Solving Veteran homelessness in the U.S.

Jean-Michel Giraud
Executive Director, Friendship Place

In the last few years, the Department of Veterans Affairs has revolutionized its service delivery, partnering with homeless services organizations like Friendship Place, in an unprecedented effort to solve veteran homelessness in the nation.

This initiative, which receives equal support from both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill, is the result of the VA’s visionary planning.

A few years ago, faced with chronic homelessness among Vietnam era veterans and the mounting pressure of returning troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the VA sought support from the federal government to launch a multi-pronged initiative to house or re-house veterans and their families.

Working with community-based non-profit organizations, the administration, under the leadership of Secretary Shinseki, has been able to stretch the bounds of its own service constraints in an effective way. Partnering non-profits can pick up where the VA leaves off by, for instance, entering into agreements with local landlords and other service providers in a more flexible way as private entities.

Such public-private partnerships have helped propel these VA-sponsored programs to the forefront of the race to end homelessness in the US, putting it well ahead of many local jurisdictions where the response to homelessness has sometimes been impacted by policy challenges.

So, how did the VA do it?

Well, first, it took a hard look at its practices and worked to make them absolutely person-centered and outcomes-oriented. This has taken a fair amount of research. But, lo and behold, the VA is now hitting some pretty high notes on the rehabilitation stage. Rehab aficionados are finding the VA’s affiliation with CARF – the champion of rehabilitation standards in the US – particularly impressive, while homeless service providers are thrilled with the VA’s adoption of the Housing First model.

The vets coming through these VA-funded programs are seeing the difference. They’re rapidly rebuilding their lives, and doing so with dignity – an outcome echoed throughout the various service settings involved.

From the start, the VA decided to “work smart” by offering services based on needs – no more, no less than necessary – the result being a palette of both effective and cost-effective services. I think a great example of this is the careful delineation between SSVF services and HUD-VASH permanent supportive housing. The first is intended to stabilize veterans and their households in up to 6 months by providing them with homelessness prevention services or by helping then get re-housed. Supports for these individuals and families are rebuilt through benefit applications, job placement assistance and other vital services during that period.

The program targets veteran households that are still fairly resilient but need immediate short-term assistance to resolve their housing crises. Two years into this program the VA has helped thousands of vets maintain or regain stability through these interventions. This is the fastest and cheapest way to help vets who are likely to stabilize quickly.

The second prong in the VA’s approach is permanent supportive housing for veterans with greater challenges. This program offers services and long-term housing subsidies to vets who require more intensive supports. To establish this program, the VA was successful in securing assistance from Housing & Urban Development to supplement its own budget while farming out some of the work to local non-profits who provide the actual services to the veterans in order to secure specialty services like mental health services.

The partnership with VA has allowed Friendship Place to make a difference in the lives of people like Shelley Gilbert. It didn’t matter that Shelley had served in the military as a member of the US Coast Guard, or that she had worked for two decades as a healthcare professional. It didn’t even matter that one of her daughters and two grandkids lived with her. When she fell on hard times and wasn’t able to pay rent, she was forced into a ruthless cycle of nights spent in motels, shelters and on couches. She was homeless.

When she reflects on her experience, one night in particular comes to mind. “I slept in the bus stop. It was snowing, raining, and about 25 degrees out,” she says. “That was the most humbling night of my life.” When Shelley found the VA’s hotline number, everything changed. They connected her with Friendship Place and within 3 weeks, our staff was helping her fill out apartment applications.

Now housed and working full time, Shelley sets aside time in her busy schedule to give back. She shares her story with groups of students and volunteers at Friendship Place, delivering a message of hope and possibility. “Just don’t give up,” she says. Shelley’s story hits home with me, and solidifies my belief that incredible accomplishments can be made when we work hard, and most important, work together.

An Intern’s Notes: Part 9

Sadly, this is the last day of my internship here at Friendship Place. I could go on and on about what an amazing experience it has been, but that would take forever. This internship has opened my eyes to the issue of homelessness among veterans and my understanding of homelessness has definitely changed since I have been here.

I first became interested in homelessness at an involvement fair at my school. I joined a club, and we came to DC for spring break to work with the homeless. That was my first real exposure to the issue, because I come from a small town where homelessness is hidden from view. Here in the city it is in plain sight. There are homeless people who spend their days on the streets with people constantly walking by.

I came to Friendship Place with a need to help people, but little to no knowledge about homelessness or even veterans. When I first got here people would ask me what I hoped to learn or gain from my internship and I didn’t really know what to say because I was a blank slate on the topic.

