Helping Heroes

Oneof the co-founders of Helping Heroes, Jeremy, is an Iraq War veteran and upon return from the war, took a position with the Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Center program in Morgantown, WV as an outreach worker. He returned to school and obtained a masters degree in Social Work, leading to a position as a psychotherapist for combat veterans and families. Eventually returning home to Wheeling, WV and the Wheelnig Vet Center, Jeremy realized there was a serious problem with veterans returning with illnesses, wounds, and injuries that made it difficult to return to work, and as a result, they were becoming homeless, or close to it. So he decided to do something about it, along with the other co-founder, his wife Susan. 

They purchased some dilapidated property in Moundsville and quickly got to work on the rehabilitation of the 2 office spaces and three apartments above. They obtained 501-c3 status as a non-profit program. through small donations at first, they began assisting veterans and their families, who were struggling to make ends meet. Eventually, in October 2013, they received a grant from the VA for the Support Services for Veteran Families program (SSVF). Jeremy left the Vet Center to work full-time with Helping Heroes. In addition to helping homeless and near homeless veteran families, Helping Heroes has assisted veterans in getting employment, filing disability claims, facilitated support groups, and many other things necessary for veteran success. since opening full-time, Helping Heroes has provided some sort of assistance to over 300 veteran family members. In November 2015, they will be opening 3 transitional housing apartments for homeless veterans to live, free of charge. Costs for maintaining the apartments will be covered solely by donations. As a veteran and veteran family member, Jeremy and Susan have devoted their lives to helping veterans and their families. Much of the work on the property has been done by them, and they also run the organization. They now serve 5 counties, with aspirations to grow into other counties and states. Supporting this organization is directly supporting the veterans and veteran families they serve.