How We Help
GI Go Fund provides assistance to all military veterans, with a focus on veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, by helping them find employment, access housing, and secure their education and health benefits.
Employment and Training
Our organization works tirelessly to ensure that our veterans connect to employment opportunities that best fit their skills. GI Go Fund’s Center for Job Training and Entrepreneurship provides clients with job training to help improve their corporate skills. The Center also gives business owners access to an incubator space with different tools to help them grow their small businesses. Our staff also works with clients directly to help them with resume building, mentorship, and connections to job opportunities.
Our group also works with people in need every day in our offices providing direct employment assistance and counseling to clients looking for work. In addition, our organization has teamed up with JobPaths to create jobs.gigo.org, a job posting and training board to help clients connect to employment opportunities, improve their skills, and develop a custom resume.
Benefits and Legal
All veterans have experienced some form of difficulty dealing with the flawed VA system. GI Go Fund is working to make sure that all of our veterans get the care they deserve. We have fought to improve health care for our veterans, working with government leaders to help improve the VA healthcare system by giving veterans a way to choose their doctor. In addition, our staff offers veterans looking to obtain benefits from the VA information regarding what they are entitled to, as well as referrals to qualified VSOs who can assist them in filing their claims and appeals.
GI Go Fund has also made great strides for veterans in the criminal justice system, partnering with community leaders to create the Veterans Justice Initiative, the first and only Veterans Court in New Jersey. Through the Initiative, veterans facing minor charges are given support from committed partners from government and nonprofit collaborators. The organization has also cultivated partnerships with law firms like Day Pitney to offer veterans pro bono legal aid to give veterans a strong advocate when they need it most.
Housing and Homelessness
Far too many veterans return home to financial emergencies that can result in homelessness. On any given night, 1 in every 5 people living on the streets is a veteran, something that is nothing short of a national tragedy. GI Go Fund works to play a critical role in ending homelessness among veterans through strong outreach efforts like our Stand Down for Homeless Veterans event, where Newark’s most at-risk homeless veterans are provided essential services, food, clothing, and access to housing.
The organization also works to provide direct support to homeless and at-risk veterans, including emergency financial assistance to veterans as well as gift cards to families in need during the holiday season. Lastly, for veterans who are in need of direct housing support, GI Go Fund has partnered with SoldierOn, a leading organization in the fight against homelessness, to provide direct grant support to veterans looking to find a home for them and their loved ones.