Hand Up, Not a Hand Out

A Hand Up, Not a Hand Out will help a vet. Sometimes we all need a hand up, and there is never any shame in asking. As a part of our mission to continue to improve the lives of the individuals and their families in the areas of health and mental outlook as solutions to reduce the stressful challenges our veterans today are facing, we at the "Our House" Foundation continue to act as a centralized office and strategic resource center in Greene County and the Greater Southwest Missouri area by Helping Our Veterans with a Hand-up, not a Hand-out. So far, our strategic resource centers include the extension of veterans' service organizations such as Veterans of Foreign War (VFW) Posts, American Legion Posts, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, and the Disabled American Veterans serving the greater Southwest Missouri region. Our local outreach is to the civic clubs in the area, such as the Lions, Rotary, Kiwanis clubs, and many houses of worship.

This is a Hand Up! What we ask each of these organizations and churches is to be responsible for the funds they raise that will benefit veterans and their families in need. We ask that they set up accounts for this purpose only.

This is not a Hand Out! There is no money exchanged with the veteran. Their financial need will be taken care of by a pledge or voucher from the participating agency/organization. If the need is other than financial, the veteran would then be referred to an appropriate organization for food/clothing/lodging etc.

This program is not a revolving social service program, but a portal to a support system based on community and military service outreach organizations. The memberships of each participating group also has the potential to grow from the interaction with these veterans. This is an extremely necessary step in stabilizing the veteran and, in turn, making a healthier family unit to be more productive within the community.