Pocahontas Parkway provides $20,000 grant to Liberation Veteran Services to support its transportation needs
The toll road is celebrating its 20th anniversary by forming new partnerships and providing grants to several Greater Richmond nonprofit organizations
RICHMOND, VA — October 4, 2022 — To celebrate its 20th anniversary this year, Pocahontas Parkway is providing $60,000 in grants to several local nonprofit organizations over 2022.
This week, the toll road announced a $20,000 grant to Richmond-based Liberation Veteran Services, which will be used to help transport its veteran residents to and from their medical appointments at McGuire VA Hospital.
This grant was presented in honor of Pocahontas Parkway’s integral connection to the iconic Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, which is located at the eastern end of the 8.8-mile toll road.
“We’re proud to support the amazing work that Liberation Veteran Services does every day,” said Pocahontas Parkway Director of Operations. “They do so much to empower our most vulnerable veterans and we’re pleased to be able to support their transportation needs. We look forward to developing our partnership with Liberation Veteran Services in the future.”
Recently celebrating its ninth anniversary, Liberation Veteran Services has been dedicated to providing a safe haven exclusively for veterans in crisis in Central Virginia. From its 38-bed facility in Richmond’s Manchester neighborhood, the organization offers homeless veterans the care, resources, and stability needed to rebuild their lives. In 2021, Liberation provided critical support services to 80 veterans, 44 of which received permanent housing.
“We are truly appreciative of Pocahontas Parkway’s generosity and support of our mission to end veteran homelessness,” said Jay Patrick, CEO at Liberation Veteran Services. “This donation has come at an important time to help us improve our transportation services so our our veterans can get to to their much needed medical, dental, and mental health appointments at the VA.”
As part of its numerous support services, Liberation Veteran Services arranges travel from its facility to McGuire VA Hospital, making multiple roundtrip runs each week.
“We serve homeless veterans who all have PTSD, medical issues, or substance abuse issues,” Patrick said. “Each of them needs access to the VA hospital regularly. On average, we take 20 trips to the VA weekly, transporting roughly 15-20 clients. Our staff is currently transporting them in a donated van that has no air conditioning, so this funding comes at the perfect time to make the greatest impact.”
In addition to today’s Liberation Veteran Services grant, Pocahontas Parkway also provided Feed More with a $20,000 grant to help support its Meals on Wheels programs in August and is also planning an additional grant over the coming weeks, which will be earmarked for a local drivers safety program.
This year’s round of community grants follows a $20,000 grant in 2020 that Pocahontas Parkway provided to Communities In Schools of Richmond to assist with the organization’s emergency food assistance outreach in eastern Henrico Co. during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pocahontas Parkway, which is also known as Va. State Route 895 or Pocahontas 895, first opened to motorists in May 2002 and was the Virginia highway project financed under the Commonwealth’s Public-Private Transportation Act, which was passed in 1995.
About Liberation Veteran Services
Liberation Veteran Services is dedicated to providing a safe haven exclusively for veterans in crisis. Beyond offering transitional and rapid rehousing, we take time to counsel each and every one of our vets, treating them with the dignity and respect they deserve. We believe this personalized approach to rehabilitation if the reason why our veterans are able to successfully go on to lead productive, fulfilling lives in the community. Learn more at lvsrva.org