CrossFire National Veterans Assistance

What is the most suitable location for an initial faith-based alternative to VA services?

Basic requirements

• The site should be in a rural setting, away from as many of the distractions that contributed to emotional, physical and spiritual conditions as possible without creating a monastery.
• The site should be located within an easy commute to a major Veterans Affairs hospital to ensure that clients have access to a pharmacy and major medical care, and all other services that the VA has to offer.
• The site should be in an area where public transportation can help clients attend off-site schools, universities, and end-state employment opportunities.
• The site must be able to house a minimum of 25 initial residential clients and an additional 25 beds for transient clients. The ultimate goal will be to house 100 residential clients, 25 transient clients, and 25 halfway house clients (total 150). There must also be one private but not detached living facility for the night shift supervisor.
• In addition to the above dormitory space, the site must have adequate dining facilities, at least six moderate-sized classrooms, one major meeting area (chapel type), one medium-sized business conference room and nine office/counseling rooms.
  The site should have additional buildings and community access for a thrift store and other income-producing and community service enterprises.

Reasons for Seeking a Location Near Charlotte, N.C.

In what region is the target population located?

The U.S. Census Bureau (2000) has identified the South as the region that has the greatest number of veterans in the entire nation (almost 10 million). The other regions (Northeast, Midwest and West) each had approximately half that number. CrossFire intends to be a national program, offering services to all veterans who are able to reach its initial facilities in the South with additional facilities opening in other regions.

Which southern state offers the most favorable environment for a faith-based alternative to VA services?

• Homelessness: Among the southeastern states, North Carolina is second only to Florida in the greatest number of homeless individuals. When you consider that it has only about half the number of funded homeless beds as Florida, it immediately rises to the top of the list when considering need.

• Military installation and separations from active duty: North Carolina is home to six military installations: Fort Bragg (sixth-largest number of separations in the nation); Camp Lejeune (eighth-largest number of separations in the nation); Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station; New River Marine Corps Air Station; Seymour Johnson Air Force Base; Pope Air Force Base. For fiscal year 1997, North Carolina ranked 4th among the states in the number of military separations (15,908). With this large military presence, the Winston-Salem Regional Office has more than 112,000 potential active-duty customers in addition to over 710,700 North Carolina veterans. While other states are experiencing the closing of military bases, North Carolina military installations continue to expand in mission, size and population. This growth in veteran, active duty, reservist and dependent populations has resulted in a significant increase in compensation and pension claims, loan guaranty activity, requests for vocational rehabilitation and counseling services, requests for assistance and information.

Which city in the South is most accessible and will provide the best opportunities for education, employment, and location close to a major VA medical center?

• Size: When planning a headquarters and prototype for a national alternative to federal veterans’ services, size does matter. Charlotte is the largest city within the region. Charlotte has 6.9 million and Atlanta has 7.5 million people living within a 100-mile radius. This radius population well exceeds Miami’s 5.8 million and the 2.6 million around Memphis.

• Accessibility: Because this project plans to draw veterans from the entire region and possibly from the entire nation, accessibility is crucial. Charlotte has emerged as a financial, distribution and transportation center for the entire urban region.

• Charlotte is served by an excellent state and federal highway network, including major north-south and east-west interstate arteries, and a modern, expanded international airport terminal. Eight major airlines offer direct and nonstop daily flights to 155 cities. Each year over 11.8 million passengers board planes at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, ranking it the 17th most active air transportation center in the nation.
• Charlotte is a major distribution hub and is at the center of the largest consolidated rail system in the United States.
• The Charlotte region is also the center of the country’s largest consolidated rail system. Two major rail systems, Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX Transportation, link 27,000 miles of rail between Charlotte and 22 eastern states. Each offers piggyback facilities combining with 300 trucking firms located here. Direct connections are provided to the ports of Wilmington, Morehead City and Charleston.
• Charlotte is a port of entry with fully staffed U.S. Customs and Immigration and Naturalization offices. This is significant because many members of the armed forces have not achieved full citizenship and have family members which will need services from these federal agencies.

• Employment opportunities: One of the ultimate goals for any readjustment or recovery program is to successfully integrate the graduating client back into society. This means not only successful employment, but also long-term job retention.

• Charlotte has developed into a major wholesale center with the highest per capita sales in the United States.
• Charlotte serves as the subsidiary headquarters for many major national and international companies. During the past 10 years, 8,888 new companies have invested $9.1 billion in new Charlotte facilities.
• Over 480 foreign-owned companies have Charlotte facilities, representing more than half of all foreign companies in North Carolina.
• Potential for contributions by major corporations: Dun & Bradstreet lists 687 companies in their Million Dollar Data Base with facilities in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. In addition, 286 of the Fortune 500 companies have facilities here, nine of which are headquartered in the Charlotte area, ranking Charlotte fifth nationally in the number of headquartered firms.
• With more than $1.3 trillion in assets, Charlotte is the second largest financial center in the nation, behind only New York. By comparison, Atlanta has assets of only $128 billion and Miami has less than $1 billion.
• Two of the nation’s largest banks, Bank of America and Wachovia, are headquartered here. In total, 20 banks with more than 218 local branches, as well as a Federal Reserve Branch, are located in Charlotte.

