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Standing Up for Homeless Vets at 'Stand Downs'
Aug 19, 2010
PLEASANTON, California -
More than 400 homeless veterans from across northern California relaxed
in comfort at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton.
The occasion - a "Stand Down", where the homeless veterans were given access to good food, clean clothes, showers and beds.
A
group of veterans stayed in camouflage canvas tents, met with
employment counselors and even made their case to superior court
judges, who prescribed modest penalties in exchange for dropping
charges related to failed appearances on old warrants. Such warrants
often started as unpaid traffic tickets, but the charges escalated as
they were ignored.
"The good thing about the East Bay Stand Down
is they can get the services they need," said Army Reserve Capt. Tonya
Pacheco, who helped handle logistics for the event.
"If they
need counseling - whatever they need it's available to them," she said.
"A lot of veterans will have the opportunity to turn their lives
around."
100,000 Homeless Vets
Nationally, the Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA) estimates that on any given night more than
100,000 veterans are homeless, with double that number experiencing
homelessness in the course of a year.
Conservatively, the
National Council for Homeless Veterans estimates that one out of three
homeless men sleeping in a doorway, alley or box in U.S. cities and
rural communities has put on a uniform and served the country.
About
half of homeless veterans served their country during the Vietnam
years, and service providers say they are beginning to see disturbing
numbers of veterans recently back from Iraq and Afghanistan living in
their cars or couch surfing with family, friends or wherever they can
crash.
According to the VA, 56 percent of homeless vets are
African American, even though nearly 80 percent of U.S. military
veterans are white.
As a blazing sun shone down on the
fairgrounds, John Morgan sat under a large tent in the centre of the
Stand Down, a computer thumb drive around his neck.
"I just got a
resume made, and they gave me a flash drive," Morgan said. "I needed
to get that done 'cause I wanted to go back to work."
A U.S.
Army veteran, Morgan served as a medic in the burn unit at Brooke Army
Medical Center in San Antonio in the years following the Vietnam War.
When he got out of the military in the early 1980s, the Vacaville
native started snorting cocaine, then dealing it.
"I would work a
job and save a lot of money. And then I would get a bundle of coke,
and I would sell and I would use.& Inevitably, I would go into jail
or get in some kind of thing with the police," he said.
This
year, Morgan caught a break. An official from the Department of
Veterans Affairs visited him at San Luis Obispo State Prison and told
him about the Homeless Veteran Rehabilitation Programme (HVRP), a
supportive housing facility on the VA campus in Menlo Park.
A month ago, when he was released from prison, Morgan went straight to the facility.
"HVRP
saved my life," he said. Now he's trying to make sure he has a way to
support himself once he graduates from their program.
Morgan is
comparably lucky to get a space at HVRP. According to the VA, for the
more than 12,000 homeless veterans in Northern California, there are
only about 400 transitional housing beds.
That's why the Stand
Downs are so important - for one weekend this year, every veteran who
showed up got the help they needed.
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PLEASANTON, California -
More than 400 homeless veterans from across northern California relaxed
in comfort at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton.
The occasion - a "Stand Down", where the homeless veterans were given access to good food, clean clothes, showers and beds.
A
group of veterans stayed in camouflage canvas tents, met with
employment counselors and even made their case to superior court
judges, who prescribed modest penalties in exchange for dropping
charges related to failed appearances on old warrants. Such warrants
often started as unpaid traffic tickets, but the charges escalated as
they were ignored.
"The good thing about the East Bay Stand Down
is they can get the services they need," said Army Reserve Capt. Tonya
Pacheco, who helped handle logistics for the event.
"If they
need counseling - whatever they need it's available to them," she said.
"A lot of veterans will have the opportunity to turn their lives
around."
100,000 Homeless Vets
Nationally, the Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA) estimates that on any given night more than
100,000 veterans are homeless, with double that number experiencing
homelessness in the course of a year.
Conservatively, the
National Council for Homeless Veterans estimates that one out of three
homeless men sleeping in a doorway, alley or box in U.S. cities and
rural communities has put on a uniform and served the country.
About
half of homeless veterans served their country during the Vietnam
years, and service providers say they are beginning to see disturbing
numbers of veterans recently back from Iraq and Afghanistan living in
their cars or couch surfing with family, friends or wherever they can
crash.
