Caitlin Whyte (Host): Welcome back to In Their Words, brought to you by UPMC in Central PA and the UPMC Pinnacle Foundation. Today, we embark on a journey of purpose and collaboration, exploring the transformative power of community. Our esteemed guests are Marc Migala, Director of Veteran Care Services at UPMC; Tom Zimmerman and Bill Habacivch, both from Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania, better known as VOPA. Together, they've woven a vision into reality, Veterans Grove, a haven nestled by the calming Susquehanna River.

This episode delves into the heart of veterans Grove, uncovering its vision, its development and its unique therapeutic model. We'll hear how this innovative community addresses the specific needs of each veteran, fostering comradery, personal growth, and ultimately healing. From the construction of 15 tiny homes surrounding a vibrant community center to the implementation of comprehensive support programs, Veterans Grove offers a holistic lifeline to veterans facing homelessness.

We'll also acknowledge the UPMC Pinnacle Foundation whose generous support has been a co-success. This episode is a celebration, the celebration of the unwavering resilience of our veterans and the dedicated communities rallying behind them. So, settle in and let's explore the transformative sanctuary of Veteran's Grove.

Marc Migala: This is Marc. I am the Director for Veteran Care Services for UPMC in Central Pennsylvania. Our service team delivers care coordination across all seven of our central PA hospitals that includes our Hillman Cancer Centers along with the entire Heart and Vascular Institute and specialty services throughout our region and that also includes our primary care. Thanks for having us today.

Tom Zimmerman: Thanks, Marc. My name is Tom Zimmerman. I'm Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania. We're a non-profit organization that was created in 2019, and our mission is to combat homelessness among our veterans by providing support and services.

Bill Habacivch: And good morning. I'm Bill Habacivch. I'm the new Executive Director for Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania. In our quest to help veterans who are experiencing homelessness, we'll be using a therapeutic community model where individuals can undergo positive transformation through the development of self-awareness, sense of responsibility. And we hope to cultivate positive relationships within a supportive community.

Marc Migala: The advent of Veteran Care Services truly happened shortly after 2018 when the Mission Act happened. What this allowed veterans to do is that it opened up care opportunities in the community when the VA essentially created purchased care for veterans when they couldn't meet specific access to care guidelines. Veteran Care Services initially piloted through 2019 and into 2020, creating a single one-stop shop model for care coordination when the veterans referral landed with inside of UPMC. And we began the outreach to the veterans. And as this process has grown, you'll hear a little bit more about what we continue to do.

Our UPMC Veteran Care Services team provides a broad spectrum of care coordination. We like to think of ourselves as concierge. All of our team members are called Veteran Care Representatives. And what they do is upon receipt of the referral, they reach directly out to the veteran, and they provide a very succinct service where detailed coordination for their schedule, booking appointments, providing medical record support, transferring the provider notes back and forth, coordinating durable medical equipment, prescription support, along with our emergency room and inpatient care and discharge planning coordination.

If the veteran has issues with bills that they may have received, we support that as well. Along with continued care coordination back to the VA completing requests for services so the veteran can receive the life-changing medicine that UPMC provides. But we also collaborate with partners out in the community when the VA or the veteran may be uneligible for services. And one of those is we continue to build, based on the community need, Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania. For those that don't know, our Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania team is establishing Veterans Grove. It will be a tiny village of 15 homes in a therapeutic community model, built to bring that veteran and reintegrate them back into society in general at large, and help them really get reestablished back into the community.

Tom Zimmerman: Thanks, Marc. First of all, I want to welcome Veterans Outreach and also want to thank UPMC Pinnacle Foundation for their support. UPMC Pinnacle Foundation is going to be a partner of Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania for many years to come and they are also a financial leadership gift and we are naming the community center after them called the UPMC Pinnacle Foundation Patriots Place Community Center.

VOPA, as we're known, is an organization that is going to be supported by the community. It's going to be sustained by the community. And we will be hopefully having our keys in hand by the spring of 2024.

