The Primavera Foundation was awarded $1.5 million to help homeless veterans and their families move into housing, and also to expand eviction prevention assistance in Southern Arizona.
The Department of Veterans Affairs awarded Primavera $1,568,910 under the Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program, said Beth Carey, chief operating officer for the foundation. Primavera will work with individuals and their families in Pima County and also Cochise, Santa Cruz, Graham and Greenlee counties.
Carey said this is the ninth year the foundation has received these funds for programs, including moving homeless veterans into apartments and providing rent for up to six months. Meanwhile, the program helps veterans find jobs or receive benefits such as VA or Supplemental Security Income, known as SSI, to make sure they are safe and stable in a home.
Primavera also has money to help veterans who are facing eviction. “If there is a vet who is not able to pay their rent, we can assist them right now. We have additional funds through the CARES Act that is targeted for veterans and their families,” said Carey.
Veterans will qualify if they have active duty time, which may include basic training; must not have a dishonorable discharge or a court-martial; and their income must not exceed 50% of the area median income where they live.
For example, a family of four in Pima County must not exceed an annual income of $34,200.
To begin the process for eviction prevention assistance, call Project Action for Veterans at 520-308-3093. For more information, contact Imelda Robles at irobles@primavera.org
Primavera also assists homeless veterans on the street by getting them into a motel on a short-term basis while they work on a plan for long-term housing.
In the 2019-2020 fiscal year, Primavera programs served 453 veterans’ households, and this current fiscal year the foundation expects to serve about 900 households because of economic issues related to COVID-19, said Carey.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded Primavera an additional $850,000 through the CARES Act and the foundation is expected to receive more funds in October, Carey said. The CARES Act stands for Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, which is in response to the economic fallout of the pandemic across the nation.
The Southern Arizona VA Health Care System and the Tucson VA Medical Center are working in partnership with Primavera to provide services to homeless veterans and those in need of help so they do not lose their housing, said Carey. “Everybody’s situation is unique and services can be accessed through the VA and through us,” Carey said.
Photos: Medical students volunteer to help the homeless population
Medical students volunteer to help homeless
Updated
Christian Bergman, 4th year University of Arizona medical student, checks on a patient outside the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020.
Medical students volunteer to help homeless
Updated
Members of the homeless population social distance themselves while waiting for their to-go food outside of the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020.
Medical students volunteer to help homeless
Updated
Eugene Inocencio sits by himself at an orange cone as he waits for to-go food outside of the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020.
Medical students volunteer to help homeless
Updated
Christian Bergman, 4th year University of Arizona medical student, talks with a patient through a tent outside the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020.
Medical students volunteer to help homeless
Updated
Eudoria Lee, 4th year University of Arizona medical student, passes out a drink with electrolytes to the homeless outside the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020.
Medical students volunteer to help homeless
Updated
Lekha Chesnick, 1st year medical student at Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine, talks with a homeless man (whom choose to not give his name) outside of the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020.
Medical students volunteer to help homeless
Updated
Christopher Vance, center, and Eudoria Lee, 4th year University of Arizona medical students, help a homeless man with a foot injury outside the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020.
Medical students volunteer to help homeless
Updated
From left to right, Audrey Gentry, EMT, Andrew Good, 4th year A.T. Still University medical student, Lekha Chesnick, 1st year medical student at Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Eric Lu, University of Arizona undergrad, meet before heading to help the homeless outside of the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020.
Medical students volunteer to help homeless
Updated
Christian Bergman, 4th year University of Arizona medical student, takes the temperature of a patient outside the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020.
Medical students volunteer to help homeless
Updated
Eric Lu, University of Arizona undergrad, hands a mask to a homeless man outside the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020.
Medical students volunteer to help homeless
Updated
Eudoria Lee, 4th year University of Arizona medical student, passes out to-go food to the homeless outside the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020.
Medical students volunteer to help homeless
Updated
Eudoria Lee, 4th year University of Arizona medical student, picks up some to-go food from Lekha Chesnick, 1st year medical student at Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine, outside the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020.
Medical students volunteer to help homeless
Updated
Christopher Vance, 4th year University of Arizona medical student, hands to-go food to a homeless man outside the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020.
Medical students volunteer to help homeless
Updated
Allison Kath, graduate University of Arizona pre-med student, sanitizes tables after helping with the homeless outside the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020.
Medical students volunteer to help homeless
Updated
Allison Kath, left, graduate University of Arizona pre-med student, and Eric Lu, University of Arizona undergrad, walk through a parking lot after helping with the homeless outside the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020.
Medical students volunteer to help homeless
Updated
Medical staff and students gather outside the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020 after helping serve food to the homeless.
UA worried about increases in COVID-19 cases nationally, preparing for virus testing blitz
UpdatedUniversity of Arizona officials are concerned after seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases nationally and locally just before the holidays.
UA administrators are urging students to participate in a testing blitz between Nov. 9-15 to prevent the spread of the virus if they plan to travel home or meet with family and friends for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Students will be required to complete a survey outlining their travel plans before Thanksgiving to determine how many students will complete the semester online away from campus, how many plan to return to campus after traveling and how many students don’t plan to travel for Thanksgiving.
After Thanksgiving, all classes will be fully online through the end of the semester, the UA said.
Seven gatherings of more than 100 people were reported to the campus area response team last week, six more than the previous week, the university said.
The university reported a 1.1% positivity rate from Oct. 23 to Nov. 1, with 79 positive cases out of 7,122 tests.
On Nov. 1, the university reported five positive cases out of 132 tests, a 3.8% positivity rate.
UA President Robert C. Robbins said the university plans to start the spring semester where it left off in November, unless COVID-19 cases in the area rise. Robbins is also working on a plan to make testing mandatory for everyone returning to campus in the spring, not just students who live on campus.
Dr. Richard Carmona, campus reentry task force director, said the university may also move to online-only classes in the spring if the increase in cases continues nationally and locally.
Medical students from the University of Arizona and other universities volunteer to help the homeless population with the growing concerns of …