• Education: Accessibility to learning institutions is an important part of providing seamless services to veterans. Charlotte has an outstanding system of higher education with 35 colleges and universities that serve over 150,000 students. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte is known to be one of the best education values available. Central Piedmont Community College is one of the top five two-year institutions in the country. Other colleges and universities include The Art Institute of Charlotte, Brookstone College, Carolinas College of Health Sciences, Davidson College, ECPI College of Technology, Gardner-Webb University, Johnson & Wales University, Johnson C. Smith University, King’s College, Lee University, Montreat College, Pfeiffer University, Queens University, Strayer University, Wingate University and Wake Forest University.

• Proximity to VA medical centers and other federal facilities: Any readjustment and recovery facility with veterans as their primary (only) client base must be located within driving distance to a major VA hospital. If the facility is to offer a faith-based alternative to VA recovery and readjustment services, then proximity is crucial in order to adequately supplement veterans total care. CrossFire plans to find a location somewhere between Charlotte and Salisbury for the following reasons:

• Approximately 40 miles northeast of Charlotte is the W.G. (Bill) Hefner VA Medical Center. It is a 484-bed medical center located in Salisbury, N.C. Inpatient services are provided for acute medicine, cardiology, surgery, psychiatry, physical rehabilitation, intermediate and extended care, neuropsychiatry services, psychiatric intensive care, and geropsychiatry. Primary and specialized outpatient services are provided at the medical center and outpatient clinics. The medical center is affiliated with Wake Forest University School of Medicine, with a focus on resident involvement in primary care, dermatology, rehabilitation, ophthalmology, and psychiatry. There is no faith-based alternative for readjustment and substance abuse rehabilitation at this facility.
• Approximately 100 miles from Salisbury is the Fayetteville VA Medical Center. It is a Clinical Core Level III facility, with 86 general medical, surgical and mental health beds, and a 69-bed long-term care unit. It is located in an area populated by more than 155,000 veterans in 21 counties. Two of the counties served by this facility are in northeastern South Carolina. The medical center has a full array of inpatient and outpatient services utilizing the latest medical technology, but offers no faith-based alternative for readjustment and substance abuse rehabilitation.
• Only 115 miles north of Charlotte is the Asheville VA Medical Center. It is a tertiary-care, 112-bed acute-care facility located in western North Carolina. Asheville operates a separate 120-bed extended care and rehabilitation center, serving the western North Carolina area and portions of South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. The center’s services include extended care rehabilitation, psychogeriatric care, and general nursing home care. Comprehensive health care is provided through the spectrum of primary care, tertiary care, and long-term care in areas of medicine, surgery, psychiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurology, oncology, dentistry, and geriatrics. Asheville is a teaching hospital, providing a full range of patient care services, with state-of-the-art technology and programs in education and research. Special programs include a Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) program, and a Substance Abuse Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (SARRTP) which is not faith-based.
• Only 140 miles away is the Durham VA Medical Center. It a 274-bed tertiary care referral, teaching and research facility affiliated with Duke University School of Medicine. Durham provides general and specialty medical, surgical, psychiatric inpatient and ambulatory services, and serves as a major referral center for North Carolina, southern Virginia, northern South Carolina, and eastern Tennessee. Community based outpatient clinics are located in Greenville, N.C., Morehead City, N.C., and Raleigh, N.C. The medical center is a regional center for radiation therapy, neurological disorders, therapeutic endoscopy, and other special procedures. In addition, it serves as a referral center for high-risk open-heart surgery cases, angioplasty, and hemodynamic cardiac catheterization. The 120-bed extended care rehabilitation center is reflective of an ongoing emphasis on wellness, preservation of functions, and rehabilitation. Special programs at Durham include a comprehensive Women’s Health Center; a home based primary care program; a telemedicine home care program; a geriatric research, education, and clinical center; the Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care; the VISN 6 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, and the Epidemiology Research and Information Center. Durham also serves as the support facility for the National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, the Performance Assessment Center for Excellence, and the Employee Education Service.
• Veterans requiring specialized services not available at any of these facilities can use Ft. Bragg’s Womack Army Hospital due to a VA/DOD agreement between Womack and Fayetteville VAMC. Additional resources are shared with Pope Air Force Base and Womack Army Hospital under VA/DOD sharing agreements to augment heath care delivery.

• Outpatient Clinics: The network also has a community-based outpatient clinics located in Charlotte, Jacksonville and Wilmington, N.C. An additional satellite outpatient clinic in Winston-Salem is the compensation and pension clinic of jurisdiction for the state of North Carolina, facilitating the rating of veterans for compensation and pension purposes.
• Vet Centers: In addition to the major VA hospital facilities and the outpatient clinics, there are four vet centers in the state. They are located in Charlotte, Fayetteville, Greensboro, and Greenville.

It is anticipated that all of these VA hospitals, outpatient clinics, and vet centers will provide referrals to the CrossFire Veterans Readjustment and Recovery center if veterans request a faith-based alternative program for these services. It is easy to see how this national faith-based program, centrally located to provide faith-based alternative services, could receive referrals from the entire region covering North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and beyond.

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