March News and Updates

Meet Maria Mongelluzzo

Veterans Place’s New Development Manager

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Maria developed an interest in nonprofit work at a young age through local volunteer opportunities and school clubs. While studying at the University of Pittsburgh, she discovered a love for development work through various writing classes and internships. After graduation, she worked as an AmeriCorps VISTA in Millvale, managing volunteers and working on accessibility issues in the community.

She then attended graduate school at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California, where she received a Master of Public Administration and a MA in International Education Management. While in California, she worked with several client organizations writing grants, solving marketing problems, and expanding fundraising initiatives.

Returning to Pittsburgh amidst the pandemic, Maria worked as an online English teacher for several months before being introduced to Veterans Place.
“I’m looking forward to working with a group of such passionate and energetic people at Veterans Place. I’m excited to build relationships, collaborate with others, and support our veterans and programming through development work.”

Women’s History Month

Veterans Place recognizes the importance of providing support to our female veterans, and we have operated a Female Veteran Program since 2019 in order to do exactly that. Our program supports the idea that loss is an opportunity for transformation, something our female veterans display through their strength and perseverance every day.

The main goal of this program is to gather the women veterans of the Greater Pittsburgh Area to form a community of military women and provide the resources they need to be successful. We address these women as warriors; strong, intelligent, and capable individuals who have already endured many battles.

The Female Veteran Program understands the importance of honoring our women veterans and has done so by highlighting the service of women veterans at every opportunity. Women veterans have experienced violence and trauma which can have life altering impact on their mental health and quality of life. We are seeking to inspire women to find their way through the darkness, by discovering meaning and purpose beyond the pain through addressing the mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical needs of each woman.

Women can be the trailblazers for all veterans to discover the path for their personal healing journey. Veterans Place is offering a secure area for the development of inner strength and the opportunity for personal growth and nowhere is that truer than in our Female Veteran Program.

Become a Veteran Advocate

Members of our Veteran Advocate Club are an elite group of donors who make a continued investment in our veteran’s recovery and quality of life through monthly donations. Monthly support helps us to provide essential services to homeless veterans through hot meals, career counseling, and individual case worker assistance for the at-risk veterans who come to our campus every day or live on our campus in our transitional housing apartments.

Just $25 per month can change a veteran’s life, providing them a week’s worth of meals or 30 minutes of counseling to start their journey on their transition from homeless to home.

You can make a monthly donation by following the link to our donate page, choosing your amount, selecting “Recurring Donation,” & setting the frequency to monthly

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Rob Hamilton

Robert (Rob) Hamilton, Executive Director of Veterans Place, graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a B.A. in Public Service and is currently completing a masters degree from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) in Public Policy and Management. Prior to attending Pitt, Rob served in the United States Army National Guard as a military police officer where he worked in crime prevention and emergency response throughout the state of Pennsylvania. He also holds a Supervisor/Manager Certificate from Penn State University and a Non-Profit Management Certificate from the University of Pittsburgh. Rob is currently a board member of South Hills Pet Rescue and is an elected official of the Lower Burrell City Council in the Public Works Department. He is the Co-Chair of the leadership portion of the Allegheny County/Pittsburgh Veteran Homeless Boot Camp Committee. Rob received the 2018 prestigious Salute Our Heroes Recognition from the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Who’s Next 2019: Community Leaders & Activists Award from the Under 40 and Making a Difference: The Incline Award. In 2019 Rob received the VA Challenge Certificate of Appreciation.

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