As the daughter of a Korean War veteran and with a brother in the Marines, Honore Lassiter is proud to help those who served.
Now, as an Aftercare Case Manager for US Vets, Lassiter is on the front lines in the fight to make sure veterans find, and keep, places to live.
She talks about her drive to help homeless vets and a big barrier she sees when it comes to getting them housed.
“Just seeing that happiness, that thrill in their eyes, and knowing that maybe I helped a little bit. I played a small part in that.”
– Honore Lassiter
US Vets Aftercare Case Manager
US Vets Aftercare Case Manager Honore Lassiter talks about her drive to help homeless vets and a big barrier when it comes to getting them housed
My name is Honore Lassiter.
I work at US Vets. I’m an Aftercare Case Manager. I started out basically as a licensed adjuster. Then I got into being a case manager for the seriously mentally ill now into being a case manager with veterans at US Vets.
I’m very partial to veterans. My father was a combat Army veteran in the Korean War. I have a brother who’s a Marine J.A.G. They have really protected us. They do great service. The fact that they have served and risked their livesâĶ so we should be doing what we can to help them.
There should be no veterans [who] are homeless. I work with veterans that are getting into housing or staying in housing. A lot of times people have really burned some bridges with their landlords. So I will advocate for them to see what the problem is, [and] how to communicate that. People that are transitioning into housing, they’ve got their four walls now, which is a great thing, but we need to provide, resources in terms of furniture, keeping them food secure.
The biggest thing is money management. I think most of us, probably as we were growing up, didn’t learn money management in school. A lot of times it’s not just the budget, it’s cash flow management. It’s like when they get paid, âOh, I’ve got money. I can go spend it.â Not really realizing that you need to save some of that for your rent that’s coming around before you get paid the next time.
I see firsthand the difference that it makes in people’s sense of pride to be housed versus being homeless. That in itself is what drives me. Just seeing that happiness, that thrill in their eyes, and knowing that maybe I helped a little bit. I played a small part in that. So that’s really what drives me.
