Rebecca Ricci

MISSION STATEMENT - Village for Vets fills critical gaps in key services for homeless and at-risk veterans in greater Los Angeles. Through programs providing meals, emergency grants, support for basic needs, social support, and links to additional services, Village for Vets helps ensure Los Angeles’ homeless and at-risk veterans don’t fall through the cracks. HOW WE WORK - Village for Vets prioritizes programs that make it easier for homeless and at-risk vets to access a wider range of support. All Village for Vets programs are on the VA campus or in association with programs and people who can help homeless and at-risk veterans enroll in additional services. Village for Vets is nimble and responsive, launching projects and programs in response to changing needs and requests from veterans’ service providers. OUR ORIGINS AND IMPACT - Village for Vets was founded as a response to an urgent need and is rooted in the personal experience of the founder and her family. A VA social worker who was buying food out-of-pocket for the veterans she was serving called our founder, Marcie Polier Swartz, and asked her if she could bring twenty-five sandwiches to feed homeless Veterans seeking service at the Greater Los Angeles VA.. Marcie delivered those sandwiches back in 2016, and Village for Vets grew from that first act of service. Marcie has a deep personal connection to the VA and to helping those who have served: her brother relied on her to help him navigate VA services after he left the Navy. In the four years since it was founded, Village for Vets has grown tenfold, expanding from providing a few dozen sandwiches to ease the out-of-pocket burden on a VA case manager to a dozen programs in partnership with major homeless and veteran service organizations in greater Los Angeles. Village for Vets has provided nearly 60,000 meals to homeless and at-risk veterans, almost $100,000 in emergency financial assistance, and an array of other services to veterans in need.