MIAMI, FL (June 26, 2017)
Veterans Administration (VA) Secretary Dr. David Shulkin, Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine, Anthony R. Abraham Foundation Chairman Thomas Abraham, Camillus House Inc. CEO Hilda Fernandez and Project Hero founder John Wordin today, at the U.S. Conference of Mayors, announced the opening of the Project Hero Miami HUB Center within the new Camillus House Somerville Veteran's Village.
Underwritten in part by a $1 million grant from the Anthony R. Abraham Foundation, the new HUB Center in Miami will be the first of its kind in the nation. The new HUB Center will be open to all veterans living in the Camillus House Somerville Veteran's Village facility and in the Miami community when construction is completed and will offer rehabilitation, family service, community service, employment and education programs for local veterans.
Project Hero has been working closely with mayors to open HUB Centers in cities throughout the US and partner with VA Medical Center directors following a recent authorization memo from Secretary Shulkin directing VA Medical Centers nationwide to integrate Project Hero HUB programs at their facilities. Secretary Shulkin was joined by Vice President Mike Pence earlier this month to help kick-off the Project Hero UnitedHealthcare Memorial Challenge presented by Boeing.
“Helping make the Project Hero Miami HUB Center a reality and supporting our local veterans is an ideal way for the Anthony R. Abraham Foundation to continue to achieve its mission of empowering those in need,” said Abraham.
“Project Hero is grateful for the trust the Anthony R. Abraham Foundation and its Board of Directors is placing in us with this generous donation and on behalf of the thousands of veterans we serve in Miami, the state of Florida and throughout the nation, we thank them for giving us the opportunity to better serve our healing heroes,” said Wordin. “This gift will go directly to making a truly beneficial difference in the lives of the homeless veterans of Miami.”
Project Hero is a national nonprofit organization that helps veterans and first responders achieve rehabilitation, recovery and resilience in their daily lives. Project Hero HUB Centers currently offer rehabilitation, family service, community service, employment and education programs for veterans in more than 50 cities throughout the nation. More information is at www.projecthero.org.
Camillus House has been providing humanitarian services to persons who are poor and homeless in Miami since 1960. Established to serve Cuban exiles during its humble beginning as a small soup kitchen, Camillus House is now the largest service provider for the homeless in South Florida, growing into a full service organization that offers a comprehensive system of care, including food; clothing; emergency, transitional and permanent housing; physical and mental health care; and substance abuse treatment. More information is at www.camillus.org.
Based in Miami, FL the Anthony R. Abraham Foundation is dedicated to empowering the forgotten, suffering and hopeless with love, honor and respect. More information is at www.abrahamfoundation.com.
ABOUT PROJECT HERO
Founded in 2008, Project Hero is a groundbreaking national non-profit organization dedicated to helping Veterans and First Responders affected by PTSD, TBI and injury achieve rehabilitation, recovery and resilience in their daily lives. Project Hero works to increase awareness of the national mental health crisis posed by PTSD and TBI. Project Hero programs work by producing positive outcomes at lower costs and reducing drug-based therapies. Project Hero builds and provides adaptive bikes to physically-challenged and injured Veterans and First Responders and has helped tens of thousands of our Healing Heroes at no cost to participants through cycling events, community-based programs in more than 50 cities throughout the US and by supporting research. For information, visit www.projecthero.org.
For information contact Peter Bylsma, Project Hero 310-795-8532, pbylsma@projecthero.org
