The Independence Fund & Loyal Source Launch Afghanistan Call Center

First of its kind, serves both US veterans and Afghan Allies in the US

 

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Today, The Independence Fund and Loyal Source launched the “Independence Line,” a call center designed to assist U.S. Veterans, Afghans, and their friends and family navigate the issues with the Afghanistan withdrawal. This call center will be staffed by highly trained and qualified clinicians, to provide assistance both to the Afghans now in the United States who served shoulder to shoulder with our U.S. Service Members, and the U.S. Veterans themselves who may have difficulty in these trying times.

 

“With tens of thousands of Afghan men, women, and children arriving in the U.S.,” noted The Independence Fund’s CEO, Sarah Verardo, “there is a critical need to help these refugees navigate America’s complex refugee and asylum systems and ensure U.S. Veterans get the care and benefits they rate and need, where and when they need it.” 

 

This call center will triage incoming requests for assistance related to housing, food, mental health, health care, clothing, legal assistance, and a host of other issues. The call center will conduct comprehensive assessments and work with our case management team to find the best, quickest services to fill the gaps in the current system and The Independence Line will not turn anyone away.  

 

Sarah Verardo, CEO, The Independence Fund, also pointed out that, “We want Veterans, Afghans, and their family and friends to know The Independence Fund is here for them. We recognize your service and are prepared to help you navigate a complex system to get the care and services you need.”

 

Brian Moore, CEO, Loyal Source, emphasized the importance of providing assistance to Afghans and their friends and family, “We are thrilled to partner with the Independence Fund on this critical mission.  The call center is a natural progression to our existing work with refugees across the nation.”

 

The toll-free number for The Independence Line is 1-855-341-5456 and will begin taking calls on Tuesday, September 21, 2021.

 

In August, The Independence Fund, along with the Mighty Oaks Foundation, formed the Save Our Allies Coalition, dedicated to saving our Afghan Allies who served side-by-side with U.S. Armed Forces and working to ensure our Veterans are getting the care needed after bravely serving our nation. As Save Our Allies settles into Phase 2, the partnership between The Independence Fund and Loyal Source was created as the next step in the holistic approach to assisting U.S. Veterans and Afghans.

 

The Independence Fund:

Founded in 2007, the Independence Fund is committed to empowering our nation’s catastrophically wounded, injured, or ill Veterans to overcome physical, mental, and emotional wounds incurred in the line of duty. We are dedicated to improving the lives of both our Veterans and their families. Through our Mobility, Caregiver, Advocacy, Casework, Operation RESILIENCY, Independence@Home and Family programs, The Independence Fund strives to bridge the gap of unmet needs for Veterans and their Caregivers. Before joining the coalition, The Independence Fund had programs in place to include Afghan SIVs and their families in its programming, including Operation RESILIENCY, a retreat focused on the mental health of Veterans to combat Veteran Suicide by reuniting combat units who served and fought together and includes their interpreters living in the United States through the Afghan Special Immigration Visa (SIV) program.

 

Loyal Source:

 

Loyal Source, founded in 2009 is a total workforce solutions provider delivering medical, behavioral health, rapid response, and technical solutions to military, civilian, and private sector clients in all 50 States and overseas. We’re proud to support our clients’ most challenging and urgent missions in helping service members, military families, Veterans, law enforcement, refugees, and underserved populations.  Loyal Source also provides military readiness services for all branches of the Armed Forces and has a travel nursing division that has been instrumental in the current COVID response. 

 

Media Contacts: 

Lexie Rock, Communications Director 

l.rock@independencefund.org 

(980) 254-2295 

 

Ashley Skinner, Communications Manager 

a.skinner@independencefund.org 

(704) 712-5380