Homeless Veterans Crisis

[waltky]

No End in Sight for Veteran Homeless Crisis...

Past Deadline, Feds See No End in Sight for Veteran Homeless Crisis
Aug 26, 2016 | WASHINGTON — Federal agencies now say they cannot predict the end of homelessness among veterans, a national crisis that President Barack Obama hoped to stop by 2015.

Six years after Obama set his goal, he announced Aug. 1 that veteran homelessness in the country had decreased 47 percent since 2010. "We knew that those were all going to be tough goals to achieve," said Ann Oliva, deputy assistant secretary for special needs at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. "But we thought they were doable, and if we made the right policy decisions and had the right data and resources we needed, we could progress, which is what we did." Yet Oliva said she couldn't give a date when homelessness for veterans across the country would end, though agencies attempt to put more resources toward the effort and more cities are meeting federally established benchmarks that show progress in housing homeless veterans.

Though the 2015 goal was missed, Randy Brown of the nonprofit National Coalition for Homeless Veterans said Obama attracted attention to the issue and created a sense of urgency behind the effort, which increased funding to record highs. In most years since 2008, Congress has appropriated about $75 million toward a voucher program to house homeless veterans. However, lawmakers allocated $50 million in 2011 and $60 million in 2016. HUD and the Department of Veterans Affairs, the two federal agencies most involved with battling the problem, recently announced funding for the first half of 2016 -- approximately $39 million that the agencies say has the potential to house about 5,300 veterans. "When it was announced that the goal was to end veteran homelessness in five years, I think that was taken by everyone as, 'Can we actually do that?'" Brown said. "But that goal and the serious efforts to put a plan behind it and put resources behind it changed the landscape from managing homelessness to actually ending homelessness."

Tech. Sgt. Jamal J. Hogan independent duty medical technician, 108th Medical Group, New Jersey Air National Guard, takes down medical information of a homeless vet at the National Guard Armory in Cherry Hill

The latest point-in-time count, which are compiled every January, showed there were about 40,000 homeless veterans left to house, and 13,000 of those veterans live on the streets, according to VA and HUD estimates released Aug. 1. Oliva said there are most likely more than 40,000, because the count didn't include veterans who are newly homeless or veterans who have vouchers and can't find housing. A lack of affordable housing across the United States is one problem, Olivia said. But the agencies also "haven't made as much progress as we would have liked," she said, because more veterans are becoming homeless than was estimated when Obama announced the goal.

HUD estimates the number of veterans who are becoming homeless each year by gathering information from VA medical centers and homeless organizations. Oliva said the estimates were "steeped in internal modeling" and made using assumptions, and won't be released publicly. "We thought it was going to decrease over time," she said. "That didn't play out the way we thought it would." But the latest round of funding toward the effort was made just days after the city of Austin, Texas, announced it met the benchmarks to declare it had "effectively ended homelessness among veterans." However, the designation comes with several conditions and doesn't mean there are no homeless veterans left in Austin. "Well, no, it doesn't mean that. We're going to have vets that find themselves in that position," Austin Mayor Steve Adler said. "The way it's defined is that you have removed the backlog for social services, such that we can identify homeless veterans and immediately start accessing those services."

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[Standing Wolf]

Phoenix authorities and private agencies in the area have been working toward the goal of getting every long-term homeless vet off our streets for several years now. About 2-1/2 years ago, that mission was accomplished.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/16/us...zona.html?_r=0

Of course the homeless population is never static, and people fall through the cracks every day...so follow up proceeds apace.

[waltky]

Homeless vet remembered in death... Hundreds Attend Funeral for Homeless Vet They Didn't Know Nov 30, 2016 — They had never met Stephen Carl Reiman, but hundreds of people packed a Wyoming chapel on Tuesday to mourn the homeless U.S. Navy veteran who died where he was a stranger. It was standing room only at the chapel in Evansville for Reiman's funeral, the Casper Star-Tribune reported.