Since then I have been exposed to an incredible injustice that is happening in our country. I’m sure most would agree that shelter is a basic human need, and I believe it should be a right. Men and women who fight for our country and our freedom should not be denied basic needs like shelter. I have been here for ten weeks, but I think if I were here for ten years I still wouldn’t understand how we can let our veterans fall through the cracks like that. I have also seen the amazing efforts that are being put towards ending homelessness, and I can see that people are actively making a difference.

I have to go back to school now, but this internship has seriously made me think about what I want to do with my life after I graduate. I will never fully understand the struggles of homelessness, but I do feel a strong need to make a difference. I would like to work with a nonprofit organization after I graduate because I have seen the amazing things they can do for a community.

I would do this internship all over again; it has been one of the best summers of my life. I am proud to be able to say that I have worked with Friendship Place, and I hope that I have helped make a difference. Their Veterans First program helps so many veterans and their families access services they need. I would definitely encourage anyone else to get involved at Friendship Place; it has certainly been good for me.

An Intern’s Notes: Part 8

During my internship I have learned a lot about how and why veterans become homeless. I have also learned that there is not a lot being done in the way of prevention. When soldiers join the military, they go through intensive training and preparation, but there is little to no preparation for when they return to the Unites States. There are programs in place to help veterans after they have fallen into poverty and homelessness, but there are no programs to prevent it. I believe that the in order to fix the problem of homelessness among veterans, we need to keep it from happening in the first place.

Getting a job can be hard for any veteran because upon returning home, most veterans find that they have little to no applicable skills that they can use to get a job as a civilian. Some join the military straight out of high school, and those individuals have no relevant work experience on their resume. A job training program for recently returned veterans would make all the difference in the world. It would make veterans more hirable and therefore less likely to fall into poverty.

Another major cause of homelessness is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Veterans suffering from PTSD may find it difficult to acclimate back into civilian life. They sometimes have a sense of paranoia that can make it difficult to maintain a career, housing, or personal relationships. There are programs that are available to veterans that help treat PTSD, but they are not enough. A homeless veteran on the streets is typically not undergoing treatment and therapy, and that is a problem. PTSD is a serious disorder that makes it hard to function, and no veteran should be forced to live with it, especially on the streets where anything can happen to trigger memories of the traumas of war. There needs to be more intensive programs available to veterans who are at risk of becoming homeless.

Female veterans are more likely to become homeless than male veterans, and there may be a correlation between homelessness and Military Sexual Trauma (MST). There is an incredible moving documentary out called The Invisible War that addresses the issue of MST and the specific ways female veterans are affected by it. A female veteran is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than to be killed by enemy fire, and there is very little being done about it. There are even some homeless women dealing with both MST and PTSD – these women should never have become homeless in the first place.

In order to end veteran homelessness, we need to catch it before it happens.  Preventing an epidemic is a lot easier than treating one, and by giving soldiers the assistance they need as soon as – if not before – they get home we could keep many of them off the streets.

An Intern’s Notes: Part 7

Next week is my last week here at Friendship Place. This has been an amazing learning experience for me; I came here with very little knowledge about homelessness and almost none about homelessness among veterans. With my internship drawing to a close, I would like to take a moment to reflect on just a few of the things I have learned so far about the issue.

Veteran homelessness is a complex problem. There are a variety of reasons that veterans can become homeless. Many veterans suffer from physical or psychological problems (like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) that can make it hard to assimilate back into civilian life. There are so many other factors that can put a veteran on the streets. Some do not have much support from family and friends, or they may lack applicable skills, which can make it difficult to find a job. These are just a few examples of risk factors; there are many more.

Female veterans are more at risk of becoming homeless than the general population. A higher percentage of veterans are homeless than anyone else, and while most veterans are men, women veterans are even more likely to become homeless.

Some shelters and service providers can only offer services to veterans with anything but a dishonorable discharge. Therefore, one might think that a priority for a homeless veteran who was released from the military under dishonorable conditions would be to change the status of their discharge. However, it can take around two years to get a discharge upgrade. There are organizations out there that can provide discharge upgrade services, but it can be discouraging for a veteran who is on the streets and needs more immediate assistance.

Despite all the negative things I have come to learn, it is also apparent that things are starting to look up. Veteran homelessness is on the decline. Efforts are being made to end homelessness among veterans, and they are starting to pay off. If the numbers continue to drop, then hopefully in a few more years no veteran will have to spend their nights on the streets.

