Vets Can Get Help At Post 143

Homeless military veterans can get a hot meal, a dry place to take a nap and a chance to visit with social service providers Saturday.

American Legion Post 143 in Post Falls is holding the event from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at its hall at 640 N. Highway 41. “This is one day we are trying to give the homeless a place to eat, to get help,” said Bob Wright, manager of the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Project.

Veterans can visit with representatives from the Job Service, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, the Kootenai County Veteran’s Service officer and the Veteran’s Administration, including medical staff.

This is the first such effort in the five counties of North Idaho, Wright said.

The Idaho Housing Authority estimates there are 3,000 homeless people in the five-county area, he said. Nationwide, about a third of the homeless are veterans and if that average holds here, it means there are 1,000 homeless veterans in the neighborhood, Wright said.

, DataTimes