Category: Iowa

By Darlene Terrill, Regional Director This year, the Family Alliance for Veterans of America (FAVA) participated in Boyd Gaming’s Wreaths of Hope initiative, a holiday wreath decorating competition. This campaign aims to support non-profit organizations in a creative and fun way throughout the holiday season. FAVA staff, Kerry Gunderson and Robin Jaquis, took the lead […]

By Darrell Mayo, Veteran Advocate During the extremely cold winter months in Sioux City, Iowa, the Warming Shelter opens its doors to the homeless with the help of generous donors from the Sioux City area. The Warming Shelter is open 24/7 from Nov. 1 until May 5 and then reopens again for the hot summer […]

By Amanda Eldridge, Shallow Subsidy Veteran Navigator The idea of presenting a Northern Iowa/Southern Minnesota Veterans Stand Down event was proposed in the spring of 2021 and our planning began. To our disappointment, the Stand Down was postponed one year due to COVID-19. Our board began with a small group of service providers with the […]

By Jennifer Cleveland, Support Services, FAVA  Forest City Puckerbrush Days is a two-day annual community event held every July in Forest City, Iowa. This year, the Forest City Lions Club sponsored the parade and the registration fees went towards programs designed to help local children and adults that are hearing impaired.   In addition to a […]

By Darrell Mayo, Veteran Advocate Paul Andres is a U.S. Army Veteran who is now helping WestCare take care of other Veterans suffering from homelessness. Paul was born on the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific. He speaks both English and the Marshallese language. Shortly after finishing high school in 2011, Paul enlisted in the […]

By Jon Hanni, Data Entry Specialist On Saturday, May 21, the Family Alliance for Veterans in America (FAVA) team in Forest City, Iowa, participated in a “Poker Run” organized by the American Legion Motorcycle Riders from Osage, Iowa. Their organization had contacted FAVA to be a part of a stop on the run, which was […]

By Jennifer Cleveland, Support Services For the past several years, the WestCare Iowa/Family Alliance for Veterans of America (FAVA) has been generously awarded funds to be able to provide everyday necessities to Veteran households. With these funds, we can purchase items such as food, hygiene products, Christmas gifts, fuel cards, etc. With the funds granted […]

By Darrell Mayo, SSVF Veteran Advocate Helping Veterans with their long-term care to escape homelessness is a team effort. Not only must they overcome their individual troubles such as drug and alcohol abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other ailments – but many Veterans must also learn to navigate through their lives while also having […]

By Darrell Mayo, SSVF Veteran Advocate, FAVA  The Family Alliance for Veterans of America (FAVA) office in Sioux City would like to highlight the contributions of Sue May, Veteran Career Planner at the IowaWORKS program in Sioux City, which connects employers with job seekers. In her role, she helps Vets build their resumes, enroll into […]

By Tami Nelson, Veteran Advocate Thank you, Harper Levy, HUD-VASH Program Supervisor from the VA Community Resource and Referral Center in Des Moines, Iowa, for sharing information with WestCare Iowa’s Family Alliance for Veterans of America (FAVA) program! We were informed that the Charles City Elks Lodge #418 had received two grants (Elks Beacon Grant […]