The Patriot’s Path Foundation is 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency created specifically to prepare veterans for, and to assist them in, dealing with the challenges of daily life that will confront them after treatment for mental health related issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, homelessness or substance abuse.

The Foundation was started by a group of concerned veterans who recognized how significant these life challenges can be for veterans when they have completed treatment, and are facing reintegration into the community.

Some questions these founding veterans asked themselves were, Where do veterans – many of them homeless – go when treatment is completed? What are the obstacles to their continued recovery? What are the primary causes of failure or relapse? 

“Living life on life’s terms” – dealing with everyday issues and problems such as finding housing, jobs and transportation; managing money; etc. – can be overwhelming to a veteran during the early months and years of recovery. And unfortunately many veterans, unable to cope with these very real issues, fail in their attemp or relapse.

The Patriot’s Path Foundation aims to help recovering veterans successfully re-enter everyday life by providing them individual mentors; safe, affordable transitional housing; help in finding employment; and the basic life skills they need to stay “on the path” to a new way of life.

The mission of the Patriot's Path Foundation is to prepare veterans for, and assist them with, reintegration with the community as they complete their treatment in the Veterans Affairs Medical System.

We accomplish this by providing veterans:		Veterans we serve struggle with:
individual life skills mentoring financial responsibility training job placement assistance safe, affordable residential housing and, opportunities to participate in community service activities		mental health issues post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) substance abuse issues homeless issues

 

Where We Stand Today 

The Patriot’s Path Foundation is now a reality and most of our programs are in place.  Administratively, the organization is in place and we continue to recruit volunteer staff to handle our growing requirements. The Foundation was incorporated as a nonprofit March 13, 2008, and we have received our 501(c)(3) status from the IRS. 

We plan to establish a small office in Washington, D.C., to facilitate collaboration with the VA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans and other public and private-sector organizations whose goals are consistent with those of the Foundation.
    

• We have expanded our mission and are now helping veterans from the Martinsburg VA Medical Center’s Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), GOALS (homeless) and Center for Addiction Treatment programs.

• In July 2009, we proudly opened two additional residential houses in the Martinsburg area, bringing our total to five houses.  We now house 21 veterans, who have completed treatment at the VA Medical Center are employed, pay rent and live in a setting conducive to continued recovery. 

• The requirement for our residential housing continues to grow and we plan to open another house by the end of 2009.  We are also exploring possible locations to expand our programs to other VA facilities in 2010.

•  This has been accomplished to date through the personal efforts of staff and the   individual and corporate financial donations of our supporters.

• Now, however, we need to continue our fundraising and recruit even more volunteers in order to continue building and operating our programs into the future. 

• It is important that we reach our financial goal, so that we can serve the veterans who have completed their course of treatment and are ready to enter our program.

Included in our goal is funding for our most pressing need: establishing a central facility in Martinsburg, to be named the Patriot House, which will serve as a base of operations for all Foundation activities in the community and as the primary location where veterans participating in our programs will interact with Mentors and staff as well as utilize a wide range of Foundation resources.  The envisioned facility will be located in the Martinsburg area and will house our computer learning center, meeting rooms, counseling space, and will accommodate the Foundation’s administrative offices.