Swords to Plowshares is a veterans organization that provides job training, housing, and benefits advocacy to low income and homeless U.S. military veterans. Swords to Plowshares also operates a drop-in center for veterans requiring emergency services, and engages in policy work. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 headquartered in San Francisco, supported by governmental and private grants, as well as donations from individuals.

1970s

Swords to Plowshares was founded in 1974 by six veterans who had been assigned as VISTA volunteers to work in Bay Area Veterans Administration (VA) facilities. They became concerned that the VA was not properly addressing the needs of returning Vietnam veterans. Within four years, Swords to Plowshares became the first organization certified by the Veterans Administration to represent U.S. military veterans seeking compensation.

The organization began to raise awareness of, and advocate for, veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD and exposure to Agent Orange

Agent Orange

Agent Orange is the code name for one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. Vietnam estimates 400,000 people were killed or maimed, and 500,000 children born with birth...

 during the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

, resulting in Swords to Plowshares accepting a federal grant for veteran service agencies representing veterans who suffered health disorders as a consequence of Agent Orange exposure.

1980s

Recognizing the over-representation of veterans among San Francisco's homeless population, Swords to Plowshares began to offer a transitional housing program in 1988. This program became a model for transitional housing nationally. During the same period of skyrocketing homelessness, Swords to Plowshares also began offering emergency housing, mental health treatment, and social service referrals through its "drop-in" center in downtown San Francisco.

1990s to present

Swords to Plowshares continued to expand its veteran housing programs from 1998–2000 with the lease of a series of decommissioned military barracks in the San Francisco Presidio, which was termed "The Veterans Academy". This permanent supportive housing facility currently serves more than 100 veterans, offering a variety of vocational training and residential programs.

Legal cases

VVA, et al. v. CIA, DOD, et al. (Edgewood Arsenal Case)"
The Edgewood Arsenal case is class action lawsuit filed by Swords to Plowshares and Vietnam Veterans of California on behalf of veterans who were exposed to toxins, biological and nerve agents, and mind-altering drugs during military experiments that began in the 1950s. Gordon Erspamer, senior litigation counsel in the San Francisco office of Morrison & Foerster, which is representing Swords to Plowshares and Vietnam Veterans of California's clients, alleges that US soldiers were, at the Edgewood facility

Edgewood Arsenal experiments

The Edgewood Arsenal experiments are said to be related to or part of CIA mind-control programs after World War II, such as MKULTRA. Journalist Linda Hunt, citing records from the U.S...

 northeast of Baltimore, Maryland, secretly subject to a series of CIA mind-control experiments related to those known as MK Ultra

Mk Ultra

Mk Ultra was an American alternative band that played between 1994 and 1999. The group formed in the Bay Area in the early nineties and went on to become a hit in local circles. Mk Ultra's career culminated in a national tour in 1999 but came to a rapid end when guitarist John Tyner decided to...

. The veterans “volunteered” for human experimentation programs but weren’t informed of the nature of the experiments, weren’t given the awards they were promised, and weren't properly cared for afterward. The plaintiffs demand details of the experiments, the awards and follow-up health care they deserve; and for the government to supply details to the VA to support claims for their service-connected disabilities.

External links

• Homepage
• http://www1.va.gov/vso/index.cfm?template=viewreport&Org_ID=95 Department of Veterans Affairs website: list of veterans service organizations

Swords to Plowshares Executive Director Michael Blecker's testimony before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs