Little did Tom Soukup know that day in 2012, when his son returned home from Active Duty and brought his homeless friend, who was also a Veteran, (They had served together.) his life would be changed forever. So would a lot of other lives! Through his personal experience with helping these two American servicemen, and after all the problems and struggles that they experienced to get these young men their benefits and a home, Thomas Soukup knew there had to be a better way of helping our soldiers.
Thus, The Fans of America Foundation was born.
Simply stated, the Fans of America Foundation, a national foundation operating on the state and local level, was created to help Veterans with any issues they may encounter after their service.
Did you know?
- The United States has over 500,000 homeless Veterans out in the streets today.
- Twenty-two (22) Veterans, men and women, commit suicide every day because they don’t have an escape from the life they are living.
- Our Veterans are HEROES.
- They are proud, self-sufficient, survivors who do not like to ask for help. If they finally break down to ask for help and get turned down or sent to another location and another, they stop seeking help, and just accept the life they are living–a life they chose, yes, but not by choice.
- There are many organizations and agencies that have benefits to offer our men and women but it is so hard for our Veterans to find, apply for and receive what there is available for them.
- A major change is needed and Tom envisioned what needed to be done.
- A place where the homeless could live, our Vets could apply for and receive benefits; a choice but with respect, honor and understanding, where they will also support themselves by helping at our sites, going to school and assisting each other with peer-to-peer support.
The mission of The Fans of America Foundation (FOAF) is to help ANY Veteran, with housing, homelessness and benefit issues, receive the benefits and care he or she is entitled to, so our Veterans and their families can live a fulfilling life after serving for our country.
Our Mission
The Fans of America Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization founded in 2012, by retired corrections Sergeant Thomas Soukup from New York. He wanted to help our Veterans, men and women, with housing issues and other needs. Working together with other Veteran organizations, our goal is to see that our Veterans get the benefits that are available to them. The facilities we open, will be in areas around the country that are located near Veterans Administration Offices. We are currently looking at sites in New York, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee.
Our Goals …
Our goal is to have at least four (4) facilities in every state, called FOAF Veteran Services Centers, to help our Veterans with housing, medical, education and benefit issues. We will provide housing and meals for the homeless and have medical and counseling care, with the help of the VA and other organizations invited to our facilities, for those Veterans who need it. We will offer continuing education or skills/trade training at our sites. FOAF will help the Veterans find employment so that they can be on their own to support themselves and their families. Our facilities provide assistance in applying for all benefits with experts at our sites.
Our sites, FOAF Veteran Services Centers, will act as hub facilities to make it easier for our Vets to get the help they so rightfully deserve from all organizations and groups that are out there to help them. Our team will help our Veterans realize their dreams of owning their own homes, by purchasing and remodeling vacant houses in local cities, thus helping to revitalize the communities, and making these homes available to our Veterans to either rent or purchase.
We will have a continuing support staff to check on our Veterans living on their own for years to come. With continued support, our service members and their families will thrive.
Upon reaching out to our Veterans and getting them to our facilities, they will go through our intake process where we will learn about their military and family background to understand the services they need. During their intake, a doctor and or a registered nurse will give the veteran a physical to find out what medical issues they may have and how we might help them with these issues. The Veterans will also go through counseling to identify any psychological conditions they might have. Our staff will help them all along the way to be able live a comfortable life.
FOAF Veteran Services Centers will have an education building on site. The Veterans will be offered training in a trade or another educational opportunity, to learn a skill or career, so that they may acquire full-time employment to be able to support themselves and their families. We will offer a facility for college courses, skilled worker programs along with other job training classes. Our team will help search for employment to aid our service members to become self-sufficient.
The FOAF facilities will offer housing for homeless Veterans or those who need temporary housing. Our sites will provide them with a warm and safe room, 3 meals a day, medical and counseling services, if needed. We will give them a home so they have an address to be able to receive their benefits. Our expert staff will help the Vet apply for the benefits for which they are entitled.
The funding for The Fans of America Foundation will come from V.A. benefits, DSS, grants, donations, memberships, fundraising events and business partnerships. All money raised in each state will stay in that state to help the veterans living in the state. Those funds will not be used nationally.
The Fans of America Foundation’s (FOAF) goal is to help as many Veterans as we are able to, locally in every state, with whatever issues they might have. They deserve to live a comfortable and content life with their families after serving for our United States. Partnering with all organizations in the community and state, we can help thousands of Veterans and their families.
By supporting and working together with FOAF, you will be helping
- provide our Veterans with a stable and secure future
- provide homes for our Veterans
- them continue their education or learn a trade or skill
- Veterans find work within the local communities
- introducing them back into the civilian life
We all will be giving our Veterans hope and a reason to care. We need to join hands, locally, all organizations, people to help and support our Veterans. Please let’s not forget our service members.
