On this Veterans Day, we salute the Chicago chapter of the Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals (VAREP) and its mission to assist veterans and active-duty military realize the dream of homeownership through advocacy, education and affordable housing opportunities.

Learn more about VAREP, its programs and the Chicago chapter. Today we highlight some of the Chicago chapter’s leadership and their inspiring stories.

Jerry Cox

REALTOR® Jerry Cox, a broker with Coldwell Banker Realty in Chicago, serves as the Government Affairs Chair for VAREP Chicago. A veteran of the Illinois National Guard, Cox worked as a professional photographer and REALTOR® for many years after leaving military service before he considered himself a “veteran.”

It wasn’t until a few years into his real estate career, at a real estate training focused on serving veterans, that he began to identify with the term. The trainer asked everyone to stand up and then asked veterans in the audience to sit down.

“About two out of the hundreds of REALTORS® who were there sat down,” said Cox. “I decided to sit down in solidarity with these two, older gentlemen and the trainer told everyone to give us a round of applause. It wasn’t the applause, but the realization that out of the hundreds of brokers at the training to serve veterans, only three of the attendees had served in the military.”

That inspired Cox to become involved with multiple veteran service organizations including, most recently, VAREP Chicago.

Yvette Jones

REALTOR® Yvette Jones, a broker with Real People Realty in Mokena, is on the board of VAREP Chicago and is a community volunteer and activist.

After leaving the U.S. Army, Jones encountered challenges and eventually became homeless. She stayed with friends, at shelters and in her car and remembers the sinking feeling of not having even basic necessities. She has now been a REALTOR® for 24 years and for 17 of those years she has specialized in serving veterans.

With an outstanding knowledge of VA Loans and other resources, Jones volunteered at resource fairs at Jesse Brown Veterans Center in Chicago. Because she would meet homeless female veterans at these events, she always brought along a few new purses stuffed with basic necessities and gifts.

Since those first few purses, her idea has blossomed into an annual event, 100 Pretty Purses for Female Veterans, that delivers hundreds of purses stuffed with personal products and other gifts to homeless female veterans. Her event also connects female veterans with critical resources to better their lives. Jones has helped many of the women she’s met eventually go from homeless to homeowner and she does not plan on stopping anytime soon.