The soldiers left behind
Helping the homeless veterans of Ventura County
By Carissa Marsh Special to the Acorn

Part 1of a two-part series

Of the 273 homeless who responded to a recent survey conducted by the Institute for Urban Initiatives and the Ventura County Homeless and Housing Coalition, 39 identified themselves as being veterans.

While homeless veterans in the county number far fewer than in Los Angeles County, Simi Valley Councilmember Barbra Williamson contends that "one homeless veteran is one too many."

Williamson, who co-chairs the city's Task Force on Homelessness, said the country should be ashamed of how our vets are treated.

"In my opinion, we have done a terrible disservice to our veterans, not only in Ventura County, but in the country as a whole," she said.

"These were and are the protectors of our land. We depend on them for our security. The least we can do is make sure they get back into the mainstream of life when they get back here."

Richard Shaw, member of the board of directors for the Simi Valley Samaritan Center and a volunteer with the PADS winter shelter program, said the plight of the homeless veteran is particularly saddening.

"These people are our heroes when they are over there but they are very quickly forgotten when they come back," Shaw said.

According to Cathy Brudnicki, executive director of the Homeless and Housing Coalition, national data shows that about 25 percent of people living on the streets are veterans, mostly from the Vietnam era.

Brudnicki noted that Simi has a very active group of homeless advocates looking at the issues and working toward solutions- in particular, implementation of the 10-year plan to end homelessness.

But there's still more work to be done, she said.

"There's a lot of community awareness, but the service level hasn't increased," Brudnicki said. "We're seeing higher numbers at all of the winter shelter programs, and that is disturbing."

Betty Eskey, executive director of the Samaritan Center, said that of the 112 homeless people who are registered with the center 16 are homeless vets, four of whom use PADS on a regular basis.

Eskey said she's seen more veterans availing themselves of services but that she doesn't see many more getting out of the homeless situation. Still, she said, several are working toward that goal.

Shaw said that veteran resources at the Samaritan Center are severely limited due to a lack of funding and that more money is critically needed to support caseworkers at the center.

"There's always a need for more housing and being able to do more case management with them," Eskey agreed.

Currently, Randy Hunt, a representative from the Department of Veterans Affairs, comes to the Samaritan Center once a week to meet with homeless veterans one-on-one as part of the VA's aggressive outreach program.

His primary function is to get veterans enrolled in the VA so they can start taking advantage of its services, he said.

"They don't think they're entitled to anything," said Hunt, who assists the veterans at the Samaritan Center with clinical assessment and referral, getting into transitional housing and obtaining discharge papers.

The VA is the only federal agency that provides substantial hands-on assistance to homeless veterans, according to its website.

Recently, the VA established a weekly online newscast that provides information on health issues, fitness and various VA programs. "VA News" can be viewed online at www.va.gov.

Eskey said she'd like to see more homeless vets take advantage of the programs offered by the VA.

"For some of them there are behavioral issues and mental issues that hold them back," she said.

Eskey explained that, for many homeless people, getting help is a matter not only of choosing to get out of the cycle of substance abuse but also of choosing to get out of the cycle of fear.

While some homeless veterans are unaware of available services, Eskey said, more often they do not seek assistance because they're afraid of losing control.

"There is a certain amount of freedom in them being homeless and not within the boundaries of organized care," she said.

Stay tuned for next week as part two of our series examines the obstacles that stand in the way of homeless vets getting help and possible solutions to the problem.

In a Nutshell

Of the estimated 1,679 homeless people in Ventura County, 15 percent are thought to be veterans.

This two-part series by Acorn writer Carissa Marsh examines the plight of local homeless veterans as well as the services that are available to help get them back on their feet.

Stay tuned for next week when we take a closer look at the obstacles veterans face getting off the streets and possible solutions to the problem.