VETLANTA: Housing Pillar Update
The Housing Pillar may not be the sexiest pillar for
VETLANTA, but this pillar has the ability to make a large
impact on our veteran community going forward. Since
taking over as the pillar lead, the goal for the Housing Pillar is to
connect VETLANTA and our members to those in our geographic
area who are homeless and in need of our help.
For many years, we have lived by the credo of “No One Left
many of our fellow veterans, and we still do not want anyone left
behind. On any given night, there are more than 40,000 homeless
veterans living on the street across this country, and the number
may be bigger than this. Having worked with homeless veterans,
I can tell you that there is no one single reason why veterans
become homeless. Forty percent of all homeless veterans suffer
from some type of mental health issue, and we are seeing more
and more female veterans becoming homeless, many with small
children.
Since 2015, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has
tried to end veteran homelessness with very limited success. So
where do we go from here?
There is no one answer that I can give you to solve this
problem, but I am going to give you some items to think about
with the hopes that our VETLANTA community gets more
involved in this issue.
Get Involved Somehow Just for a Few Minutes - The most
needed item for homeless veterans is simply a pair of socks. Most
homeless people, and I would include veterans in this group,
also need food as they may have had only one meal in the last 24
can carry in your car and provide to a homeless veteran that you
encounter on the street.
Items you can include in
these kits include: small
tarps, gift cards, ponchos,
back packs, white socks,
foot powder, energy bars,
toothpaste, toothbrush,
prepaid phone cards, wet wipes, and small pack facial tissues. If
you have children, you can have them help you create these kits
and maybe put a thank you note into the kit as well. All of this
takes maybe 15 minutes and it makes a difference.
Report a Homeless Veteran to Someone -
encountered a homeless veteran at some point in our lives. I can
| June 2019 | Real Hero Report
House years ago when I was up in D.C. on business. Not knowing
at that time what I needed to do, I contacted my brother who was
him. He, like me, did not know what to do, but he mentioned that
there may be some help available at the Marine Corps HQ’s at 8th
and I street. So off I went with this homeless Marine in tow, and
sure enough we were able to get this veteran some help. There
are a number of places to report a homeless veteran, such as the
or the American Legion. If these do not work, you can call me at
Never Give Money - This goes without saying as you can
never guarantee where the money will go or how it will be used.
If the veteran is hungry or thirsty and you want to do something,
buy them a meal or a drink.
Look for Opportunities to Volunteer -
like you as no one has all of the people needed to get things
done. In January of 2020, we will again get out and count the
homeless through the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.
the count turns into grant dollars for programs, such as housing
out on the street that there is an emphasis on getting homeless
veterans off the streets. Remember homeless veterans are lucky if
they have a cell phone.
Attend a Funeral for a Homeless Veteran - This sounds
tough, but we are going to get the word out on these events.
of Atlanta, was found dead in an alley. I know much about this
veteran as I found him living on the street in Cherokee County.
He had lost his parents in high school and actually was homeless
during his senior year. He entered the Army and was honorably
discharged, but upon discharge went back to being homeless.
been homeless, living on the streets in the South for the past six
and a half years, and now wanted to come off the street. He tried
very hard to overcome his homelessness. In the end he could not
continue to live in a house and went back to living on the street
in a cemetery in Atlanta. Somewhere near the cemetery, he died
American Legion.
National Cemetery outside of Canton, GA.