Reiman, 63, arrived in Sheridan on Nov. 8 after a three-day bus ride from a Southern California community for homeless veterans. He traveled to Wyoming with just a backpack that contained Bruce Springsteen CDs, a cellphone, a laptop, an iPod, two identification cards, a copy of his birth certificate and his Navy discharge papers. He also carried Springsteen's memoir "Born to Run," Natrona County Coroner Connie Jacobson said. A few days later he fell ill at a motel and was eventually taken to Wyoming Medical Center in Casper, where he died on Nov. 17, Jacobson has said. Nobody visited Reiman in the hospital. Jacobson initially had difficulty finding any family and after three days said she hoped people from the community would attend Reiman's funeral to mark his passing. "One of the reasons I did this was to raise community awareness that we have homeless vets in our own communities," Jacobson said. "They deserve the same recognition and honor that any other vet would get." After a week of searching, Jacobson located Reiman's sister, who said she hadn't heard from her brother in at least two years. Diane Reiman said she didn't know why he had come to Wyoming, but said he worked as a firefighter in Casper for a few years in the late 1970s or early 1980s and enjoyed his time in the state.

Mourners pack the Oregon Trail State Veterans Cemetery in Evansville, Wyo., on Nov. 29, 2016, for the funeral of Vietnam veteran Stephen Carl Reiman. Reiman died alone on Nov. 17

Diane Reiman said nurses at the hospital assured her they were with him when he died and he didn't suffer. "That was so important to me, being a nurse myself. He was remembered even though he was isolated and we had lost touch with him for so long," Diane Reiman told K2 Radio. "He was cared for in a very special way by a lot of special people." Pastor Rob Peterson said during the service he was proud that so many people showed up to honor Reiman. "He was a man who lived a solitary life for many, many years, but at his final goodbye there is a room full of community," said Peterson, who is a chaplain in the Army National Guard. Reiman was in the Navy from 1971 to 1975, served with honor in Vietnam and told a Veterans Affairs doctor he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and alcoholism exacerbated by the death of his only son in combat in Iraq, Jacobson said she learned while trying to find his family. Jacobson also was able to locate Reiman's daughter-in-law and her daughter — Reiman's only grandchild — but they could not afford to travel to the funeral, she said. http://www.military.com/daily-news/2...idnt-know.html

[waltky]

Cost of living too high for homeless in some cities...

High-cost US Cities See Homeless Population Grow
June 25, 2017 — Homelessness is increasing in Los Angeles, and the signs are visible. From tents under freeways and shopping carts at street corners, to people begging for money outside fast-food restaurants, the number of homeless people in Los Angeles county has risen by 23 percent, to nearly 58,000. It is a life Destiny Prescott knows all too well.

“I was sleeping in a car; I was sleeping at the beach, pregnant. I was four months pregnant at the time,” Prescott remembered. She grew up in an unstable home and ended up using drugs and alcohol, then lost her job and her home. Substance abuse is one cause of homelessness. Others include domestic violence, mental and physical disabilities. However, an even larger cause is due to economic factors. Peter Lynn, executive director of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, said this occurs when a tight rental market develops in a city that already has a high poverty rate. "As the economy picks up steam, there’s more spending power [that] comes into the rental market, and a lot of it goes out again as rent increases," Lynn said. "Rents are moving up $100, $200 [a month]. No one’s income is keeping pace with that."


US homelessness down 3% overall


Data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development covering 2015-2016, indicates a three-percent drop in homelessness nationwide, but at the same time, the number of homeless people increased in 13 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, home of the nation's capital. California is one of those 13 states, and it has one of the highest homeless populations in the country. In cities such as Los Angeles, “the rich are getting richer and the middle class is slowly disappearing,” said Tanya Tull, a homeless advocate who founded Partnering for Change, an organization that helps with stable housing for children and families.


Venice, a beach community in Los Angeles, is a place where people in homeless encampments live side-by-side with residents of multimillion-dollar homes. “Residents find homeless people ... defecating in their backyard,” said William Hawkins, chairman of the Venice Homeless Committee and a resident. “It’s not about criminalizing homelessness. It’s simply criminalizing criminal behavior and when you have an encampment like this, that from midnight to four o’clock becomes a night club and an area where people are doing drugs, it’s not fair to the residents,” said Hawkins.


