OKEECHOBEE – Mission United will host a fundraising event at Freedom Ranch on March 28: Boots ON. Hearts UNITED.

The event will include a dinner, drinks, music by Jam N Biscuits and an auction. Sheriff Noel Stephen will barbecue brisket from Adam’s Ranch, which will be served will all the trimmings.

Funds raised will go into an unmet needs fund which Mission United will use to help veterans meet emergency needs.

Tickets are $65 person or $50 for veterans and first responders. Sponsorship packages are also available. Raffle tickets for a $200 Eli’s Western Wear gift certificate are available for $10. For tickets, go online to https://www.uwslo.org/boots-hearts-united

At the March 14 meeting of the Okeechobee County Commission, Leah Suarez of Our Village Okeechobee explained, “The Mission United concept was brought to us by a Vietnam vet.

“I noticed the gap for services for veterans in our community as the child of a veteran and the mother of a veteran,” said Suarez. “This program has been transformative. We have an amazing partnership with Veterans Services Officer Paul Hiott.

“The impact that we’ve made, taking people from homelessness to homes, getting people to life transforming surgeries that they had not been able to get,” she continued.

Suarez said Mission United established an unmet needs fund, launched with $10,000 from a private donor from Michigan and $10,000 from Broward County.

“These unmet needs can be anything,” Suarez said. “Last week we gave a car to a gentleman who can get to work without having to bike on an unsafe road, and also opens up opportunity for employment in his field outside the county.

“We are proud to be the only Mission United in the world that is partnered like we are,” said Suarez. “We have fiscal control of Mission United – making sure local funding stays local. We want to be very clear our funding raised here, stays here.”

Mission United Director Joe Snowberger said the unmet needs fund will allow them to help veterans who have an immediate need, such as a payment to help someone whose power has been turned off.

More than 45,000 Veterans and their families call Okeechobee and St. Lucie counties home. Many of these Veterans, having never asked for help, struggle with identifying and accessing help with affordable housing, transportation, sustainability and financial assistance. Understanding and navigating the well-intentioned, but often confusing, array of Veteran services can be daunting, especially for disabled Veterans, those with families, and those in rural and less populated areas.

Established in August 2025, MISSION UNITED Okeechobee & St. Lucie (OSL) is a free service assisting veterans and their families identify and navigate the often-complex system of care and services, making it easier for them to address the barriers to them living their best lives. MISSION UNITED OSL is a result of the vision and partnership of Our Village Okeechobee and United Way St. Lucie & Okeechobee.

Since August 2025, Mission United OSL collaborated with 37 agencies and the VA, fostering positive outcomes in situations such as:

• Coordinated the rescue and re-housing for a homeless, elderly, widowed Veteran living in barn.
• Prevented eviction, homelessness for a veteran during his four-month job search.
• Provided intense, hands-on case management and developed a basic needs support system for three Veterans, all existing in austere conditions.
• Reconnected an in-crisis Veteran to VA mental health and career services, preventing their suicide.