A Necessary Sacrifice
American servicepeople are essential to the defense of our way of life. They sacrifice their lives to protect our borders and citizens, both at home and abroad. Once they return home, however, they require help from the local community to reestablish a life. Far too often, veterans require additional help that cannot be publicly provided. Goodwill Industries of Central Illinois is proud to offer veterans’ services throughout the region and give veterans the help they require to achieve success once they return home.
Veterans’ Services We Provide
There are many homeless veterans in the central Illinois region. Some live in homeless shelters. And some find themselves living on the streets or wherever they can find space. Goodwill Industries of Central Illinois works in a variety of ways to help our veterans, whether they need job training, living and medical assistance, or a reliable support network.
These are only some of the services we provide throughout Central Illinois:
- General Wayne A. Downing Home for Veterans – Opened in 2005, the Home for Veterans gives area veterans a place to live when they might not otherwise have a place to go. The ten-bedroom facility is the only one of its kind in the state, and provides intensive holistic treatment options for many issues veterans face, including PTSD, substance abuse, job placement, and general medical care.
- Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program – This program, begun in 2009 with a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, expedites the reintegration of homeless veterans into society. Open to all veterans with a non-dishonorable discharge, the HVRP aims to:
- Reduce the barriers preventing veterans from finding and maintaining stable and consistent employment.
- Provide veterans access to resource that make entrance into the workforce easy.
- Create a community network to move veterans from homeless and jobless to working and living comfortably.
The HVRP is available in Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford Counties, as well as throughout the Central Illinois region. More information is available through our main site here.
- Goodwill Veterans Employment Program – Goodwill offers the same services provided by the HVRP to non-homeless, honorably discharged veterans of central Illinois.
- Employment Services Centers – Goodwill also provides additional services outside of our veterans programs that are aimed at helping people add to their skillset. Our Employment Services Centers, located in Peoria, Pekin, and Galesburg, offer classes in job skills, computer skills, or reinforcement in life skills. More information can be found here.
Contact Us Today!
Goodwill is proud to offer our veterans’ services to any and all who require them. It’s our responsibility and duty to support those who have given much of themselves to support us and our livelihood. For more information on the veterans’ services we offer in Peoria, East Peoria, Pekin, Washington, Canton, Morris, Macomb, Peru, or Kewanee, visit our website, call us at (309) 682-1113 or email us at contact@goodwillpeo.org!