SAN MARCOS, Texas — Ahead of Memorial Day, one San Marcos organization is making sure it's providing all the support that homeless veterans in Hays County need.
The H.O.M.E. Center threw its first fundraiser Saturday night at Tantra, with live music to raise money for all the services they provide to veterans year-round.
“We all need to be working together to make sure that those who’ve served us and our country are being served by our community,” Hannah Durrance, the founder and director of H.O.M.E. Center, said.
One reason Durrance started H.O.M.E. Center was because of her grandfather, who was a veteran who struggled with his mental health. He died by suicide after his caregiver had a stroke and was going to pass away.
“He chose to end his life because he didn’t want to be a burden on his family, and he also didn’t have the resources for him to maintain his housing,” Durrance said.
Durrance said mental health is something that’s not addressed as much as it should be when discussing homelessness. She said especially when talking about homeless veterans, it’s even more important because many of them deal with PTSD.
“We try to cut down on the number of individuals who are feeling hopeless and feeling like the only resort they have is to end their lives, when there’s so many other options available to them,” Durrance said.
The H.O.M.E. Center’s resources were able to help veteran Raymond Mudgett get off the street. He became homeless when he came to Texas to be with his two daughters.
“Without H.O.M.E. Center, I would probably be still living in a hotel,” Mudgett said.
H.O.M.E. Center was the only organization that Mudgett said provided him with a direct path to get off the street and into permanent housing.
“H.O.M.E. Center is the battle buddy that you lose when you get out of the military. They stand there beside you, and they help you out,” Mudgett said.
Some resources that the H.O.M.E. Center provides include case management to get people into permanent housing, helping them get HUD vouchers and providing a place to stay while they wait, helping them with moving and providing furniture and transporting them to medical and mental health resources.
Durrance estimates that it costs around $2,500 per veteran to help them get all the resources they need to get back on their feet. For Saturday’s fundraiser, the hope was to raise anywhere from $5,000 to $8,000 so the organization can keep providing all these resources to more unhoused veterans.
Anyone interested in helping H.O.M.E. Center can donate through the organization's website.