According to the VA, 56 percent of homeless vets are
African American, even though nearly 80 percent of U.S. military
veterans are white.
As a blazing sun shone down on the
fairgrounds, John Morgan sat under a large tent in the centre of the
Stand Down, a computer thumb drive around his neck.
"I just got a
resume made, and they gave me a flash drive," Morgan said. "I needed
to get that done 'cause I wanted to go back to work."
A U.S.
Army veteran, Morgan served as a medic in the burn unit at Brooke Army
Medical Center in San Antonio in the years following the Vietnam War.
When he got out of the military in the early 1980s, the Vacaville
native started snorting cocaine, then dealing it.
"I would work a
job and save a lot of money. And then I would get a bundle of coke,
and I would sell and I would use.& Inevitably, I would go into jail
or get in some kind of thing with the police," he said.
This
year, Morgan caught a break. An official from the Department of
Veterans Affairs visited him at San Luis Obispo State Prison and told
him about the Homeless Veteran Rehabilitation Programme (HVRP), a
supportive housing facility on the VA campus in Menlo Park.
A month ago, when he was released from prison, Morgan went straight to the facility.
"HVRP
saved my life," he said. Now he's trying to make sure he has a way to
support himself once he graduates from their program.
Morgan is
comparably lucky to get a space at HVRP. According to the VA, for the
more than 12,000 homeless veterans in Northern California, there are
only about 400 transitional housing beds.
That's why the Stand
Downs are so important - for one weekend this year, every veteran who
showed up got the help they needed.
PLEASANTON, California -
More than 400 homeless veterans from across northern California relaxed
in comfort at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton.
The occasion - a "Stand Down", where the homeless veterans were given access to good food, clean clothes, showers and beds.
A
group of veterans stayed in camouflage canvas tents, met with
employment counselors and even made their case to superior court
judges, who prescribed modest penalties in exchange for dropping
charges related to failed appearances on old warrants. Such warrants
often started as unpaid traffic tickets, but the charges escalated as
they were ignored.
"The good thing about the East Bay Stand Down
is they can get the services they need," said Army Reserve Capt. Tonya
Pacheco, who helped handle logistics for the event.
"If they
need counseling - whatever they need it's available to them," she said.
"A lot of veterans will have the opportunity to turn their lives
around."
100,000 Homeless Vets
Nationally, the Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA) estimates that on any given night more than
100,000 veterans are homeless, with double that number experiencing
homelessness in the course of a year.
Conservatively, the
National Council for Homeless Veterans estimates that one out of three
homeless men sleeping in a doorway, alley or box in U.S. cities and
rural communities has put on a uniform and served the country.
About
half of homeless veterans served their country during the Vietnam
years, and service providers say they are beginning to see disturbing
numbers of veterans recently back from Iraq and Afghanistan living in
their cars or couch surfing with family, friends or wherever they can
crash.
According to the VA, 56 percent of homeless vets are
African American, even though nearly 80 percent of U.S. military
veterans are white.
As a blazing sun shone down on the
fairgrounds, John Morgan sat under a large tent in the centre of the
Stand Down, a computer thumb drive around his neck.
"I just got a
resume made, and they gave me a flash drive," Morgan said. "I needed
to get that done 'cause I wanted to go back to work."
A U.S.
Army veteran, Morgan served as a medic in the burn unit at Brooke Army
Medical Center in San Antonio in the years following the Vietnam War.
When he got out of the military in the early 1980s, the Vacaville
native started snorting cocaine, then dealing it.
"I would work a
job and save a lot of money. And then I would get a bundle of coke,
and I would sell and I would use.& Inevitably, I would go into jail
or get in some kind of thing with the police," he said.
This
year, Morgan caught a break. An official from the Department of
Veterans Affairs visited him at San Luis Obispo State Prison and told
him about the Homeless Veteran Rehabilitation Programme (HVRP), a
supportive housing facility on the VA campus in Menlo Park.
A month ago, when he was released from prison, Morgan went straight to the facility.
"HVRP
saved my life," he said. Now he's trying to make sure he has a way to
support himself once he graduates from their program.
Morgan is
comparably lucky to get a space at HVRP. According to the VA, for the
more than 12,000 homeless veterans in Northern California, there are
only about 400 transitional housing beds.
That's why the Stand
Downs are so important - for one weekend this year, every veteran who
showed up got the help they needed.
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