UCHealth partners with Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center to provide support and funding to house homeless veterans.

UCHealth and the Memorial Hospital Foundation have committed $35,000 to provide immediate lodging for a month to at least 10 veterans and their families who will be selected for a housing program at Tuesday’s veterans Stand Down, an annual event that provides assistance and support to veterans experiencing homelessness.

Participants chosen for the Transitional Housing Initiative (THI), a 30-day program administered by Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center, will receive housing and meals at a Colorado Springs hotel. Over the course of the month, they will be connected to partner agencies that will assist them with benefit applications, finding employment and securing permanent housing, among other support interventions. Participants also will actively work with a Mt. Carmel case manager for a year as a part of the program.

“It’s been well-established that housing is a social determinant of health, and a person’s living situation is directly tied not just to their physical health but also their mental health,” said Damian McCabe, director of behavioral health-military affairs for UCHealth who also served 24 years in the military. “We are proud to partner with Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center to give veterans the housing they deserve, starting immediately, at the Stand Down.”

In addition to administering the THI program and coordinating structured services for the veterans for a year, Mt. Carmel is also hosting this year’s Stand Down. Stand Down events, which occur in communities across the nation, are intended to offer homeless veterans a vast array of resources ranging from food and clothing to VA benefits, counseling and substance use referrals.

In the military, “Stand Downs” enabled exhausted combat units a chance to rest and recover in a safe place during wartime. The first Stand Down for homeless veterans was held in 1988 in San Diego with the goal of offering the same rest and replenishment opportunity to veterans living on the streets. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, there are about 131,000 homeless veterans living outside on any given night; locally, more than 100 veterans are in unstable housing situations, with about half of those chronically homeless, according to the most recent Point in Time survey, conducted in January by the Pikes Peak Continuum of Care.

“We are truly grateful for the support of UCHealth and the Memorial Hospital Foundation for offering veterans support for a path forward,” said retired Army Col. Bob McLaughlin, the executive director at Mt. Carmel. “Our ongoing and growing partnership with UCHealth has allowed us to innovate and expand our reach in serving our veteran community. We hope our collaborations with UCHealth will create a model for other nonprofits and health care systems to deliver access to care and services to our veterans.”

UCHealth also partners with Mt. Carmel on Next Chapter, a suicide-prevention program that provides stabilizing services for veterans in crisis. Next Chapter has served almost 590 veterans and their family members since the program’s launch in June 2022. Participants in the THI program also will be offered services through Next Chapter.

“UCHealth is committed to the health of our community,” said Lonnie Cramer, president and CEO of UCHealth’s southern Colorado region. Cramer is also a military veteran. “People without stable housing are frequent users of emergency health care services. The THI program will offer these veterans respect and stability, a chance to focus on long-term goals, and ultimately, a path to self-sufficiency and improved health. The Stand Down has the potential to be a life-changing event for many of our veterans.”