MACV NEWSLETTER - June 2020
MACV in the News
MACV’s mission has become more difficult to execute as COVID-19 continues to affect the everyday lives of Minnesotans. But our goal to end Veteran homelessness takes on added urgency when combined with public health considerations and prevention measures.

As MACV case managers Dash Tuthill-Preus and James McCloden will have you know, we continue to show up and are even more committed to serving our most vulnerable individuals and families. Lavender Magazine's Chris Tarbox sits down with both to discuss.

Groudbreaking For New MACV Transitional Home
On Friday, May 22, we broke ground with  Lennar Minnesota  and  Housing First MN  on a new home in the City of North St. Paul  to serve as transitional housing for homeless Veterans and their families.

Currently, there are 236 Veterans on the state’s Homeless Veterans registry, with 163 located in Ramsey and Hennepin Counties. This opportunity is our fourth Housing for Heroes project in the metro area and will provide much-needed housing for Veteran families experiencing homelessness.
MACV Message on Continued Operations
In this time of loss, anger, and sorrow in our community, and as we reflect on injustice and hardship, we at MACV are keenly aware of the challenges that our Veterans are experiencing. For many it is trauma upon trauma. Our staff are members of our Minnesota community, many are Veterans, and some are still serving themselves.

We are proud to say that the incredible staff at MACV continue to show up, through our grief, for our Veterans and the communities that we care deeply about. Please know that we continue to operate. We continue to bring our energy, creativity, and compassion to our state's Veterans.

If you are working with Veterans who are struggling with housing, employment, or legal issues, please continue to refer them to MACV. If you are working with Veterans struggling in ways that we did not imagine before the past week, or the months since the COVID-19 pandemic, please refer them to MACV and we will problem solve how to best serve those who have served us.

Please share this message to other partners on your team and in the community who are working with Veterans.

Be well as we repair our systems and communities to work for all of our neighbors.
Partner Spotlight
Edina Realty Foundation,
JD Roofing & Construction, Becker Furniture
Special thanks to our partners at Edina Realty, JD Roofing and Construction, and Becker Furniture for a beautiful basement rehabilitation at one of our transitional housing properties. Factors like the home's age and prior upkeep made this project especially challenging, but we knew our partners would succeed in making this space both beautiful and functional for our residents.

A generous donation from Edina Realty Foundation made the project possible. Structural improvements to the space included additions of a kitchenette/living room area, bathroom, and two bedrooms.

Tiffany Fick, JD Roofing and Construction's Chief Operations Manager, provided invaluable leadership on the project from day one and oversaw all aspects of the rehab process.

“Transforming spaces like the Portland property are not always easy, but it’s all worth it when you see the happiness it brings our Veterans when they move in,” notes Fick.

Melissa Beyl, Becker Furniture's Staging Manager, donated her time to help coordinate and secure all of the furniture and artwork for the basement. Becker donated and heavily discounted the furniture for this project.

What an awesome opportunity to have all these partners come together and transform this basement into an amazing living space for Veterans in need!
Upcoming Events
Eagle Group Virtual Job Meeting: Tuesdays (weekly) 5pm - Join Online

America's Realty Group Golf Event: Jun 24th- Majestic Oaks Golf Course , Ham Lake, MN

Martin County CVSO Dedication Ceremony & Resource Fair: Aug 1st- Fairmont, MN

For more events, check out our Upcoming Events page at www.mac-v.org.
Welcome to the Team
MACV continues to expand our reach to Veterans in crisis. We have several new team members we would like to introduce, as well as employees who have transitioned into new roles within MACV.
Metro Region

Corey Bardon, former Metro Regional Supervisor, transitioned to the newly created Veterans Street Outreach Coordinator role ion April 27th

Kate Brune, Development Associate, joined the team on April 29th

Mikaela Hunley, former Case Manager, internally transitioned to our Justice-Involved Veterans Coordinator position on May 18th

Ryan Schaefer , former Employment Specialist, was promoted to Metro Employment Services Coordinator on May 18th
Northern Region
 
Samuel Maida, St. Louis County Case Manager, started on May 6 th

Kristin Helmers, Employment Case Manager, started on May 4 th


Southern Region

Mike Montalto, Case Manager, rejoined the team on April 27th
New Board Members
US. Army Veteran and Registered Nurse Jessica Faue, Outreach and Education Specialist for the Minneapolis VA Medical Center's Suicide Prevention program, joins us to support continued improvement of mental health systems for Veterans. Welcome, Jessica!
U.S. Marine Corps Veteran and Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Project Manager Arthur Cofield joins us to advocate for homeless Veterans, a long-time passion he shares with all of us at MACV. Welcome, Arthur!
WELCOME aboard and congrats to those who have made transitions, it's great to have you on the team!
Supporting our Veterans
MACV continues to receive donations and support from local and out-of-state companies and organizations for Veterans and their families. U.S. Army Veteran Bob Bocchi, owner of Bocchi Labs in Santa Clarita , CA, converted some of his production lines to help with the COVID-19 pandemic and donated personal sanitation products to MACV last month.

A BIG thank you to everyone for your continued support, donations and encouragement during this time!
Edina Realty Foundation donates toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning and laundry supplies for residents at their sponsored MACV transitional home in Minneapolis.
Sweet deal! Brownies Troop 57390 donates 18 boxes of cookies to MACV for us to share with our clients, other Veteran-serving organizations, and volunteer groups.
Thank You to Last Month's Donors
You Can Help End Veteran Homelessness
At the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in Minnesota, we identified 276 Veterans without a home.
In this time of uncertainty, MACV expects to see an increase in requests for our services.

We ask our supporters to help us build emergency funding to provide services not currently covered under grants.