Michael Blecker has been associated with Swords to Plowshares since 1976 and served as Executive Director since 1982. The agency was started in 1974 by returning Vietnam veterans and VISTA volunteers assigned to the VA Regional Office in San Francisco. The founders wanted to help their peers through the difficulties of readjusting to civilian life, primarily by helping them obtain employment and access to VA health care and disability benefits. Initially, Mr. Blecker worked on the case that led to Swords to Plowshares being recognized by the VA to represent veterans seeking benefits, the first new group in 32 years to be certified.
In the 1980s when homelessness exploded, Swords to Plowshares started a transitional housing program with funding support from the VA and the City and County of San Francisco. Swords to Plowshares continues to provide housing, employment, case management, and benefits advocacy for veterans in San Francisco and Oakland. In 2005, the Iraq Vet Project was established to help veterans of those wars and to shape policies affecting them. The program now works to share our expertise and best practices to improve veterans’ access to care. We continue to work with our partners on the local, state, and national levels to end veteran homelessness.
Under Mr. Blecker’s leadership, Swords to Plowshares’ annual budget has grown from $75,000 to over $30 million, 40% of which supports nearly 500 beds in stabilization and permanent supportive housing. He has a nationwide reputation for dedicated service and as an authority on veterans’ services and rights. He served on the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans (2002-2007) which advises the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; he is co-founder of both the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans and the California Association of Veterans’ Service Agencies. He has served on the Congressional Commission on Service Members and Veterans Transition Assistance, the California Senate Commission on Homeless Veterans, the San Francisco Mayor’s Homeless Planning Committee, the National Agent Orange Settlement Advisory Board, the Agent Orange Information Center, and the Veterans Speakers Alliance. From 2015 to 2016 he served on the federal Commission on Care, examining veteran access to VA care.