Purpose of of the project

Federal Grant Award Summary

The Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS) awarded Aletheia House Inc. $358,996 under the Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Program (CFDA 17.805) effective July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2028. This Project Grant funds comprehensive employment and supportive services designed to assist veterans experiencing or at-risk of homelessness in central Alabama in securing sustainable employment. The program will serve approximately 90 veterans annually through an integrated service delivery model that includes outreach to street-homeless and sheltered veterans, pre-employment assessments, soft skills and hard skills job training for in-demand industries, employment placement assistance, and post-placement follow-up services to promote job retention and career advancement. Additionally, the program will link veterans with mental or physical disabilities to appropriate support services to remove barriers to workforce participation.

Aletheia House Inc., a Birmingham-based nonprofit established in 2005 with expertise in serving vulnerable populations, will deliver case management, job readiness training, and linkages to stabilization services and benefits support. The program targets a training rate of at least 65% of enrolled participants with a job placement rate of 65%, projecting an average hourly wage at placement of at least 90% of the service delivery area's average market wage. With an average cost per enrollment of $3,989, this award represents continued federal investment in the only federal grant program exclusively focused on competitive employment outcomes for homeless veterans.

Abstract

The purpose of the project is to help veterans experiencing or at-risk of homelessness in central alabama gain the necessary skills to attain and maintain meaningful, long-term employment. The project aims to connect participants to supportive services, benefits, and relevant job-driven trainings that promote job readiness and long-term stability, ensuring veterans have the tools and resources needed for successful reintegration into the workforce. Activities to be funded by the grant -the project will provide employment services, entry-level job training, and case management to 90 veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness annually. Services will include: outreach to veterans living on the streets, in emergency shelters, or other eligible veterans identified through partner agencies linkage to support services that aid in stabilization and enhance job readiness pre-employment assessments to determine if veterans are ready for employment soft skills job readiness training job-driven hard skills training courses for in-demand industries linkage to supportive services and income support providers employment placement assistance and post-placemen follow-up and adjustment services to promote retention and career advancement. The program will also link veterans with mental and or physical disorders who are currently unable to participate in the labor force to appropriate services. Intended beneficiaries of the project - the intended beneficiaries are veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness, including those with barriers to employment. Expected outcomes of the project - the program will enroll 90 veterans annually with 65% of enrollments trained and a placement rate of at least 65%. The program expects the average hourly wage at placement to be at least 90% of the service delivery areas average market wage. The average cost per enrollment will be $3,989. The employment rate in the second quarter after exit from the program will be 55% and the employment rate in the fourth quarter after exit will be at least 31%. The average number of hours worked per week for exiters earning wages in the 2ND quarter after exit will be 25 hours. Key partnerships - the AJC montgomery career center, social security administration, alabama department of human resources, montgomery chamber of commerce, mid-alabama coalition for the homeless (MACH) COC, department of motor vehicles, HUD-vash, priority veterans (SSVF), and alabama department of mental health, housing assistance programs, dental clinics, shelters, and faith-based organizations.