MANA House Serves Homeless Vets In Phoenix Arizona

WOT | Jul 01, 20230

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Formerly known as Madison Street Veterans Association, the MANA (Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force) House is a peer-support organization of homeless and formerly homeless veterans. We help support veterans rebuilding their lives by providing support from our staff and partners.'

Vision

Alone, the challenge of homelessness is daunting. Together, no one is alone and we can overcome any obstacle. Together we can bring an end to veteran homelessness.

Mission

MANA House is a peer-run organization of homeless and formerly homeless veterans offering personal, individualized basic resources, community and advocacy for all veterans.

Values

We listen, accept and understand. We create success by practicing these core values...

• Teamwork

• Duty

• Service

• Self-worth

• Camaraderie

History

May 2008 – Fourteen veterans begin to manage their own space in the Mens Outreach Shelter (MOS) on Madison Street in downtown Phoenix.

Summer 2008 – Madison Street Veterans Association (MSVA) is created as a peer group and serves as an inspiration to other groups in the shelter who organize around their own defining bonds.

Fall 2008 – The group meetings at MOS became too large, so they moved to Lodestar Day Resource Center. LRDC agrees to become the fiscal agent for MSVA.

November 10, 2008 – Phoenix Vice Mayor Michael Nowakowski donates a new U.S. flag to the MSVA group. They retire their tattered old flag to American Legion Post 41 for proper burial.

December 2008 – Catholic Campaign for Human Development provides seed money of $700. Soon after, Colonel Joey Strickland of the Arizona Department of Veterans Services provides a $5,000 grant.

February 2009 – MSVA volunteers for a veterans stand down event assisting with traffic control, cleaning the area and tearing down after the event.

May 9, 2009 – Congressman Harry Mitchell and Col. Joey Strickland cut the ribbon on the Madison Street Veterans Association Outreach Center at 233 South 11th Ave in Phoenix.

May 1, 2010 – MSVA opens MANA House, a transitional living facility at the YWCA building in Phoenix, which houses 49 homeless veterans.

June 2010 – Representatives go to Washington D.C. to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans to share their own successful experiences, look for grant money and to do program research.

October 2010 - MANA House is approved for grant and per diem funding by the Veterans Administration. Grant funds used to remodel the kitchen and replace the flooring.

November 2011 - MSVA receives first place award for our entry in the Phoenix Veterans Day Parade.

December 15, 2011 - Terry Araman, Director of the MSVA, is recognized as a "Champion of Change" and invited to the White House to speak about ending veteran homelessness.

January 20, 2012 - Rededication and open house of the newly remodeled Veterans Outreach Center.

October 1, 2015– Catholic Charities Community Services incorporates MSVA into their programs and oversees its development, taking over for Lodestar Day Resource Center. The program is renamed to Catholic Charities MANA House.

August 2018 – The first residents move into the Catholic Charities MANA House new, expanded facility on Holly St. near the I-17 and McDowell. The new facility has space for up to 76 veterans, nearly double the number at the previous facility. It also offers an industrial kitchen and dining room, large enough for all residents to enjoy meals together and build comraderie, plus a computer room, a day room with books, games and a pool table, and laundry facilities.

Partners

ADM Group

American Legion

The Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation

AZ Dept. of Veterans Services

Be Connected

Del E Webb Foundation

Fry's Food Stores

The Home Depot Foundation

Human Services Campus

Jewish War Veterans