OUTREACH–Christian Stronghold Baptist Church,

June 30, 2012–Identified 13 Veterans and 3 spouses–Conducted 5 Intakes

04/18/23

2012 POINTMAN PEACE & JUSTICE

• RECON OUTREACH–Church of the Holy Redeemer, July 21,

2012–Identified 5 Veterans and 1 spouse –Conducted 4 intakes

04/18/23

2012 POINTMAN PEACE & JUSTICE

• RECON OUTREACH–Intake via Office Appointments with

PSHM Veteran Service Officer–Identified 17 veterans and 2 spouses –Conducted 17 Intakes and 2 spouses

04/18/23

2012 POINTMAN PEACE & JUSTICE

• TOTAL RECON OUTREACH–VETERANS: 189–INTAKES: 64–SPOUSES:27

04/18/23

2012 POINTMAN PEACE & JUSTICE

• RECON OUTREACH OUTCOMES– POINTMAN MEMBERSHIPS: 40– EMPLOYMENT REFERRALS: 4– DISCHARGE UPGRADE ASSISTANCE: 3– DISABILITY CLAIMS FILED: 36– SPOUSE AND FAMILY BENEFITS: 2– MILITARY & MEDICAL RECORDS: 5– INDIVIDUAL INTAKE PLAN: 64

04/18/23

BEYOND MEMORIALS AND WELCOME HOME

• No Greater Love For The Survivors!• Peace and Justice for Vulnerable

Veterans:• RECOGNITION, RESPECT• APPRECIATION & PROMOTION04/18/23

Veterans Fight Changes To Disability Payments

• Advocates for the nation's 22 million veterans fear that the alternative inflation measure would also apply to disability payments to nearly 4 million veterans as well as pension payments for an additional 500,000 low-income veterans and surviving families.

04/18/23

Mental Ailments are Being Misdiagnosed and Discharged

• As many as 31,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans nationwide may have been improperly discharged for personality or adjustment disorders, even though they may be suffering from service-connected disabilities such as post-traumatic stress disorder, the signature injury of the wars.

04/18/23

Sexual Assaults

• According to DoD’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, about 19,000 service members a year experience sexual assault, and the vast majority go unreported, in large measure because the victims believe nothing will be done or are afraid of retaliation or being labeled a troublemaker.

04/18/23

HOMELESS & UNEMPLOYED

We're here today as part of outreach and because there is an issue with homeless veterans that's going to become worse as more veterans return! Unemployment among veterans is double the national average!

04/18/23

DISABILITY CLAIMS BACKLOGGED

• The VA backlog of disability claims passed the 900,000 mark this week, amid growing anger over the department’s inability to make a dent in the pile.

• On 3/25/2013 disability claims backlog hit 903,286, an increase of about 8 percent, or 7,448 claims, from the previous week. 70% of the claims in the current backlog, or 633,589 claims, had been sitting more than 125 days.

04/18/23

DISABILITY CLAIMS BACKLOGGED• VA is shamefully slow to help vets • I & A vets filing claims with the VA in

New York, Philadelphia, or Los Angeles, you will wait an average of 600 days.

• Claims backlog to increase until VA completes deployment of its paperless new system by 2015. Known by its acronym VBMS -- should be renamed VBMess,

04/18/23

THE GREATEST INSULT!

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bill McClellan thinks the U.S. should put an end to military funeral honors. “Most veterans did nothing heroic” anyway.

• We all might not have been heroes, but we all served!

04/18/23

No Greater Love!Peace and Justice for Vulnerable

Veterans:

• WHAT DOES PEACE AND JUSTICE FOR WAR VETERANS MEAN TO YOU?

• HOW DO YOU SHOW YOUR LOVE?• WILL YOU LET YOUR SAY BE SO?

04/18/23

OUR VISION• The vision of PSHM is Vulnerable U.S. Armed

Forces Veterans operating a center for Vulnerable U.S. Armed Forces Veteran with services encompassing a holistic support apparatus, including spiritual ministry.

• We envision this center operating with a public consciousness and understanding of Peace & Justice, and what the social consequence of war and military action are.

04/18/23

For the vision is for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie; though it tarry wait for it;

because it will surely come; it will not tarry. Habakkuk 2:3

04/18/23