About Us - Helping our homeless veterans to succeed
It has long been in the hearts of our founders, Pat and Sandra, to see our Veterans thriving after coming home from war but instead, they saw many struggling with transition to civilian life and living on the streets. It saddened them but they didn’t know what they could do that would make any meaningful impact. After years of seeing homelessness worsen, and at the stage in their lives when they should be retired and "enjoying life", Pat and Sandra decided to act instead. They took a gamble by having Sandra sell her family home and tapped into their retirement funds. They formed a non-profit to act locally while thinking globally and so, Rising Phoenix House was born.
Veteran Risk Factors Associated with Unsheltered Homelessness
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History of combat exposure or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
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Higher physical and mental health comorbidity burden, or "sicker individuals"
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Disability, most often associated with combat
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History of substance use disorder
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Lack of social support
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Having low income or living in poverty
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Lack of access to affordable housing after exiting active duty
How many veterans are homeless?
Of more than 300,000 Veterans referred to VA anxiety or PTSD clinics, 5.6 percent experienced homelessness in a one-year period. The homelessness rate for the entire Veteran population is about 3.7 percent. Veterans who were unmarried or diagnosed with a drug use disorder were more than twice as likely to become homeless as others.
