Assessment Of Homeless Veterans In San Diego
Volunteers are planning to conduct a “point-in-time” census of the homeless in San Diego that will help assess homeless veterans as well.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is funding the annual count to help get an idea of “what the vet count really looks like.” Director of the Regional Task Force On the Homeless, Dolores Diaz, confirmed the funding sources and reason VA is supporting the initiative.
Anthony Love, director of VA’s Homeless Programs, said, “Not only are you counting individuals to have a raw number, you’re also getting demographic information.” This demographic data will help researchers better understand the composition of the homeless population including the prevalence of veterans versus nonveterans.
SAN DIEGO HOMELESS VETERANS POPULATION
According to KPBS News:
Veterans made up 15 percent of the 4,156 homeless San Diegans not in shelters in 2015, an additional 4,586 people were living in shelters.
Diaz said one of the main problems facing San Diego’s homeless is the lack of housing options.
ONE HOMELESS VETERANS PROGRAM
This initiative and those like it are helping leaders assess needs in the community. Homeless veterans and those in difficulty should take a look at programs like the Housing Assistance Program one available program that veterans can take advantage of is the HUD-VASH program. I have never used it but reviews of the program are mixed from veterans.
According to VA.gov:
As of September 30, 2013, HUD had allocated more than 58,000 Housing Choice vouchers across the country, which allows Veterans and their families to live in market rate rental housing while VA provides case management services. A housing subsidy is paid to the landlord directly by the local public housing authority on behalf of the participating Veteran. The Veteran then pays the difference between the actual rent charged by the landlord and the amount subsidized by the program. The case management services facilitate the attainment of the Veteran’s recovery goals. The HUD-VASH Program is for the most vulnerable Veterans, and provides special services for women Veterans, those recently returning from combat zones, and Veterans with disabilities.
Source: https://www.kpbs.org/news/2016/jan/25/veterans-administration-funded-homeless-count-happ/
So many don’t use the shelter resource. While a awesome resource to advacate what are the reasons for opting out. The reasons veterns arn’t using the resouce would compliment the demographics being collected.
The 2 main goals of the VA seems to be wait until the Vet is homeless or commits suicide: then it’s not their problem.
The VA needs to take these veterans and besides house them.make a program where they train them.eather at a hospital or clinic so they can find employment.
It will not help just to give someone housing and not have any money to pay for the rest of the rent.food ect.
One month of assistance Will do little if they can’t find employment.
It will end up with good numbers for the VA.but if they have to leave in a month or two.it will not make a difference.
There is more to living than four wall’s.
When I was stationed at 32nd St & had a part-time job in the Plaza, I used to take the leftovers to the homeless vets on the way to the trolley stop. No way was I tossing all that good when VietNam vets were living in doorways hungry. Thought it was appalling then, worse now. It opened my eyes and let me see what I was in for when my time was up.
“[Tuesday, Jan. 19 10:00 AM VA Secretary McDonald at summit on ending vet
homelessness in Central Ohio – Republican Rep. Steve Stivers holds summit with
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald, Department of Housing and Urban
Development Senior Advisor for Housing and Services Jennifer Ho, Democratic Rep.
Joyce Beatty, Ohio Department of Veterans Services Director Chip Tansill, and
community stakeholders to discuss strategies to end homelessness among veterans
in Central Ohio. Secretary McDonald and Senior Advisor Ho give brief updates,
followed by a roundtable with representatives from community organizations that
serve the homeless, vet services organizations, and state and local govt
agencies * Summit immediately followed by media availability…]”
^
Best I could get to let me post…can use search engine to find what else there is and relevant phone contacts.
I was definitely held at the Columbus, OH VAMC on that date.
From what you wrote Nam, it was a controlled photo op with a select few, without inviting those they were claiming to be meeting about.
If any of your Congressmen were involved with this, you should call their office and ask why this was not a more publicized event.
That’s why I sent the link and info to Ben via email if he wants to check it out.
The old Brother in the picture looks like he`s holding onto his johnson, He`s done lost everything else. No, Really he`s probably got a hand on a knife to defend himself, or what little change he has.
It`s not that the V.A. cares about Homeless Veterans, It`s Embarrassing to them. All the vacant buildings you`d thing they could put some together to get the Vets off the street.
