Veterans Resource Program

ighborhood safety. Addressing issues of inequality affecting local small business contractors, she established the Contractor’s Alliance of Richmond (CAR) in 2005, comprised of fifteen locally owned businesses specializing in the building trades. To address the high unemployment rate and the lack of training in the building trades, she co-founded the Richmond Community Based Employment Collaborative (CBEC) in 2008. CBEC provided services to underserved youth and young adults who are actively involved in gangs, drugs, and gun violence or who are at-risk for these types of activities with Program Readiness/Job Readiness Skills Training and placement. As a member of a military family, Ms. Harris began serving homeless veterans before it became the right thing to do. In honor of her late father, a wounded Korean veteran, she founded the Veterans Resource Program (VRP) in 2011 to assist veterans with housing, applying for benefits, and higher educational opportunities to help them transition back into society through gainful employment. The veterans are provided information about available resources, the latest VA programs and assistance in filing and following up on disability compensation and pension claims to help with their immediate and future needs.