The Lost Battalion
I’ve been thinking about homeless veterans a lot lately. Heck, I think about them every day. I’m the county veteran service officer for Denver County and even though I regularly tell people that the Veteran Service Office is a VETERANS program not a HOMELESS program, the fact is the majority of veterans I see are homeless. Denver is a favorable spot for homeless vets in many ways (well, for the homeless in general), still the sheer numbers are staggering. There are no less than 600 homeless veterans in Denver — we know them personally, but over 1900 homeless veterans have passed through our outreach office since January.
The perspective I try to maintain is: I don’t care how they got in the situation they are in; they served and they deserve to be served. Easier said than done.
My experience is that there are many homeless veterans who do not wish to substantially change their lives. Oh they don’t mind picking up the occasional food voucher or a handful of bus tokens, but they’re really not up to effort that it would take to get even partially “reintegrated”.
There’s a popular idea that these veterans are just marginal members of our tribe and if we could get them in the right program they could be just like us again. I don’t think these folks are members of our tribe; I think they’re well built in members of another tribe altogether. And I don’t think they’re coming back.
So, how to serve them?
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By Veterans Liberation Front, June 21, 2009 @ 12:35
The problem with “veterans services” is that they do not address the root problem of homelessness – that is lack of housing. Give every vet who sleeps on the street the keys to their own apartment and the problem would be solved, at least the majority of them could be provided wrap around service. But I digress, we all know the solution, but the funding and zoning is where the problem festers. Changing public opinion is the key…
By August, July 31, 2009 @ 16:02
I’ve seen homeless veterans go through program after programs after more programs and back to the streets. I’ve talked to homeless veterans that say all the programs label them mentally ill & addicted/alcoholic AND THEY ARE NOT! None of the programs offer REAL HOUSING; it’s all jammed-packed prison-like shelters; None of the programs offer REAL TRAINING, it’s all worthless “Life Skills” and sorting clothes at Goodwill masqueraded as job training. Then it’s all mandatory Evangelical Christianity Insanity & Forced 12-Step Religious cult conversion and “Absolute Sobriety for Life” nonsense. REAL HOUSING, REAL TRAINING, and REAL JOBS!
By August, July 31, 2009 @ 16:04
A homeless veteran drinking a beer after a ten-hour day labor job is not ALCOHOLISM…It’s just having a beer after work!
By Frank Bessinger, August 11, 2009 @ 10:50
Looks to me like HVRP is addressing exactly the problem you describe.
Congratulations to George, Ed, Ian, and everyone else who has worked to make Denver’s program as successful as it is. Focusing on helping vets who want to help themselves really makes a difference. Thanks, guys.
By George Cassidy, August 18, 2009 @ 06:17
Thanks for the kind words Frank. HVRP is just a little piece; we wish we had more time to work with the vets and more resources. The VA perdiem programs are probably the best combination of housing, access to supportive services, and long-term case management — up to two years; but they still need programs like HVRP to work the employers and try to match them up with the vets. There are so many agencies and programs working on different parts of the situation; it reminds me of little kids playing soccer. Denver’s Road Home is, as I have come to understand it, an attemp to pull all the interested parties together. I’m not certain where we’re at with that.