Veterans program kicks off in San Bernardino

Reprinted from the 09/17/14 San Bernardino Sun

The Veterans Affordable Housing Program kicked off its “Free Furniture For Veterans” campaign last week at the Sequoia Plaza Mobile Home Park’s community room on West Foothill Boulevard in San Bernardino.

Here, Army veteran John Finneran, a resident at Sequoia, sits in his free motorized lift reclining chair for the first time in his home as VAHP representative Lee Martin looks on.

“We’ll never be able to thank you enough for this wonderful recliner,” Finneran told Martin Thursday.

The program will continue at Sequoia under the leadership of Martin, who oversees the newly formed American Veterans Assistance Group.

The program provides services to veterans living in Sequoia and other Santiago communities. More than 600 veterans are served through AVAG, according to a spokesman. The organization has communities throughout California, with seven manufactured home communities in San Bernardino.

There are more than 600 veterans in the communities and, of those, 135 have been assisted through more than $280,000 in private and corporate funds.