This week, we are featuring Ricky Kamil.

Ricky is a chaplain in the Minnesota Army National Guard and has been serving for over three years. He has always been interested in military chaplaincy, and it finally worked for him to pursue this passion when he moved to Minnesota in 2021. Ricky shared, “This comes from a love of service and serving those who serve.” His grandfather was in a MASH unit in Korea, and, hearing all the stories growing up, he knew he wanted to serve as well.

Ricky is a Rabbi and received ordination in 2015. He has worked in a congregation for several years, during which time he was most involved in community justice work. Out of all the issues, housing and homelessness became his main focus area. In the congregation he worked in the Chicago area, he was part of organizing initiatives to build more deeply affordable housing. In 2021, his family moved to the Twin Cities to be near family and worked for Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaboration, organizing faith communities to build power for more deeply-affordable housing. Additionally, he organized the justice work for Temple Israel of Minneapolis. Through his military career, he witnessed firsthand the impact of homelessness on Veterans.

“Veteran homelessness is an issue in our community that, with community will, is solvable.” -Ricky Kamil

Ricky’s passion for military service and dedication to housing led him to MACV, and he is proud to be part of an organization doing great work aligned with a cause he deeply cares about. At MACV, Ricky is a Senior Housing Stability Case Manager who specifically works with the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) team to assist Veterans in finding or maintaining housing. Ricky is passionate about many issues facing communities around our state and recognizes that very few issues can be addressed without stable housing. He believes housing is a human right for everyone and is honored to be a part of the great work happening at MACV to end Veteran homelessness.

Outside of work, Ricky spends most of his time with his two children and partner. They are fortunate to live close to family with whom they love to spend time. Ricky and his family love to be outside or have fun inside when it gets too cold! Ricky loves any funny movie, show, or YouTube video and is always looking for suggestions for things to watch!

Ricky, we thank you for your service to our country and our community!