New Home for an Iraq/Afghanistan Veteran Project Sponsored by Bank of America

SARASOTA, Fla. - Feb. 22, 2014 - PRLog -- On Saturday, February 22, 2014 a volunteer crew from Florida Veterans for Common Sense worked on a new home that Habitat for Humanity Sarasota Inc. is building for an Iraq/Afghanistan veteran in Sarasota, Florida.

Habitat for Humanity Sarasota Inc. provides unique financing to help people obtain housing who otherwise may not qualify. Eligible participates for homes through Habitat for Humanity must work a minimum of three hundred hours on their own home, or other Habitat for Humanity homes.

Florida Veterans for Common Sense is a veterans’ advocacy organization group that engages in many projects to help fellow veterans.  This project and others are detailed at the FLVCS official website http://floridaveteransforcommonsense.org/

The new home for a veteran is one way to help meet the many needs of veterans as they return from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and reintegrate into civilian life. Unfortunately, the transition is not always easy and assistance provided by organizations like Habitat for Humanity Sarasota Inc. and Florida Veterans for Common Sense can mean the difference between success and failure.

Veterans often have difficulty finding employment to support themselves and their families. Unemployment among returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan is substantially higher than for the public at large and many veterans are homeless.

The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) reports that as of June 30, 2013 over 1,685,000 veterans have been discharged from the military after service in Iraq and/or Afghanistan. Of these, over 965,000 have been diagnosed and treated by VA with at least one condition (58% of eligible veterans). Over 900,000 have filed disability claims with VA.

Over 310,000 returning veterans have been diagnosed by VA with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Over 200,000 claims have been approved by VA for PTSD (22% of claims filed) and 64% of veterans diagnosed with PTSD by Veterans Health Administration (VHA) doctors have been granted disability benefits.

Florida Veterans for Common Sense is committed to Habitat for Humanity’s goal to provide affordable housing to veterans and others to learn more about exactly what they do and get involved, go to http://floridaveteransforcommonsense.org/