Former addict gives homeless veterans a second chance

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Example of a "Stand Down":

Almost 2,000 helped in event for homeless
By Jill Coley
The Post and Courier
Saturday, November 1, 2008

Veterans in camouflage jackets, elderly with walkers and women pushing strollers poured into Armory Park in North Charleston on Thursday morning.

The first day of the ninth-annual Stand Down Against Homelessness served 1,134 people. Friday's count was 781 people, bringing this year's two-day total to 1,915 people. Over those, 531 were veterans. Last year, the event served about 1,300.

Volunteers provided haircuts, dental screenings and foot care. The joint effort by the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center and Goodwill Industries also gave away toiletries, blankets and clothing vouchers.

Legal services and benefit counselors were on hand to help with long-term interventions.

"We see more people pulling up in cars," said Tonya Lobbestael, public affairs officer for the VA hospital. "They may not be homeless, but they're obviously in need."

Robert Smith, president and chief executive officer for Goodwill, said that a lot of construction workers are out of work. "With the economy the way it's been in a downturn, we expected a big turnout," he said.

The rush left organizers with a challenge Thursday evening to replenish supplies for Friday's event.

"We're going to feed them and give them what we've got," Lobbestael said.

Donald Wallace, a 60-year-old Vietnam veteran who lives at the Good Neighbor Center for homeless veterans, said having everything under one roof was convenient for those who rely on public transportation to get around.

"Things are just so expensive. The job market is tight right now," Wallace said.

Benjamin Anthony, who served in the Army in the mid-1970s, enlisted homeless veterans into a program offering transitional housing, substance-abuse counseling and employment.

Those were all services Anthony, 53, needed two years ago, when he was living in his car, out of work and drinking, he said.

"One thing led to another and caused me to be homeless," Anthony said.

With help from the Goodwill's Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program and counseling from the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, he worked his way to the other side of the outreach desk.

Dr. Hugh Myrick, who heads mental health services at the VA, rolled sleeping bags, which were distributed by the hundreds.

"It's shocking to realize there are that many people in the Charleston area who are either on the streets or close to it," he said.
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Almost 2,000 helped in event for homeless
 
Some figures:

The most recent estimate of the number of homeless veterans comes from the FY2005 report of the Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education and Networking Groups (CHALENG) for Veterans:

Characteristics of Homeless Veterans

• 45% suffer from mental illness
• 50% have substance abuse problems
• 67% served three or more years
• 33% were stationed in a war zone
• 25% have used VA Homeless Services
• 89% received an honorable discharge
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Please note that only 33% were stationed in a war zone. That doesn't necessarily mean that even those 33% saw combat. The other 67% saw no combat and yet are homeless. So the stresses of battle can't be blamed as the cause of homelessness. It's one factor but not the only one. We've had homeless veterans during peace time, too.

The 89% who have honorable discharges are eligible for full VA benefits.

Only 25% have made use of VA Homeless Services. I don't know if that was by choice or because the services weren't available. :dunno:

Homeless Veterans vs. Non-Veterans

Homeless male veterans are more likely to be chronically homeless than homeless male non-veterans. ”32 percent of homeless male veterans report that their last homeless episode lasted 13 or more months, compared to 17 percent of male non-veterans.”

They are also more likely to abuse alcohol than homeless non-veterans.

Homeless veterans are better educated than homeless non-veterans, less likely to have never married, and more likely to be working for pay.
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Why is that?

Why Do Veterans Go Homelessness?

A study of Vietnam-era veterans by Rosenheck and Fontana demonstrated that the two factors with the greatest effect on homelessness were
1) (lack of) support in the year after discharge from military service and
2) social isolation.

This is consistent with the results of a study by Tessler and Rosenheck which showed that homeless veterans experiencing the longest current episodes of homelessness were those who also had “behavioral risk factors with possible early onset, and those who were lacking in social bonds to civilian society that are normally conferred by employment, marriage, and support from family of origin.”
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Wednesday, 15 March 2006
On the trail of the fake veterans

10_iraq_ml Andrew Thomas is in North Carolina on the trail of a new wave of fake US military veterans. He sent this report about his hunt for the college student who was treated like a hero, and even blagged free tuition with her bogus tales of warzone adventures.

"That's her". Those were the words I wanted to hear.

Nothing makes the US military, or its old soldiers madder than people passing themselves off as veterans of combat. For years, the problem was fake Vietnam vets. But new wars mean new fakes and now cases are popping up all over America of people pretending to be veterans of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. I'm in Raleigh, North Carolina trying to track one down.

Lisa Jane Phillips (that's right, a woman - gives the story a contemporary twist) spent two and a half years as Captain Phillips, fighter-pilot extraordinaire. Like some sort of comic-book superhero, fom 2002 to 2005 she apparently led a double life. By weekday she was a popular student at the exclusive and expensive Meredith private women's college. At weekends, and occasionally for fortnights at a time, she'd go off-campus and straight into war-zones - flying sorties, even getting shot down over Northern Iraq, transporting troops in Afghanistan, getting injured in road-side bombings near Baghdad.