'Housing First' approach

See also:


South Dakota Native Americans Struggle With Homelessness
June 21, 2017 - Webster Allen Two Hawk Jr. had not had a drink in six weeks – one of the conditions for getting a bed at the Rapid City, South Dakota rescue mission. But the 55-year-old Sicangu Lakota artist had received some bad news that cold day in March: All of his artwork had been stolen.

In his distress, Two Hawk got drunk with friends in a downtown park. When he returned to the mission to sleep, he was turned away. “So, my brother sat down by some of those big electrical boxes near Memorial Park, probably to get a break from the wind,” said Castle LaCroix Kelly. “And that’s where they found him the next morning. Frozen to death in the snow,” she said.

Webster Allen Two Hawk Jr. dressed in traditional clothes for a film in which he played as an extra.

South Dakota is home to nine federally recognized tribes, and its reservations are among the poorest in the country. Tribal members flock to Rapid City in search of jobs, but often end up on the streets. The Black Hills Regional Homeless Coalition makes annual counts of Rapid City’s homeless population to gauge funding needs. This year, it counted more than 240, most of them Native American. But the numbers likely are much higher. “We are unable to count those who are in jail, detox, living in hotels, doubled up, or ‘couch surfing.’ All of those situations are still situations of homelessness, and those individuals are living in situations that are far from appropriate, safe or ‘housed,’” said Anna Quinn, executive director of the HOPE Center, a faith-based group serving Rapid City’s homeless.


Mean streets


Shane Boudreaux, Sigangu Lakota, has been homeless several times, and knows firsthand how rough the streets can be. In 2002, the National Coalition of the Homeless rated Rapid City the third most dangerous U.S. city for the homeless—especially Native Americans. Cut off from family and culture, they are vulnerable to alcohol, drugs and violence. Sometimes they are harassed by the locals. And sometimes their lives are cut short. “One of my friends died here just a few weeks ago,” said Boudreaux. “They found him floating in Rapid Creek. Police said he was riding his bike and must have hit a railing and fallen off the bridge into the water.” Homeless women are particularly at risk, said one Lakota woman who asked not to be named. “I’ve been raped. I’ve had things thrown at me. I’ve had my purse ripped off my shoulder. I’ve been left behind by my boyfriend after getting beaten. I’ve been called names.” She said she doesn’t believe authorities take these crimes seriously, and said local police are harder on Native Americans than other groups.

A Rapid City police officer stops a woman during a protest against anti-Native racism

A 2015 study on race disparities in Rapid City policing showed more Native Americans are arrested than other group in the city, and that police were more likely to use force against Native Americans than any other race. Rapid City Police Chief Karl Jegeris admitted to age-old tensions between Native Americans and the city’s population, but denied that his officers are heavy-handed. “I think that in comparison to other cities that I’ve been to, I would say we’re a much safer city for our homeless population. We have a specialized street crimes unit that patrols downtown and park areas. We get to know the homeless on a first name basis and get along very well with them generally,” he said. “But there are certainly exceptions.”

An unnamed homeless person waives soliciting money amongst political campaign sign wavers in Anchorage, Alaska in 2008. Nearly 45 percent of homeless in that state are Alaska Native, some, like this man, U.S. military veterans.

When Native American homeless are arrested, Jegeris said, it is usually for low-level crimes, such as drinking in public or disorderly conduct. But more serious conflicts sometimes arise. “Due to historic and generational trauma issues, there is a lot of distrust in the Native American community, especially toward authority figures,” he said. “And unfortunately, law enforcement is the most visible sign of government authority. So, we run into conflict somewhat regularly when we are just trying to help ensure general safety for that person.”


Investing in tribes

Related:


VA Aims to End Veteran Homelessness, Says It'll Take Years
May 11, 2017 . — The new Veterans Affairs chief shares the goal set by former President Barack Obama's administration of ending homelessness among veterans, but says it'll take longer than his predecessor predicted.

Reducing the number of homeless veterans nationwide from roughly 40,000 to 10,000 or 15,000 is an ``achievable goal'' for President Donald Trump's administration, VA Secretary David Shulkin told The Associated Press during a visit to Rhode Island on Friday. "This is a continuous problem of people finding themselves in economically difficult situations and then being out on the street or going from shelter to shelter,'' Shulkin said. Homelessness among veterans has been effectively ended in Virginia, Connecticut and Delaware and in more than 40 communities. The outgoing head of the VA, Robert McDonald, said in January that ``we should be there'' nationwide within a couple of years. Shulkin, who formerly was VA undersecretary of health under Obama, said on Friday, ``We're still looking at a multi-year process.''


