In time for Veterans Day, Groups in Lane County are launching an effort to end veteran homelessness by 2016. Operation 365 aims to house one veteran each day between now and a year from now.
The local effort is part of a nation-wide program. St Vincent de Paul of Lane County has been awarded a federal 3 year grant of 3-million dollars to help. St. Vinnies Executive Director Terry McDonald:
McDonald: "We have the outreach and the opportunity to make this ambition goal and we're going to make a run at it."
McDonald says about 25 percent of people who are homeless are veterans.
McDonald: "This is a group of people that have put themselves in harms way on our behalf that have suffered accordingly and we'd like to find a way to help those folks."
St. Vinnies is partnering with Lane County and the Cities of Eugene and Springfield in this effort. The mayors of both cities have joined a national challenge to end veteran homelessness by 2016.
