Impact Stories Financial Stability

David is a veteran who works for Veteran’s Outreach of Wisconsin, which is committed to assisting homeless and at-risk veterans in returning to a life of normalcy. It hosts a tiny home village and provides food, clothing, shelter, and other basic needs to help veterans acclimate back into their community. During the 2017 tax season, David had his taxes filed with the help of United Way’s VITA—Volunteer Income Tax Assistance. His participation in VITA sparked a conversation between United Way and Veteran’s Outreach, which partnered to bring financial literacy classes and a VITA site to the residents of Veteran’s Outreach. These financial stability resources will be available to veterans starting in 2018.

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) is a national program staffed by local volunteers to provide free preparation and electronic filing of federal and state tax returns for any individual who earns less than $54,000 annually. It’s an important service to thousands of individuals and families in this county with low-to-moderate incomes who are eligible for tax credits. Although 2018 is only its second year since it returned to Racine County, it has already begun to make a substantial impact on the community of Racine County.