Bill Habacivch: And I'd just like to add that the community is really, really involved. And we've got people like little children, nine-year-old girls raising money for us, as well as corporations, foundations, other individuals, churches, the American Legions, VFWs, and service clubs all over the state of Pennsylvania are rallying around Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania to support it.

Host: Each of our guests today brings not just expertise, but a deeply personal connection to supporting veterans. Their reasons for being involved with veterans Grove resonate far beyond the everyday.

Marc Migala: Organizationally from UPMC, we are devoted to the community. That is number one. We provide this life-changing medicine for absolutely everybody, regardless. So in doing so, reaching out to our veteran population means one of the things most dear to our hearts, especially as a veteran myself, we have the opportunity to give back for those that have given so much to us. But in doing so, we're able to reach so many people within the organization, within the community, and at large.

Tom Zimmerman: Great answer, Marc. The reason that I got involved with helping veterans is, you know, my personal philosophy is if you're willing to sacrifice your life for our freedom, you deserve better. And there's a lot of veterans out there that doesn't have a strong sense of community or a support system when they come back. It's a great opportunity for us as individuals and as Americans to help those that were willing to sacrifice their life for our freedom.

Bill Habacivch: And again, I'd like to add something to that as also a veteran, a lot of young men and women went out and on the front end fought battles and wars for the United States of America. And what happens is they come back with some baggage and there are battles now on the back end that need to be fought and won. And sometimes we as Americans forget about these battles and wars that are the aftermath of conflict. And this is why I'm getting involved, because I think that we need to address these other issues that come home with these veterans so that we can get some real healing done.

Marc Migala: Absolutely. Really well said, Bill. And I think that as we've come to learn care coordination and discharge planning between a federal entity and a civilian entity, our VA, medical center collaboration teams as well as our UPMC teams, doing this and closing those care gaps is extremely difficult. It's a very complex process. And for many veterans, it can be really, really overwhelming. And one of the things that our UPMC Veteran Care Services team really focuses on doing is making it as easy as possible for that veteran as they transition between these entities, between our VA medical centers, and between UPMC teams. And being able to go back and forth without the worry of everything that goes along with it creates such a sense of ease for our veterans, and it allows them to focus on their health and their healing versus all of the administrative burdens that go along with coordinating healthcare. And this is absolutely free for any Veteran that chooses UPMC Veteran Care Services and UPMC in general when they transition from their VA medical centers out into the community.

So, we tell veterans, when you are referred into the community, when you select UPMC, you receive this life-changing medicine, you also receive the life-changing care coordination from our veteran care representatives and our team. We are the only ones in central Pennsylvania that do this and I believe we're the only ones in the state to my knowledge that have a veteran care services team that provides this to our veterans. And it's absolutely remarkable. Our leadership team supports it. Our community absolutely loves it. And we know that our veterans love the services that we provide.

Tom Zimmerman: I also want to add too, is that there's a lot of great organizations out there that are currently helping our veterans. However, there are some of our veterans that do not fit into existing models that are out there, and that's where Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania is really focusing on. We want to become that thumb to the glove to help that 15-20% of our veterans that have really fallen on hard times, and they can exist in the infrastructures of our veteran organizations. And we want to be able to help all our veterans. I mean, our goal is to end homelessness among our veterans.

Host: The statistics surrounding veteran homelessness are stark. They paint a clear picture of a population in need. But numbers don't tell the whole story. Behind each statistic is a veteran, a person who bravely served our country and now faces a different kind of battle.

Tom Zimmerman: The numbers, and there's over 33,000 homeless veterans in the United States, according to the point-in-time research done by the federal government. In the state of Pennsylvania, it's close to 800. And in Dauphin County, it's up to 35 homeless veterans on any given night. Those numbers are what is published. We understand that it could even be higher than that, because there's veterans out there that are couch surfing. There's veterans out there that are living in cars, and those are considered homeless, but yet not being counted for. So, those numbers are unique. And they are also ones that have not been captured with the current existing infrastructure. And we are trying to address those issues. There's so many different reasons why veterans have become homeless, and we are customizing our therapeutic clinical model to help address those issues, to help those veterans to get back onto their feet through our clinical model. And with the community support of the foundation for years to come, we feel we'll be successful.

So, Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania was created in 2019, and we created a small team on our Board of Directors. But one of the very first people we contacted was Peggy Grove, who's a local philanthropist in the city of Harrisburg. She's a past city council president of the city of Harrisburg. And she had some land that was available. And then once she heard of our mission and what we were trying to accomplish, she actually donated five acres of land that was used to be the old Phoenix Park Steel Mill, which is just South of the PennDOT building along the Susquehanna River. And I do want to note that it is above the hundred-year floodplain and in the 500-year flood zone due to an old steel mill called Phoenix Park Steel Mill. Without Peggy's support, we would not be as far as we are with the construction. And that was kind of the perfect location for us. We need it to be downtown. We need it to be near public transportation. We need it to be secure. And we're also near the healthcare where UPMC has healthcare-providing services.

Host: Imagine a powerful synergy. The innovative sanctuary of Veterans Grove, coupled with the comprehensive expertise of UPMC and Central PA's Veteran's Care Services. Together, they create a force for positive change in the lives of veterans experiencing homelessness.

Marc Migala: Absolutely. Great question. In bringing the veteran full circle and at the center and creating an all-encompassing care model for the Veteran and collaborating inside of the community is ideal. The tasks that go along with the life events that are occurring, because let's remember when a Veteran is referred from a VA Medical Center out into the community, there is a life event need that is occurring. Our Veteran Care Services team creates not only the ability inside of our health system, but we maintain an internal roster of what we call our Veterans Resource Guide. And when we organizationally identify a need, we collaborate with individual partners in the community, such as Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania, we also work closely with our Pennsylvania State Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, PA VetConnect, our veteran service officers, surrounding counties, along with individual organizations and nonprofits. Being able to connect veterans to services allows the veteran to be able to heal and move forward each individual time they come across a need inside of our healthcare system. It's absolutely remarkable what we can do.

Bill Habacivch: I would love to add, you know, when Marc is talking about the community here, that integration of all these community services this integration that makes us stronger in addressing these things. And it helps the veteran to get out of old networks that were maybe not so healthy and establish new networks and new providers and new services and new people that they can count on and rely on in a larger community that is healthy. I just love this idea that it is a larger community that is involved in this treatment.

Tom Zimmerman: And I think that the collaboration between the communities, between our veterans, the communication is key. And as Marc mentioned earlier, they're lost and they don't know how to go about it, and they're very proud people. And by UPMC offering the services and cutting through the red tape and being able to provide this, it's one less headache the veteran has to worry about. And there's many veterans ranging from all ages, from young veterans to in their 60s and 70s that just don't know how to navigate or to go where to go. And UPMC is eliminating those challenges and it's just remarkable. And by partnering up with, Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania. It's just another tool that we can now help our veterans and be able to give them the tools that's necessary for them to live a life full of pride and dignity that they deserve.

Host: When we sat down with our guests and ask them to reflect on the powerful stories that motivate them in this vital work, their responses were truly inspiring.

Marc Migala: Well, I'd like to start with me personally. As a retiree, I can take TRICARE and I can go anywhere, I still choose VA. I get every single bit of my care through the VA. My primary care is in the VA. I see her on a regular basis and she's helped identify issues not only for me, but she's also done that care coordination and referrals back into the community where I've personally used our Veteran Care Services team to coordinate my healthcare back into UPMC.

I compound that by having veterans that have reached out to me personally and said, "I can't thank you enough for the work that your team has done." We receive thousands upon thousands of referrals annually for veterans being sent from our VA medical centers in the community into UPMC in central Pennsylvania. And each individual time, they are just so thankful from cancer diagnoses to strokes to heart catheterizations to maybe something as simple as a screening mammogram that identified a need resulting in a diagnostic mammogram, needle biopsies, and an early-onset cancer diagnosis where it can be treated so quickly, so rapidly, and so effectively by our Hillman Cancer Center teams that it just removes all of the worries that go along with the care coordination component and that allows the veteran themselves to focus on the healing and care that they actually need.

Tom Zimmerman: When we were looking at creating our nonprofit organizations, and my wife and Val Fletcher, the co-founder, traveled out to one of the communities out in Racine, Wisconsin, and we were meeting with the executive director and the founder out there to find out more about their organization, how they work, what they work, what we could do and take that kind of model and bring it here to Central PA. And a gentleman drove up in a suit and a car and we were standing in the parking lot, and I thought it was the executive director. And I said, "Are you Jeff? He said, no, I am..." and I forget his name. And he said, "But I live in house number seven," and he had a Bible with him. And he said to me, he says, "The man you see here today is not the man that came here one year ago. This place has changed my life." And then, that was one of those moments where you just like sat there and said, "We're going to make a difference. We can make a difference together."

Host: Our conversation didn't stop at the incredible work being done at Veterans grove. We were eager to learn how listeners can get involved and contribute to this vital cause.

Bill Habacivch: Sure. There's lots of ways to get involved. First, just by going to our website and educating yourself on Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania, and our website is www.veteransoutreachofpa, big one giant word, dot org. And if you go there, you'll find out about us. And there's lots of ways that you can get yourself involved for volunteer work, serve meals, maybe to help with maintenance. There's ways to donate. You know, when I talked earlier about the community donating, we've got people buying bricks. We've got people donating $15 a month to help us. Each and every month, we've got larger donations, but it's time, it's energy. All those things are valuable to us and we love to have volunteers. We've already had a lot of volunteers in our construction phase and before and we're continuing to have volunteers. And we just love the outpouring of volunteerism and support financially throughout the community and that's one of the best ways that you can do it. Again, go to our website at www.veteransoutreachofpa.org, and you can check us out there and really get involved.

Tom Zimmerman: Thanks, Bill. One of the things I'd like to add to that is we also like to spread awareness. So first of all, I can't thank Marc enough for allowing us to take part in today and also the foundation and Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania, but spreading awareness, you know, reaching out. I mean, this foundation and this podcast, hopefully we'll reach thousands and maybe hundreds of thousands, I don't know. Start getting involved and looking at it and talking. And we're out there, and we're a unique situation where we're nonprofit, we're not, any government entity. However, it's the people, it's the American people. It's our time to give back. And if you want to, get involved as Bill mentioned, but spread the word. There's communities, there's groups that you belong to. And let them know that we're coming. This is going to be sustainable by the community and by the local people. And we can't thank you guys enough for allowing us to spread the word today.

Marc Migala: For veterans that are in need of healthcare services, the number one thing that I would encourage right off the bat is if you are not enrolled in your healthcare benefit with the VA Medical Centers, you must get enrolled. You are missing out on so much. The VA of today is not the VA of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s.

The Mission Act has completely and dynamically changed the way healthcare is delivered inside of the VA. This is a benefit that allows veterans to not just receive care for service-connected related issues, but it also allows them to be treated for their cough, cold, rash, bump, scrape, or bruise that they may be suffering from. And when the VA cannot provide any of that care, the Mission Act allows that veteran to go out into the community. It also compounded by the PACT Act for burn pits, the COMPACT Act for suicide prevention. There are so many areas now that the VA is expanding their healthcare. So please, I encourage every veteran, start with your local VA medical centers. In doing so, when the VA cannot provide that care coordination, ask to be referred out to UPMC, and our UPMC Veteran Care Services team will reach out to you immediately upon receipt of that referral, and we will begin care coordination for you. What this will do is it will allow you as the veteran and your families to receive that care stress-free. We remove all the barriers. We coordinate with your provider. We send your medical records back and forth. We assist in discharge planning. We do follow on appointments both back and forth between the VA medical centers. Our VA medical centers also offer embedded community nurse liaisons inside of our facility.

