ALPHA OMEGA VETERANS SERVICES, INC.

Alpha Omega Veterans Services, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee that assists military veterans to reintegrate into society, often after achieving recovery and rehabilitation from debilitating mental and physical conditions.

Alpha Omega was established in 1987 by a Memphis mother of 2 sons who returned from the Vietnam War suffering from what we now call PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). After finding no help for her children, our founder started Alpha Omega as one of the first independent organizations in the United States that specialized in providing supportive services to military veterans. Initially serving 8 veterans, Alpha Omega now has the capacity to house over 100 veterans (male and female) and provide counseling services to many more. We have served nearly 10,000 veterans since those humble beginnings.

Today, Alpha Omega operates six facilities that operate independently to meet the needs of our veteran clients: a drop-in/outreach center with 19 beds for transitional housing; an 8-bed hospice-palliative care facility known as the "Life House" that serves our medically fragile veterans; and four permanent/supportive housing facilities—a 32-unit apartment style complex, 8 townhouses, a 10-unit single room occupancy (SRO) facility designed for the chronically homeless and a 15-bed facility situated in a converted residence.

Alpha Omega provides a 30-day to 2-year program with a goal of having each veteran successfully reintegrate back into society, engage in healthy independent living, and secure placement into permanent housing. During the course of their program, every veteran receives intensive counseling on both an individual and group basis to deal with combat/service-related conditions such as anger management, substance abuse, combat stress, PTSD and other mental health disorders.

Each facility operates an integrated system of services designed to meet the needs of our veterans—food, clothing, housing, transportation and assistance with rehabilitation—and administered by a dedicated professional staff comprised of certified peer recovery specialists, licensed social workers, CNAs and RNs who assist each client to fulfil their daily goals. Other services provided to our clients include help securing military service-related benefits from local, state and federal agencies; and providing guidance to our able-bodied veterans through career assessments, job search and training assistance, and help with acquiring skills to ensure job readiness and successful placements.

The homeless or disabled veteran suffers from unique problems and requires special services, especially safe and secure housing, and a healthy environment free of drugs and alcohol. Veterans with the most severe physical and mental health disabilities –—often caused by their military service—require permanent housing with supportive services.

Each of our clients have served in a branch of the U.S. military, with many of them having seen combat in our most recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have acknowledged their problems and are only asking for your assistance as they work to re-establish themselves as productive members of society.

Alpha Omega Veterans Services makes its programs available to any military veteran who has served our country, including our recent conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and other areas of the world. With recent history in mind, it is estimated that up to 1 in 5 soldiers who served in Iraq or Afghanistan will or have returned home suffering from some form of PTSD or traumatic brain injury (TBI). In addition, those who have experienced military sexual trauma (MST) during peacetime, training, or war represent another population of veterans who require our help. Such serious psychological injuries result in veterans facing chronic depression, anxiety and thoughts of suicide.

No one returns home from war unchanged, but with our advanced understanding of mental health screening and treatment for the disabled, Alpha Omega has an unprecedented opportunity to respond immediately and capably to the post-service needs of America's military veterans. With the counseling services and housing facilities that we have made available since 1987, our organization has the capability to care for and rehabilitate those veterans who have honorably served and sacrificed for their country.