Some I know had rather live on the street because of the rules, You`d have to have & enforce. They would`nt/could`nt/ sould`nt let them drink or smoke. But outside the building. In fact I feel sure it`s coming, That If you smoke the V.A. wont treat you. Some may think that`s ok, But If you smoke being forced to stop runs against the grain. It just stands to reason the worlds only Super Power could remodel a building in every town with a cot & some soup & bread anyway, Especially up North. They find Dead Veterans on Park benches all the time, Now`s not a good time to have to live outside. Those stuck out there should get a few blankets, & a bite to eat. For basic Humanity.
Please Veterans read this please talked to your Mayor of City you live in to suggest passed a law so Homeless Veterans get off the Street now here is my suggestion called the MAYOR OF YOUR CITY TO SEE IF THEY GOT VSO OFFICE and talk to have heard of Veterans Welare the only Requirement you have to do as a Veterans go to go the Unemployment office once a week to see if they a job opening for if not the Veterans still get a Check plus Veterans you called City Hall in Fall River, Massachusetts to clarify what I am saying. ….Veterans who do you really want to help or you Veterans just bitch remember Veterans in this case a pen is sharper than a sword…..Semper Fi.
Nam, that they had this meeting and the VSO’s refused to notify their members is a disgrace. Given the huge number of problems that veterans have had, wait lists, vets dying, fraud, etc., the VSOs should have their charitable status suspended or revoked until they return to the purpose they are claiming for tax purposes. Not a damn one of them are providing service to veterans other than a token here or there, and they don’t deserve their status with the IRS.
As for veterans homelessness, it is an ongoing problem because the VA refuses to provide benefits in a timely manner. Veterans will continue to be homeless no matter how many case managers they throw at them, and no matter how many partial rent payments are made. How can any homeless veteran without a job remain in a house and be able to pay that partial rent payment without a job or income from disability? This is nothing more than another wasteful boondoggle made to look as if they are doing something. Unless these case managers are given significant authority to cut through miles of red tape, these veterans will continue to be homeless.
I was there 15 years ago there was no help for homeless vets I almost froze to death in SC. I did 10 years in the navy I was on the older end of the enlistment (27 when I enlisted) . I went to jail, slept under bridges, under vacant buildings, and when I could get in homeless shelters,. I had my first dealings with VASH in 2011 and every where they tried to place me was drug infested and i ended up just letting the voucher expire. I know there are some vets that dont care and maybe in there on way like being homeless . I was not one of them. Oh by the I left the Navy voluntarily, collected 20k seperation bonus, got a job with a major military contractor, received my BS in electronics so time has not been wasted but I have not always had a roof over my head and you are only one paycheck from being homeless…
Hey all…directly related to article today. I sent this to Benjamin this morning and decided to copy/paste it here as well…trying again:
Benjamin and All Veterans:
Morning! I wanted to provide you some info that I had tried to find from my
local TV Station that aired the act that JUST LAST WEEK, VA Sec. McDonald came
to Central Ohio and met with Congressman Steve Stivers under the premise of
ENDING Veteran Homelessness in Central Ohio. This was highly UNANNOUNCED,
because I, like some other Vets would have liked to have attended and perhaps
asked a few poignant questions BUT the modest audience was FULL of guess who?
Yup, a whole BUNCH of Veteran Service Organizations, with VFW the only one of
those groups I seem to have any respect left towards these days, showing a
rather prominent presence on 1/19/16. My local Columbus, OH Fox Affiliate only
did a very sort blurb on it with NOTHING sown being said by McD…just that
goofy ass smile/grin while sitting there. It seemed more like a photo ops tan
anything else and in that room there was NOT -1- Homeless Vet…ALL VSO’s and
Political Ass-Munchers.
Here’s the link and will copy/paste what’s there at that article because it
also has Congressman Stiver’s phone number/contact info so you perhaps can dig a
bit deeper and find out what McD is really doing, if anything, to make a
difference in Vet Homelessness.
“[Tuesday, Jan. 19 10:00 AM VA Secretary McDonald at summit on ending vet
homelessness in Central Ohio – Republican Rep. Steve Stivers holds summit with
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald, Department of Housing and Urban
Development Senior Advisor for Housing and Services Jennifer Ho, Democratic Rep.
