Roundtable Highlights Efforts to Address Needs of our Nation's Veterans

White House 'Compassion in Action' Roundtable Highlights Efforts to Address Needs of our Nation's Veterans

Contact: Rebecca Neale, The White House, Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, 202-456-7348

WASHINGTON, July 22 /Christian Newswire/ -- The White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI), joined by U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs James B. Peake, today convened a Compassion in Action policy roundtable titled, "Serving Those Who Have Served: The Vital Role of Faith-Based and Community Organizations." Hosted by OFBCI Director Jay Hein, the roundtable highlighted the important work of local nonprofits working to address the challenges of men and women who have served our Nation in uniform and explored ways to further expand partnerships with these organizations.

Keynoting today's event, Secretary Peake highlighted ways the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) engages America's faith-based and community organizations and volunteers to more effectively meet the needs of America's 24 million veterans and their families. He indicated that President Bush's Faith-Based and Community Initiative (FBCI) has enabled VA to expand and develop new partnerships with service organizations through efforts like the expanded Grant and Per Diem program, which now supports 8,000 beds for veterans in faith-based and community service residential programs.

The number of faith-based and community organizations funded through this program to serve homeless veterans between 2002 and 2007 rose from 176 to 506, a 287 percent increase.
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