So if you as a veteran are being seen in UPMC in an emergency situation, or you are inpatient, during those times, the VA staff can come see you at bedside and assist and do that care coordination for you back into the VA along with our Veteran Care Services representatives. This is a very holistic approach and, again, it is free for every veteran that is referred into UPMC receiving care on a valid VA authorization. And let's be transparent. If a Veteran calls and says, "Hey, I'm a Veteran. I don't get care at the VA. Can you assist in pointing me in the right direction?" We absolutely can help with that as well. Let's go out even farther and say they're enrolled, but they just have a question about care inside of UPMC and services that we provide by location, our veteran care representatives know every location that we provide services, the hours of operation, and any question that falls in between there. This truly is an all-encompassing, under one umbrella, under one roof opportunity for veterans to receive life-changing medicine between UPMC and the VA Medical Center.

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this today to allow us the opportunity to just show how passionate our Veteran Care Services team is to work with organizations like Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania and so many others in the community to close the gaps for those that served.

Bill Habacivch: You know, we've got the structure of our therapeutic community model. Residents live together in a supportive environment, and we are trying to foster a sense of belonging. Essentially, we're taking men and women, putting them back in a unit, and then we're going to be engaging them. We've got a daily schedule that's packed. It keeps them active. It keeps them moving through things like group therapy, individual counseling, there'll be work assignments, there's recreational activities. We'll be creating a stable framework in which they operate. I mean, it's revelry in the morning, it's eating in a community center. Your meals are taken in community. It's going through the daily routine that I just talked about. We've got, again, these group sessions, individual counseling, skill-building workshops. All these things are integral components of the program. In the evening, there's taps. That flag comes down again and you go back to your individual unit, your tiny home, you can decompress. We've got a lot of things happening here at this therapeutic community model and at our site with, you know, the group therapy, role modeling, peer feedback and recreation. So, you know, we're trying to address this thing holistically to empower people to provide the support systems that they're going to need for overall effectiveness of this process that we're putting them through. And we're excited to do that here in Harrisburg.

Tom Zimmerman: Great answers, Bill. And I wanted to elaborate a little bit on that on the clinical model and the therapy, is that we will be creating an individual service plan. So, each veteran will have a say in this model, and we'll help create a contract and a vision and a mission to address the issues that have caused them to become homeless. And one of those things that makes us unique is that there is not a timeline on it. The timeline is based on the veteran and the caseworker and being held accountable. And as long as they're willing to work at it and work through the process, we're going to be partnering up with corporations, with businesses who want to provide jobs for our veterans, who want to provide stability. And so, our veterans will have a place to stay free of charge. The tiny home is a small, tiny home. It's a 210-square foot building. And as Bill mentioned, the community center is going to be the hub. It's a 6,500-square foot. And that is supported by the foundation. And we will have all our magic happen there.

However, when you're dealing with homeless, two of the major things that really need to be tackled, and one of them is, "Where am I going to put my head at night, and is it going to be safe?" And the second is, "Where's my next meal coming from?" And those two main objectives will be taking care of. And that will help us then to address those issues that caused our veterans to become homeless and to put them on a path for success and to be able to reintegrate back into society and live that life of dignity and pride that they deserve, and then to come back and be a mentor.

Marc Migala: Absolutely. Right. Housing insecurity, food insecurity, employment insecurity, financial insecurity, we recognize these as significant barriers and UPMC just absolutely loves that our Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania team does focus on that four-pillar approach to make sure the veteran has the opportunity for strong recovery. So, thank you to the Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania team for really focusing on those in the therapeutic community model.

Caitlin Whyte (Host): As we conclude this episode of In Their Words, we leave you with a renewed sense of hope and appreciation for the transformative power of community. Veterans Grove stands as a testament to the unwavering resilience of our veterans and the dedication of those who support them. A heartfelt thank you to our esteemed guests, Marc Migala from UPMC in Central PA's Veteran's Care Services, and Tom Zimmerman and Bill Habacivch from Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania. Your vision, dedication and tireless efforts are making a tangible difference in the lives of countless veterans. And to our listeners, thank you for joining us on this journey into the heart of Veterans Grove. Remember, there are many ways to be a part of this vital mission, whether through volunteering, donations or simply spreading the word. Your contribution matters. From all of us here at In Their Words, brought to you by UPMC in Central PA and the UPMC Pinnacle Foundation, thank you for listening. Until next time.