While advocates are encouraged to hear Shulkin's commitment, some wish he was more ambitious. "My personal take is, the VA secretary is being cautiously optimistic about what can be achieved and not wanting to kind of set the administration up for a missed goal,'' said Lisa Vukov, who works to prevent and end homelessness in the Omaha, Nebraska, metropolitan area. ``I'm a firm believer in setting your goals big because you achieve more that way.''


U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, said veteran homelessness can be ended during the Trump administration. "There's no reason we can't achieve it if enough resources are dedicated to the fight,'' said Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Shulkin said some veterans offered housing by the VA prefer other alternatives and high real estate prices and a shortage of available housing in some parts of the country make it hard to house veterans there. He sees the biggest challenge in Los Angeles.


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[waltky]

Homeless Veteran: $400K in Donations Is All Gone...

Lawyer for Homeless Veteran: $400K in Donations Is All Gone

5 Sep 2018 — The lawyer for a homeless veteran whose selflessness led to donations of over $400,000 said that all the money is gone.

Johnny Bobbitt's attorney, Chris Fallon, said he learned to his surprise that the cash was gone during a call with lawyers for Kate McClure and Mark D'Amico. "Shocked. Shocked," Fallon said when he heard word. "They raised this money to help Johnny Bobbitt get money for food." McClure and D'Amico are the couple accused in a lawsuit brought by Bobbitt of mismanaging donations raised for him through GoFundMe. The couple deny the claims in the suit, saying they're wary of giving Bobbitt large sums because they fear he will buy drugs. GoFundMe spokesman Bobby Whithorne says the company is working with law enforcement to ensure that Johnny Bobbitt gets all the money raised for him after he used his last $20 to help a woman get gas. "While we assist law enforcement with their ongoing investigation, GoFundMe is also working with Johnny's legal team to ensure he's receiving support while the remaining funds are being recovered," Whithorne said in a stat

He also said the company gave $20,000 to an account set up by Bobbitt's attorney "to provide assistance" to him during the investigation. McClure and D'Amico's attorney, Ernest Badway, told The Associated Press they have no comment. The story has gained international attention. McClure set the page up to give back to Bobbitt, a Marine veteran who helped her when she ran out of gas on an Interstate 95 exit ramp late one night. It raised more than $400,000 from more than 14,000 people. Bobbitt walked a few blocks to buy McClure gas. She didn't have money to repay him at the time, but sought him out days later to give him the money, and visited him a few more times to bring food and water. They later appeared on shows like "Good Morning America" and were interviewed by the BBC. The relationship has since deteriorated.

In this Aug. 27, 2018 photo released by NBC, Mark D'Amico, left, and Kate McClure speak with host Megyn Kelly on "Megyn Kelly Today," in New York. D'Amico and McClure, who set up a GoFundMe page for homeless man Johnny Bobbitt, are accused in a lawsuit brought by Bobbitt of mismanaging donations.

McClure and D'Amico have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or mi susing any of the money. D'Amico has told the Philadelphia Inquirer he spent $500 of the GoFundMe money to gamble because he didn't have his casino card one night, but said he repaid it with his winnings. D'Amico has said Bobbitt spent $25,000 in less than two weeks in December on drugs, in addition to paying overdue legal bills and sending money to his family. The couple also bought Bobbitt a camper with some of the funds and parked it on land McClure's family owns in Florence, New Jersey. But Bobbitt became homeless again after D'Amico told him in June that he had to leave the property.


During an appearance Monday on NBC's "Megyn Kelly Today" show, D'Amico told Kelly there was well over $150,000 left of the donations. Fallon said Bobbitt had received about $75,000, including the camper as well as a 1999 Ford Ranger. The New Jersey judge in the case ordered the couple to transfer the money into an escrow account by Friday and hire an accountant to review financial records within 10 days. The money will be transferred to an account controlled by Bobbitt's lawyers but can't be used until the judge determines how it will be managed.



https://www.military.com/daily-news/...-all-gone.html