TAP awarded grant to serve homeless veterans

            Roanoke – Total Action Against Poverty (TAP) is one of 97 recipients of U.S. Labor Department grants that will assist homeless veterans with reintegration into America’s workforce.

            The grant awards - $24 million total – were announced June 22 by Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis. TAP, one of 33 first-year grantees, will receive $200,000 to link homeless veterans to a number of employment and supportive resources that include employment/job readiness, financial services, housing, mentor services, and family support.

          TAP’s program will create a continuum that gives veterans who have a range of highly individualized needs access to wrap-around services from a service providers who are experienced in working with the veteran population. Partners include the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salem, the Virginia Employment Commission, and veterans service organizations including the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program.

          Of the first-, second- and third-year grantees, TAP’s proposal is the only one in Virginia to be awarded funding. The program will operate out of TAP’s This Valley Works component, under the direction of Jo Nelson, program manager for employment and training services. For more information about the program, call (540) 767-6222 or 767-6220.

          For more information about TAP, please visit www.tapintohope.org.