MACV's Summer Salute expands veteran support to provide resources all year round
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans is using the summer months to reach veterans in need.
MACV's Summer Salute pulled its community partners together to provide resources to help keep service members off the streets. The organization expanded its efforts to serve veterans to summer months, to make sure there is year-round support for those who served.
"Some Veterans cannot make it in the winter. Some veterans are not even in the state depending on time of year. Availability, just making resources more accessible to veterans as they are able to make it in," said Sebastian Campbell Gandia.
MACV's Summer Salute, held at CHS field, provided everything from health screenings to housing support.
There is also employment help, legal aid and haircuts — anything a veteran need to put them on a path towards stability and self-sufficiency.
"MACV was able to be hands-on and say okay what is going on with you. I said I'm about to get evicted, I got frustrated and quit my job," said Army Veteran Johnny Yunes, who served in both Kuwait and Iraq.
The Army Veteran got out of the service, got married, became a father and then life spun out of control.
"At the VA said you overqualified and there is nothing we can do then I asked for some state assistance, and they were sort of the same thing," Yunes said.
The stress of not knowing what was next was building. Until he called MACV.
"I went in, and Sebastian was like come here were going to help you with housing, don't worry we got this were going to help you with Vet law, we're going to help you find stable employment and that took like 20 minutes I walked out of there with three case workers," Yunes said.
"Where MACV fills in is that gray area in between where the VA is able to step in financially or with counseling," Campbell said.
Now Yunes is stable and beginning to thrive, thanks to MACV.
"When it hits you all at once you didn't know what to do but MACV was able to do all three things and they prevented a veteran from being homeless," Yunes said.
More than 225 veterans came to the event on Thursday. More than 20 vets were homeless — and had never heard of MACV until Thursday.
