Nurse of the Week Jacqueline Smith Finds New Calling Among Homeless Vets

Caring for the vulnerable and underserved is an inherent part of nursing, and many nurses have been particularly concerned about the plight of the homeless, especially during the pandemic. For some, like Nurse of the Week Jacqueline Smith, serving the homeless becomes a full-time calling. “I get up every morning with a purpose,” Smith says, “to help someone.” Inspired by the service members in her family and the struggle of homeless vets, Smith left nursing to start the Jacqueline Smith Foundation. The San Antonio program extends free food and clothing to homeless veterans and offers them classes, psychological support, and practical assistance as they try to re-enter the job market.

Of her eponymous foundation, the former nurse says, “We believe that no veteran that fought for our country should be homeless or without resources.” She’s proud of her achievement so far: “We’re a fairly new organization, and we’ve helped just over 3,000 people in just nine months.” Still, she always wishes that she could do more, admitting, “when I bring seven new outfits after you’ve been wearing the same set of clothes for the last three days, I know that’s not enough.”

Smith’s foundation is determined to make a difference in the lives of San Antonio’s homeless vets. In addition to food, clothing, and even free head-shot photos for job-seekers, the organization provides free financial literacy classes, navigation of veteran resources classes, and mental health outreach programs. On her foundation website, she states, “We partner with shelters and military organizations for homeless veterans to help those that served our country. No veteran should be homeless after putting their lives on the line for their country.”

As her classes and homeless outreach efforts bear fruit, Smith shares their achievements on her foundation’s Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/thejsfoundation/posts/238019070995914

From the Jacqueline Smith Foundation Facebook page

A video interview with Jacqueline Smith is available on the San Antonio Fox site.

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Koren Thomas

Associate Editor at DailyNurse

Koren Thomas (pictured with Assistant) was the associate editor of DailyNurse from late 2019 through July, 2022—and she was not joking about the "issue postage stamps saluting US nurses" idea. Send your article ideas, submissions, Nurse of the Week suggestions, comments, and corrections to the current Editor in Chief at [email protected].