"VETERAN'S SAFE HARBOR"
HOUSING UNIT
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It should be noted that; There is another need...
AND IT IS ALSO NATIONWIDE!.
We are well all aware that there are many physically wounded veterans.
In America, about 154,000 Veterans are homeless on a typical night. Nearly 20 percent of military service members who have
returned from Iraq and Afghanistan, (300,000 in all), report symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, (PTSD) or major depression,
yet only slightly more than half have sought treatment, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
Veterans are at a greater risk of becoming homeless due to a number of factors including having uniquely military skills not needed
in the civilian sector, combat-related health issues, minimal income due to unemployment, and a shortage of safe, affordable housing.
This new generation of combat veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom (OIF-OEF), both men and women, also suffer
from other war related conditions including traumatic brain injuries, which put them at risk for homelessness. The evolving gender
mix of the military — women represent 15% of the military population — poses new challenges for the nation’s support system for
returning veterans and their families. Women veterans report serious trauma histories and episodes of physical harassment and/or
sexual assault while in the military. The VA and homeless veteran service providers are also seeing increased numbers of female and
male veterans with children seeking their assistance.
In a United States Department of Defense Press Release on November 3, 2009 – The Secretary of Veterans Affairs
announced the framework of a bold initiative to end homelessness among veterans within five years.
VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki outlined the comprehensive plan to an audience of VA officials, other government representatives and
private-sector homeless outreach organizers at the VA National Summit Ending Homelessness Among Veterans here. He called the goal an
ambitious one that will take a nationwide COLLABORATIVE EFFORT to be successful.
Said Secretary Shinseki, "Also, VA will spend more than $3 billion specifically to reduce homelessness, the majority of which is
dedicated to medical services, and the remainder -- about $500 million -- on homeless programs, Shinseki said. He added that VA and
the Defense Department officially joined forces last week to improve mental health care among servicemembers and veterans."
“The psychological wounds of war affect every generation of veterans,” he said. “We know if we diagnose and treat, people
usually get better. If we don’t, they won’t, and sometimes their problems become debilitating. We understand the stigma issue, but we
are not going to be dissuaded. We are not giving up on any of our veterans with mental health challenges -- definitely not the
homeless.”
The secretary also talked about housing for homeless veterans, describing the VA’s initiative launched last month to award more
than $17 million in grants to create more than 1,100 beds for homeless veterans. The transitional housing will allow “those who slip
through our safety nets” to leverage access to VA health care and other benefits, he said. VA officials expect roughly 20,000
veterans to take part in this program this year.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, continues to be a major problem...
"From the invasion of Afghanistan until last summer, the U.S. military had lost 761 soldiers in combat there. But a higher number in
the service — 817 — had taken their own lives over the same period. The surge in suicides, which have risen five years in a row, has
become a vexing problem for which the Army's highest levels of command have yet to find a solution despite deploying hundreds of
mental-health experts and investing millions of dollars. And the elephant in the room in much of the formal discussion of the problem
is the burden of repeated tours of combat duty on a soldier's battered psyche..."
NROTC is doing all we can to COLLABORATE WITH THE VA, to reach out and help, to the best of our ability,
ANY VETERAN
in need!
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NROTC OPENS OUR FIRST "VETERAN'S SAFE HARBOR" HOUSING UNIT
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In June of 2010, NROTC President Tom Ruley secured an attractive rental agreement with a life-long family friend and World
War II Navy Veteran, to use his then-vacant property in Baltimore, (Essex, MD), as a sanctuary where needy veterans can find
transitional living and supportive services to help them recover from addiction and/or life’s misfortunes quickly so they can
return to a successful, independent lifestyle.
This being our first attempt at running a transitional housing shelter, we learned much about helping at-risk veterans including the fact that we could not help every homeless, addicted or needy veteran that passed through our door. The good news is, "with a special thank you to a few of our local churches who are operating food pantries", we were able to help most of them... at least to some degee. One marine Sergeant who was hit with an IED in Iraq and upon his release from military hospital, moved-in with us, and over a period of months while working with local state child support services, was able to gain full custody of his eight year old son from his estranged drug and alcohol addicted spouse. We were also able to accomodate his son. Another marine Sergeant, who had also been hit by an IED and belly-shot with an AK47, came to us after his release from military hospital with severe pain and psych med problems. He appeared to us as making improvement, but unfortunately died from a unintentional self-inflicted drug overdose. We were very hurt by his death but did see to it that he received a proper burial with full USMC military services. Two other veterans were referred to us by a local shelter who at the time were filled to capacity. It was January 2010, and these two veterans, one Army, one Navy, were living in a tent in the woods, in over a foot of snow with wet blankets. Another, a 62 year old Vietnam veteran came to us on a Saturday immediately upon release from incarceration in need of showing his parole officer proof of permanent residency on Monday morning or face returning to lock-up. We took him in and made it all happen in one day. There were others, who stayed temporarily and then moved on. Another, a Vietnam era Air Force veteran, was chronically homeless, headstrong and too proud to accept help from his mother, his brother and wife. We had him for a few days here and a few days there when the snow was bad, we treated him to a fantastic Christmas dinner and other meals, a place to shower, some comradeship with other veterans and a nice pair of arctic boots and clean dry socks to replace his soaking tennis shoes. Another, a USMC Vietnam vet, who after being unemployed for some time ended up being evicted from his apartment and finding himself homeless. He found a place with NROTC to hang his hat and continue to look for employment. After some time he did find an out-of-state job paying more than he had earned previously and moved on. Another, a local homeless fellow known to us as a person who helps other people even though he is for the most part, unable to support himself, came to us with a medical emergency of sorts. He had just had a hernia operation. Upon his release from the hospital his doctor said to him, "You must have bed rest for seven days or else you could die". He had been sleeping in cars and on park benches. Although he was not a veteran, we had a bed available and took him in for 10 days. Another homeless person we have sheltered on a longer term basis from time to time, is also not a veteran but lost his brother in Vietnam. Typically we demand a DD214, proof of military discharge, as part of intake, but we have made a few exceptions for those who were desperate, with no alternative except the streets or woods, and we could not turn away. There have been others and it has been NROTC's honor and pleasure to help those who we could. The main result of NROTC opening our shelter is that, four of our veterans have gained employment and are now LIVING INDEPENDENTLY! Our former shelter, is now two separate apartments and our veterans are managing quite well splitting expenses and living on their own. NROTC pulled-out leaving all the apartment furnishings we had provided to them when they were down and out. This was our goal at the beginning and we accomplished it!... A success story that we are very proud of! We intend to open another shelter at another location, when winter weather comes upon us and in keeping with our plan of action, hope to hand-it-over, to any future veterans as they rehabilitate and get back on their feet again. |
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