A benefit poker run for homeless veterans is scheduled for tomorrow.
Sponsored by the Department of Pennsylvania and Tyrone VFW Post No. 4559, the ride will start at noon.
Registration will be held from 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. at the Tyrone VFW.
The cost for pre-registration is $15 per person. Registration on the day of the event will be $20 per person.
The day is not limited to the motorcycle ride, but will also include food, fun and door prizes.
Interested individuals wishing to donate to this cause should send checks, payable to the Department of PA VFW, earmarked Homeless Veterans Fund, to Alice M. Anders, RD1 Box 653, East Freedom, Pa. 16637.
For more information, call PA Homeless Veterans chairman, Gary Anders at 814-239-9264 or 814-414-6135.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, “About one out of every three in the adult homeless population has served in the armed forces.
“On any given day, as many as 200,000 veterans (male and female) are living on the streets or in shelters, and perhaps twice as many experience homelessness at some point during the course of a year.
“Many other veterans are considered near homeless or at risk because of their poverty, lack of support from family and friends, and dismal living conditions in cheap hotels or in overcrowded or substandard housing.”
However, the hope is to change these statistics and currently there are numerous programs and initiatives specifically designed to help homeless veterans live as self-sufficiently and independently as possible. The VA\’s major homeless-specific programs constitute the largest integrated network of homeless treatment and assistance services in the country.
