UNITED WAY SUNCOAST TO LAUNCH MISSION UNITED IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY

Network of connected services will serve 93,000 veterans and their families

TAMPA, Fla. – November 10, 2017 – In honor of Veterans Day, United Way Suncoast announces it will launch MISSION UNITED™ in January 2018. MISSION UNITED is a network-based program that connects veterans, service members and their families to the resources and services they need to successfully acclimate back to civilian life.

There are a number of high-quality nonprofit organizations providing services exclusively to the veteran community, and MISSION UNITED will make these services easier to navigate by providing a coordinated care network with a simple entry point to help the veteran community access the resources available to them.

“We have 93,000 veterans currently living in Hillsborough County alone, and many do not know which way to turn for support,” said Mark Fetterman, Mission United Program Director, United Way Suncoast. “MISSION UNITED creates a ‘no-wrong door’ approach by bringing together a comprehensive network of collaborative social supports that collectively impact our veteran and military community to live productive, fulfilling and healthy lives, during and after their time in the service.”

MISSION UNITED has created a unique partnership between public, private and nonprofit providers in the Suncoast community, including: USAA, Bank of America, Veterans Administration, Bay Area Legal Services, University of South Florida, Hillsborough Community College, MacDill Air Force Base and Lockheed Martin. Through these partnerships, MISSION UNITED will enable military, veterans and their families to successfully transition back to civilian life by affording them the services and support they need, with a focus on employment, navigating benefits, transitioning into the community and family resources.

Suzanne McCormick, CEO of United Way Suncoast, said, “Launching MISSION UNITED leverages our experiences in convening the non-profit community around shared goals, and closely connects with our mission to fight for the financial stability of every person in our community. Over the past year, United Way Suncoast has brought together key service providers and stakeholders for the veteran community and began raising the funds needed to launch and sustain MISSION UNITED here in the Tampa Bay area.”