Joyce Beatty, Ohio Department of Veterans Services Director Chip Tansill, and
community stakeholders to discuss strategies to end homelessness among veterans
in Central Ohio. Secretary McDonald and Senior Advisor Ho give brief updates,
followed by a roundtable with representatives from community organizations that
serve the homeless, vet services organizations, and state and local govt
agencies * Summit immediately followed by media availability
Location: Chalmers P. Wylie VA Ambulatory Care Center, 420 N James Rd, Columbus,
OH Columbus “””*https://stivers.house.gov/ https://twitter.com/RepSteveStivers*“””
McD. did this last year in Hawaii but without any published results from it…just as this meeting last week in my city WAS NOT advertised probably to keep any potential protestors from being alerted is my theory.
Matter-in-fact, I have been looking since 1/19/2016 (last week) and could not even find anything about this in-depth and since today’s article is directly related wanted to provide what I know took place here. Why so clandestine? Why do we only seem to “count Homeless Vets” when it gets extremely cold and not year round?
This is VA Spin Machine on a ‘Rainbow Tour’ starring VA Sec. McDonald as Goofy.
I sent Benjamin an email with some pertinent info relating to this article and tried to post it here using tried methods to trick this blog to allow links but it’s awaiting moderation and hopefully Ben will see this and okay it and post as I have tried twice and no dice.
@namnibor
What angers me is the fact our government agencies are finding housing for the (alleged) Syrian refugees. But can’t, or won’t, find housing for our homeless.
Whether their veterans or not, is immaterial. The government agencies, from city, county, state to federal, seems to fall flat on their faces when confronted with this despicable problem! It’s as though they don’t care if people are dying of starvation.
I have tried -3- times to post that, disguising the links as usualy, but not working.
Basically, on 1/19/2016 VA Sec. McDonald was at a highly kept quiet meeting that was not so public at my VAMC here in Columbus, OH with Congressman Steve Stivers with premise “to end Vet Homelessness in Central Ohio”, however, ONLY all the VSO Groups were invited and no media until after meeting was over and it was almost a “non-event”, and guess what?
NOT -1- Homeless Veteran was invited nor in crowd. Go figure. Given-up on trying to include all the links and phone numbers. Use Go0gle and find the rest on your own.
Also, why is it they ALWAYS seem to ONLY “count Homeless Vets” when it gets really cold? How about all the other 300+ days of year?
@namnibor
They met in Cinci?! That’s interesting. That’s right across the Ohio River from the DAV Headquarters in Cold Springs, Ky.
Y’all know them. The VSO which has hundreds of millions of $$$$ socked away. Where they believe no one knows about!
And, they don’t give a rats ass about vets or anything else. Except what they can accumulate in ways of donations and membership dues for themselves!
I agree with 91Veteran. All of these VSO’s should be stripped of their “non-profit status”!
Nam, how many different VSO’s attended that “Private Shindig”?
It was actually held in my city’s VAMC in Columbus, OH as far as I understand from links I ha earlier in day that never got posted here. Just hoping that Benjamin uses the info in the private email I sent him this morning. Have felt a bit crap today.
The very short local news blurb as well as the photo used from that event showed what I saw as a majority of VFW VSO’s…a lot them ALL in their formal parade type uniforms with hats and all. The photo/video shot was shown through that crowd of VSO’s in uniform and you could see between the heads to the front table where VA Sec. McDonald stared off with that somewhat ‘Goofy” grin and an emptiness clearly on his face. Weird.
The local Fox Affiliate barely had a -1- minute story on it but then could not find it listed on their website with all the other stories from 1/19/2016. Congressman Stivers from Ohio was there and by sound of it, this was more Congressman Steve Stivers’ idea than that of the VA’s but I could be wrong.
