This section of this page is a post of an article entitled "No wrong door" which was recently published in "Veterans Health Matters" The Wellness Publication from the VA Sierra Pacific Network and we thank the editor "Kerri Childress" for permission to make this available to you thru our website.
"No Wrong Door"
VA's philosophy of "no wrong door" means that all Veterans seeking to avoid or escape homelessness must have easy access to programs and services. Any door a Veteran visits-a medical center, a regional office or community organization-must offer assistance.
Homeless Veterans Stand Downs
"No Veteran should be living on the streets without care and without hope," stated Secretary Eric K. Shinseki on November 3, 2009, when he unveiled VA's five-year plan to end homelessness. Multiple VA services, Veterans, and other organizations throughout Veteran Integrated Service Network (VISN) 21 are working, tirelessly, to make this plan a reality. And a lofty one it is for VISN 21, which has an estimated 12,771 homeless Veterans, the second highest number of all 21 VISNs.
According to Roberta Rosenthal, VISN 21 Network Homeless Coordinator, "We are in a unique position because our Veterans are so spread out, geographically, in cities and rural areas in northern and central California, northern Nevada, Hawaii, the Philippines, and several Pacific Islands including Guam and American Samoa. Many of our Veterans do not have a facility "door" to knock on. We encourage them and all of our Veterans to make the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans their first point of contact."
The number to call is 1-877-4AID-VET or 1-877-424-3838. A counselor who answers will provide specific referrals to VA and local resources that meet the Veterans needs.
Currently, VISN 21 has 1,112 transitional beds and 1,990 personal vouchers for permanent housing. Vouchers are from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and VA Supported Housing Program (HUD-VASH). These provide permanent housing and ongoing treatment services to the harder-to-serve homeless Veterans who have a mental illness or substance abuse problem.
Other services for homeless Veterans include ongoing case management services by VA staff, medical and dental care, Compensated Work Therapy and Drop-In Centers.
One-to-three-day events called Stand Downs are held each year in various cities to provide food, shelter, clothing, health care, benefits assistance and linkages with other programs. To find places and dates for local events, contact the Call Center for Homeless Veterans or a Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Coordinator listed on page 7. (Click here for PDF of issue with article)
Supportive Services for Veterans Families Program is a new homeless-prevention VA offering. Private non-profit organizations and consumer cooperatives receive grant money from VA to provide supportive services that promote housing stability to very low-income Veterans and their families who live in or are transitioning to permanent housing.
Homeless Services Making A Dent
Veteran Perry Myric
VA Palo Alto Health Care System's Veterans Justice Outreach Program addresses the community re-entry needs for jailed Veterans. It also partners with Santa Clara County Court to attend to the underlying problems that brought Veterans into the criminal justice system and assist them in getting the services they need.
After one stint in prison, Veteran William Meyers was about to head back to jail when his parole officer told him that if he went to the VA for help, they would hold off on jail. He readily accepted the offer. For the next 21 months, Meyers went through the 1st Step Program at VA Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS), the Homeless Veterans Rehabilitation Program and Compensated Work Therapy. For the past six and half years he's been working for VAPAHCS and is a Vet-to-Vet Peer counselor at a homeless shelter. He also counsels 12 residents at the "Day by Day Residential Living" home in San Jose. Meyers is responsible for the residents' well-being and group counseling sessions.
Veteran Perry Myrick, who now works for VA Palo Alto went through the same three programs that helped Veteran Meyers. "Perry was holed up in a room drinking, states Meyers. For more than a week I would take him food everyday and sit with him and talk to him about getting help. I just couldn't stand to see a really good man sinking like this. I can't tell you how proud I am of him now."
Myrick throws the praise back to Meyers. "He's my friend, he has come a long way and pulled me with him."
Homeless Veterans Website