When on campus Phillips - sporting a Purple Heart ribbon awarded, supposedly, for bravery - was hailed as an American hero: the college waived $42,000 worth of tuition fees, got her speaking at special seminars about 'what it's really like over there' and even gave her her own special parking space - in the US, there is no greater privilege.

The only one who wasn't convinced was Campus Police Chief Frank Strickland, himself a veteran of Vietnam. He noticed that alongside the Purple Heart was a ribbon awarded only to those who'd seen action in World War II. Phillips was 34, born 1971. Stickland called in the FBI and, last August, Phillips pleaded guilty to fraud and to impersonating an officer. She currently awaits her sentence....
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More4 News Blog: On the trail of the fake veterans
 
It's a good thing that the veterans are getting the help they need. No one should have to suffer, especially after such an ordeal as serving in a war.
 
...As this article is written there is a veritable epidemic of military imposters loose in our nation; respect and admiration for our armed forces personnel are at a level not seen since the days of World War Two. Military personnel are seen as laudable and commendable, and are praised and honored at public gatherings. Hardly a day passes without mention of “our heroes in uniform” in the print and broadcast media. While most military veterans are loath to be called a “hero” themselves, most will readily suggest that they have met or served with some bona fide heroes. There are some members of our society, however, who covet the title of “military hero” and intentionally seek the spotlight, despite never having served in the nation’s armed forces. There are some legitimate military veterans who are not satisfied with their record of achievements and duties and who embellish their military records, claiming duties, skills, awards and commendations which they never actually earned.

False claims of military service are offered by charlatans for a plethora of reasons.
. . . Office personnel offer false claims in an attempt to gain an advantage in
the battle for promotions where preferences are given to military veterans. Corporate
executives use false military credentials in an attempt to gain an edge in corporate
marketing directed at military clients. Members of military and fraternal organizations
attempt to gain undeserved praise and unearned recognition with false claims of
extraordinary valor and wear medals which reflect their false claims. One of the largest
contingents of military impostors involves those who falsely claim to be military veterans
for the purpose of obtaining VA medical benefits, tax benefits, and monetary
compensation.

James O’Neill is assistant Inspector General for the VA, and it is O’Neill’s office which
is responsible for rooting out those who defraud the VA.
“We take it seriously because this money is meant for veterans, not for fakers. Every
dollar that’s lost to a faker is one more dollar that can’t be spent on a veteran,” stated
O’Neill in a recent interview with Military Times...

And then there is the case of Jesse MacBeth, a former soldier who served in the US Army only 44 days and who didn’t even finish basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia.
According to Ronald Friedman, assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of
Washington state, MacBeth filed falsified discharge documents with the VA stating that
he served three years and separated from the military as a corporal after deploying to both Afghanistan and Iraq. He also claimed to have earned a Ranger tab and a Purple Heart.

MacBeth’s claim for VA benefits was denied, but that didn’t stop his charade. According
to Friedman, MacBeth produced anti-war videos claiming he committed atrocities while serving as a Ranger in Iraq, that he had killed innocent civilians after being ordered to do
so.

The truth is that MacBeth was never a corporal, never received a Purple Heart for wounds received in combat, and neither saw nor participated in war crimes in Iraq or Afghanistan. He was never a Ranger, and was released from the Army for issues related to performance and conduct. There is no possible way, therefore, that he could be suffering from the combat-based post-traumatic stress disorder for which he sought compensation and for which he compiled his falsified military record.

On Friday 21 September MacBeth was sentenced to five months in jail, three months in a
halfway house, and three years' probation for falsifying a Department of Veterans Affairs
claim and an Army discharge record. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Lasnik also
ordered MacBeth to seek help for mental health problems, especially as they related to
committing domestic violence.

The videos he made were translated into Arabic for Middle Eastern audiences and
MacBeth became a ‘poster boy’ for the anti-war movement. He fooled peace groups,
those with a political axe to grind in contention with the current administration and its
foreign policies, and with alternative news media, becoming something of an anti-war
star over the past several years.

The videos proclaimed his concocted stories of war atrocities, including MacBeth’s
claims that "We would burn their bodies ... hang their bodies from the rafters in the
mosque". These videos have been widely distributed in areas of the world where they will
do the greatest possible harm to American efforts. It is likely that any details which are
disseminated in the Middle East regarding MacBeth’s conviction and jail sentence for
falsifying this information will only be interpreted by America’s enemies as evidence of a
conspiracy to ‘cover up’ the fictional atrocities which he fabricated for his own
fraudulent ends.

In this instance the VA saw through the false claims and denied MacBeth’s application
for benefits to which he had no legal right. It is the American public, and the American
reputation abroad, however, which has suffered terribly as a result of his fraud and self-aggrandizement.
Doubtless his widely-distributed claims of war atrocities will incite
renewed violence against our own military forces and greatly embolden those who seek
to counter US efforts at home and abroad.