The really large slammer to this story is fact that here in Columbus such meetings would be at the Veteran’s Monument/Museum here in Columbus along the river, where the County veteran’s Commission would meet with Vets daily all week long for various assistance programs (I utilized them while making my VA Claim and health made me near homeless), HOWEVER, the City of Columbus decided to TEAR IT DOWN this last Summer…guess why? It was a “City River Banks Beautification Project” and a BIKE TRAIL and a COUPLE GARDENS are going-up where this GREAT resource was only 50 years old and NOT in bad repair or anything…screw the Vets that could come to a central location, esp. homeless Vets…they tore it down and they STILL do not have a replacement for it…people tried protesting but those with $$$ saw it as an “eyesore” and “poor location”…like I said…screw the Vets for a bike path and some gardens. A$$holes.
Also, this meeting being AT the VAMC, one would have thought the media would have been allowed to be in there during the meeting but ONLY afterwards and did not see anyone interviewing or given chance to interview Sec. McD…and definitely no random Vets around other than the minions of Vets that are part of the “VSO ARMY” present.
What I described as being now torn down was called ‘The Veteran’s Memorial’, and this also had a large enough auditorium to hold modest concerts and yes, it’s where “VA Stand Downs” used to be held.
It tears me up that big business corporate types want their ‘freedoms’ but rather steal the real estate and buildings provided FOR VETS, so they can instead have a bike path extended and gardens in-place with metal corporate medallion nameplates with the corporate sponsors who did this atrocity…meanwhile, Vet’s Homeless Camps in local woods along river were actually BULL DOZED down in last year or so here in Columbus as well. Pretty shitty.
So, it’s my assessment these are just photo-ops and VA Spin Machine…because it’s cold.
Maybe all VA Employees should have cards on wall next to their home thermostats, Summer and Winter, so each time they go to make themselves feel more “comfortable”, the print on the card can remind them there’s shy of 10,000 Homeless Vets in San Diego alone, multiply that across the USA; astounding and unacceptable number?!
I wanted to post my own city’s local news blurb directly related to today’s article to show that VA Sec. McD is on some “rainbow tour” but am YET to read WHAT is being done other than annual photos for VSO’s to mail out and ask for more $$$$ doing the, “looky what we are doing…”, photo op.
Wish I could be more positive but even -1- Homeless Veteran is unacceptable.
Here in Daytona Beach, Florida “…over 100 homeless people have taken over the sidewalk outside the property appraisal office.” according to channel 9 news. They’ve been there for over a week or more.
The “…appraisers office closed it’s doors…” last week. Because the homeless “…wanted to be taken care of!”
I wonder if the politicians are going to help? Right now, it doesn’t look like it. One homeless man was told to “…go online…” for help!
How’s that for help!? Their homeless, they don’t have technology, (phones, I-pads, etc., etc.) with them!
Our federal government can bring in tens of thousands of UNVETTED (alleged) Syrian refugees. Give them housing, food, $960 cash (per person) and a Wal-Mart gift card. But won’t do a damn thing about our homeless situation.
Does anyone see what’s really happening within our country?
Last but not least. Why the hell do we need a “Federal STUDY”? How about doing something for the homeless. Use that money to get out there and house these people! In my opinion, it’s another waste of taxpayer’s monies!
Hello Crazy Elf,
I agree with you 100%. This is why I have been raising so much HELL about Homeless Veterans. This is deplorable in these United States of America. I also want to know why we are bringing people (alleged Syrian Refugees) when we cannot take care of the Veterans. I simply don’t believe that the government is for the people. Everybody can see what a mess the VA is in and how our Veterans are being treated. This has motivated me to run for the 45th President of the United States of America. #canyouhearmenow #QuancidineForPresident
@crazyelf-
Just on National News: A USA citizen from Wisconsin was radicalized and they were going to go in and do a “San Bernardino” on a Masonic Temple full of people.
Will our POTUS continue to ignore the very FBI whom have been CATCHING these thugs? Amazing.
01/25/2016
Dear Benjamin Krause,
I am surprised to see that City Governments are acknowledging that there is a problem.
On the Federal level, everyone is denying any problem from 20 months ago. Flint Michigan too denied any problem in April of 2014 [around the same time Phoenix VA blew opened].
The Pretender, Director Comey of the FBI, threw out the NEAR List wait time scandals.
And Gibson and McDonald pretend too by never having problems; the return of the executives to post confirms that!
This is History repeating itself.
Sincerely,
Don Karg