No Wrong Door

The latest No Wrong Door training coordinated by Geoff Millard took place at the Community Resource and Referral Center (CRRC) last week on Thursday. The idea of No Wrong Door is to educate every caseworker in Washington D.C. so that he or she will know what to do if approached by a homeless or at-risk veteran. Ideally, no veteran will show up at the “wrong door” when looking for services.

Understanding the requirements to be eligible for services is a huge part of a case worker’s job, and the training was well attended with caseworkers from several different organizations. The presenters focused on eligibility as they spoke about Veterans Health Administration, the Veteran Benefits Administration, and legal rights for veterans.

The purpose of the Veterans Health Administration is to provide health care to veterans, and therefore improve their health and well-being. The Benefits Assistance Service is here to advocate for veterans. Bergmann and Moore was the law firm that was represented at the training; they provide legal services to homeless Veterans. All three of these topics were covered, and the speakers were highly informative and open to answer any question that was thrown at them.

Overall, the training went off without a hitch, and we hope that it was beneficial to those who attended. There will be more in the future, with the next one happening in September. We will continue to organize these trainings so that homeless veterans and those helping them will know all that these programs have to offer.

An Intern’s Notes: Part 2

We’re kind of a big deal, aren’t we? I realized this as I went into my second week as an intern here at Friendship Place. Before arriving, I had no prior knowledge about this organization and I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I didn’t realize the incredible impact Friendship Place has on the community through its many programs.

After my first week of attending meetings and learning more names than I can remember, it finally started to come together. This week – my second week here – has been busy to say the least. I started by laying out plans for the rest of my time with our Veterans First program.  I attended a screening of a documentary about women veteran’s issues at the Russell Senate Office Building, where I was able to hear a touching panel discussion with the women veterans featured in the film. After that I sat in on a board meeting for Friendship Place to see the inner workings of the organization and meet the board members. Then on Wednesday I was able to sit in on a meeting with a member of the Department of Labor to see what is being done and what can be done about homeless women veterans.

From now on I will be spending every Wednesday and Thursday doing outreach: I will be traveling to different veteran-focused organizations to make them more aware of what they can do when they come across veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The other three days of the week I will be working on all my other projects. By mid August I will have facilitated three Fannie Mae Help the Homeless mini walks with various military organizations, helped to organize a No Wrong Doors event, and worked with my counterpart at the National Coalition for the Homeless to create a pocket guide for homeless veterans.

Reflecting back on this week, I have only become more excited about my internship here. I hope that I can make an impact on someone’s life before I leave, and I am confident that the people at Friendship Place can help me do that. And if all my efforts only make a difference in one person’s life, that will be a very big deal.

An Intern’s Notes: Part 1

Hi I’m Taylor Southall, and I am a summer AmeriCorps VISTA intern at Friendship Place. I will be here for ten weeks working on homeless veteran issues, mainly with the Homeless Veterans Initiative. I first gained an interest in this issue after participating in the Homeless Challenge through the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) in March of this year. I dressed down and paired up with a fellow student to experience firsthand the harsh conditions of life on the streets of DC. While begging for change and sleeping on sidewalks with no money, no phone, and no change of clothes for 48 hours, I gained a better appreciation for what I have, as well as a desire to help those who are less fortunate than me.

Three months later, I found myself here at Friendship Place, where I have the privilege of spending my summer trying to make a difference in the efforts to end homelessness among veterans. In my first week at Friendship Place I have gotten to know the staff, speakers, and consumers. It is such a wonderful place to intern so far, and everyone involved is always available to help and offer advice. Over the next nine weeks I will be working with another summer VISTA intern at NCH to ultimately create a “how-to” pocket guide for homeless veterans that will provide them with some insight on where to go for things like shelter, employment, help dealing with PTSD, and discharge upgrades. Some of my other goals are to plug local veteran organizations into where they can go to volunteer and get involved in Help the Homeless walks to benefit Friendship Place.

This week I have been to several events. I have attended meetings, including a Coalition of Housing and Homeless Organizations (COHHO) meeting at N Street Village and an end of life workshop here at Friendship Place. I have even watched as a news reporter interviewed Eric, a veteran resident downstairs in St. Luke’s shelter. It has been a busy week, and my primary focus has been to learn as much as I can about veteran homelessness so that I can accomplish my goals. I will blog weekly about my progress over the next nine weeks. I am so excited to be here at Friendship Place, and I cannot wait to see where this experience takes me!