Homeless vets intern at the Furniture Bank

Georgia News

Homeless vets intern at the Furniture Bank

In 2009, the VA announced a goal to end veteran homelessness. The VA works locally with the United Way, which partnered with the Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta this year to create an internship program for homeless veterans. The veterans work in the bank’s warehouse where they learn job skills to gain employment after the two-month internship is complete. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

Ronald Sample smiles as he takes a smoke break at Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta. Sample is an Air Force veteran who was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress. He is working Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta has a program with the United Way where they employ homeless veterans to help them get experience in their warehouse. The program is usually a two-month internship and helps them with skills to find permanent employment. This is part of the national effort by the VA to end homelessness among veterans. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

Army reserve veteran Kimberlee Wright recently became homeless after she lost her job and the home she was renting flooded and her landlord wouldn’t make the repairs. Homeless vets at the Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta gain warehouse experience through an internship co-sponsored by the United Way of Greater Atlanta. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

Ronald Sample (background) unloads furniture at Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta on Thursday, November 20, 2014. Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta has a program with the United Way where they employ homeless veterans to help them get experience in their warehouse. The program is usually a two-month internship and helps them with skills to find permanent employment. This is part of the national effort by the VA to end homelessness among veterans. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

The majority of the homeless veterans going through the internship program at the Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta are men. The bank has welcomed the additional help, but the non-profit’s modest offices became tight so veterans created a lounge area in the back of the warehouse, complete with punching bag and weight set to help blow off steam during breaks. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

Veterans (from left) Robert Small, Mack Wallace, Ronald Sample and Tommy Brown unload donations picked up at Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta which gives furniture to individuals and families transitioning out of homelessness. The vets, many of them homeless themselves, are part of an internship created in February in partnership with the United Way of Greater Atlanta. The program has allowed the bank to add an additional truck to pick up donated furniture from all over the metro area and bring it back to its warehouse. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

Megan Anderson, Executive Director at Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta, said the non-profit gives furniture to people transitioning out of homelessness. The homeless veterans internship created this year in partnership with the United Way has allowed the small non-profit to expand its reach. Anderson said the homeless veterans understand what her clients are going through and working alongside the vets has been enriching for her staff. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

Kimberlee Wright, right, and Tommy Brown sort donations at Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta. The non-profit operates a homeless veteran internship program. Brown, a former Navy veteran, served on aircraft carriers and was stationed in Japan. He became homeless earlier this year and is staying in a Salvation Army shelter for homeless vets while working in the internship. He plans to get a job driving trucks. The program helps participants acquire a commercial license. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

Robert Small talks to Kimberlee Wright as they unload donations picked up at Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta. Small is a Marine veteran who had has worked in non-profits and the limousine business. He became homeless after losing his job. The program is usually a two-month internship and helps them with skills to find permanent employment. This is part of the national effort by the VA to end homelessness among veterans. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

Jeffery Stephens takes a water break as he unloads donations for the Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta. Stephens is an Army veteran, who isn’t homeless, entered the internship after contracting work dried up. The Furniture Bank works with the United Way where they employ veterans, many of them homeless, to help them get experience in their warehouse. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

Veterans, from left, Mack Wallace, Robert Small and Ronald Sample unload donations picked up at Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta on Thursday, November 20, 2014. Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta has a program with the United Way where they employ homeless veterans to help them get experience in their warehouse. The program is usually a two-month internship and helps them with skills to find permanent employment. This is part of the national effort by the VA to end homelessness among veterans. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

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In 2009, the VA announced a goal to end veteran homelessness. The VA works locally with the United Way, which partnered with the Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta this year to create an internship program for homeless veterans. The veterans work in the bank’s warehouse where they learn job skills to gain employment after the two-month internship is complete. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

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