...Mr. Sterner pointed to recent arrests in the Seattle area where a number of military imposters were caught. Several of those military imposters had received a total of $1.4 million in unearned VA benefits.....
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http://www.pownetwork.org/pownet.secure1/An Epidemic of Military Imposters1.pdf
 
Not only there is VA benefits available but why aren't many utilizing support services from VFW, among others??
 
Byrdie714 said:
Not only there is VA benefits available but why aren't many utilizing support services from VFW, among others??
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Not all veterans are eligible for VFW. For example, I'm not eligible because I never served in a foreign war zone.

Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)

But for those who are eligible that is another resource. There is also AMVETS.

Welcome to AMVETS - The Official Web site of AMVETS National Headquarters

And Wounded Warrior Project.

Wounded Warrior Project - Home
 
Reba said:
Not all veterans are eligible for VFW. For example, I'm not eligible because I never served in a foreign war zone.

Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)

But for those who are eligible that is another resource. There is also AMVETS.

Welcome to AMVETS - The Official Web site of AMVETS National Headquarters

And Wounded Warrior Project.

Wounded Warrior Project - Home
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You would think with dwindling memberships of the VFW that they would revise their policies to be more inclusive of military service regardless if one went into a war zone or not.
 
Byrdie714 said:
You would think with dwindling memberships of the VFW that they would revise their policies to be more inclusive of military service regardless if one went into a war zone or not.
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Well, because of Iraq and Afghanistan, more young veterans will be eligible to join. I really don't have a problem with their restriction.

I think the point of this thread is that, even with organizations, it still takes that one-on-one relationship with someone who cares that makes the most profound changes for troubled people. VA can provide certain services but personal connections are most important.
 
Any women's veterans group's helping out? Are you a member of any?
 
Byrdie714 said:
Any women's veterans group's helping out? Are you a member of any?
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Women can join the same groups as men, for which their service qualifies them, and they also have specific groups for women only. No, I don't belong to any now. The group that I fit in with best was full of old ladies. :rofl:
 
Reba said:
Women can join the same groups as men, for which their service qualifies them, and they also have specific groups for women only. No, I don't belong to any now. The group that I fit in with best was full of old ladies. :rofl:
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What? No Red Hat Society for Women that are Veteran's?! :jaw: :lol:

I do declare! You should start one! :) :giggle:
 
By step brother served in the Army. He went to Afghanistan when he was just 18 (or 19) years old. When he came back he was a totally different person that needed mental help. He became very abusive to his girlfriend and let's just say he's not alive now. If he would have gotten the help he needed he might still be here. It's hard to have our hero's tossed out and pushed under the carpet. I'm glad to hear that there is someone out there making a difference!
 
chris' mom said:
By step brother served in the Army. He went to Afghanistan when he was just 18 (or 19) years old. When he came back he was a totally different person that needed mental help. He became very abusive to his girlfriend and let's just say he's not alive now. If he would have gotten the help he needed he might still be here. It's hard to have our hero's tossed out and pushed under the carpet. I'm glad to hear that there is someone out there making a difference!
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I'm very sorry for your loss. :hug:
 
chris' mom said:
By step brother served in the Army. He went to Afghanistan when he was just 18 (or 19) years old. When he came back he was a totally different person that needed mental help. He became very abusive to his girlfriend and let's just say he's not alive now. If he would have gotten the help he needed he might still be here. It's hard to have our hero's tossed out and pushed under the carpet. I'm glad to hear that there is someone out there making a difference!
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I am very sorry for your loss. It is a sad story that unfortunately, is often repeated. That's what makes what this man does so valuable and praiseworthy.
 
Reba said:
Not all veterans are eligible for VFW. For example, I'm not eligible because I never served in a foreign war zone.

Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)

But for those who are eligible that is another resource. There is also AMVETS.

Welcome to AMVETS - The Official Web site of AMVETS National Headquarters

And Wounded Warrior Project.

Wounded Warrior Project - Home
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My grandfather was eligible for the VFW and in the town I grew up in, if you had family members that fought in foreign wars, you could go to the VFW for community events. I'm pretty sure they weren't as strict as other VFWs.
 
chris' mom said:
By step brother served in the Army. He went to Afghanistan when he was just 18 (or 19) years old. When he came back he was a totally different person that needed mental help. He became very abusive to his girlfriend and let's just say he's not alive now. If he would have gotten the help he needed he might still be here. It's hard to have our hero's tossed out and pushed under the carpet. I'm glad to hear that there is someone out there making a difference!
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Oh my dear... I´m very sorry for the loss of your beloved one... :hug: I know it´s terrible... :(
 
I have a friend of mine that does similar work here in Arkansas. If you look on my Facebook page I have a 'support the Union Rescue Mission' cause.

He is a former druggie turned minister helping homeless vets (and other addicts).
 
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