Tennesseans saw their personal incomes slide lower in 2009 for the first time in 60 years,

I don't think this comes as a surprise to many folks; I suspect that just about everyone who passes through the doors to OSDN has known for some time now that incomes are dropping - like a rock encased in lead and attached to a desert welldigger's drill tip.

What most of them would really like to know is when they can expect to see a turnaround....

(photo courtesy of extremefunnyhumor.com)

Personal income drops in TN

Shelters & Homelessness Cost MORE Than Rent In Most Places

I've been saying for years now that for what we spend each year on a single person experiencing homelessness, we could put them up in a fancy hotel, buy all their meals and purchase their incidentals for them as well.  

Back in May of 2001 the New York Times did an article in which they stated that the average homeless person cost the New York City taxpayers "more than $40,000"  bux a year to house.   Here's that article, thanks to Lexis Nexis:

The New York Times
May 2, 2001 Wednesday
Late Edition - Final

Housing Mentally Ill People Is Cost-Effective, Study Finds

BYLINE: By NINA BERNSTEIN
SECTION: Section B; Column 5; Metropolitan Desk; Pg. 4

It costs more than $40,000 in public money for a mentally ill person to be homeless for a year in New York City, nearly as much as it costs for the same person to live in supportive housing, said a University of Pennsylvania study to be released today.

The long-awaited study used computer records from eight New York State and city agencies, including hospitals, jails, shelters and Medicaid offices, to review the histories of almost 5,000 homeless people in supportive housing. They were then compared with a matched control group of 5,000 other homeless people who were not placed in such housing. 

Those left to fend for themselves consumed an average of $40,449 each year in public services during a two-year study period, the researchers found, the bulk of it in acute-care hospitals and homeless shelters.

But for each person in supportive housing under a joint city and state program known as New York/New York, costs in such public services were reduced by an average of $16,282 year round. The net cost of the supportive-housing program was $744 per placement, or $995 a year per unit constructed and run at an annual outlay of $17,277.

The study has important national policy implications, said Dennis P. Culhane, an authority on homelessness who conducted the study with Stephen Metreaux and Trevor Hadley. In many other cities, the homeless problem among the mentally ill has grown worse, Mr. Culhane said, but in New York City, the number of deranged people on the streets has declined since the 1980's, in part through the development of New York/New York housing.

"Homelessness among the mentally ill is a finite problem, and we have an opportunity to solve it," Mr. Culhane said. "This shows it won't cost us anything; we just have to move the dollars around."

Research by the Urban Institute, a group based in Washington, suggests that on any given day, as many as 110,000 single adults with severe mental illness are homeless in the United States, and as many as 260,000 single adults are chronically homeless. If, as in New York City, a significant proportion of these people are extensive users of acute-care health services, public shelters and the criminal justice system, "an aggressive investment in supportive housing is warranted," the University of Pennsylvania study said.

The real challenge is that the budget of each agency involved is a separate fief, said Carla Javits, president of the Corporation for Supportive Housing, a nonprofit organization that helped sponsor the study with the university's Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research and a number of foundations.

"The savings clearly accrue to systems like health care, shelters and correctional systems, whereas the costs are incurred on the housing and mental health side of the ledger," Ms. Javits said. 

"Unfortunately there are different administrative agencies and even different legislative committees eventually responsible. It is crucial to have the interest of the chief executive -- mayor, governor or president -- to make it happen."

Mr. Culhane said it took years just getting the various state and city agencies to cooperate in the study, which was paid for in part by the Fannie Mae Foundation and the United Hospital Fund of New York.

The annual savings associated with each supportive-housing unit included an $8,260 reduction in state psychiatric hospital costs, a $3,779 reduction in costs to the city shelters, a $1,771 reduction in costs to the city's Health and Hospitals Corporation, and a $3,787 decrease in inpatient Medicaid costs. Smaller savings were found in veterans' hospitals ($595), the state prison system ($418) and the city jails ($328).

Though outpatient Medicaid costs increased by a yearly average of $2,656 per unit in the two years after placement, the study said, that figure included the high initial cost of stabilizing the health of homeless people who had long been living on the street, and was more than offset by the decline in inpatient stays.

In many respects, the study was conservative in estimating savings. It did not count court costs, or the expense of soup kitchens and outreach programs, for example.

Advocates of supportive housing have long made a case for the cost-effectiveness of the approach, which combines housing subsidies with on-site services, but this was the first comprehensive evaluation. 

Advocates in New York contend that the 1,500 new supportive-housing units projected in the current budget should be increased to 10,000. Nationally, 150,000 units are being sought. "This study says, 'Look, it's really worth it,' " Ms. Javits said. "It's not cost-free, but it's worth it because the public's paying anyway.

URL: http://www.nytimes.com

Remember, this was back in early 2001 and you can bet your sweet bippy that the cost has gone up significantly since then.

That's more money than I made in a year while working to assist the folks on the street when I first came to Nashville, and I was able to rent an apartment, make a car payment - along with all the other expenses associated with owning a vehicle - get my groceries, take a vacation and generally enjoy life more than I ever did during the days of my addiction.

For the cost of one homeless person in New York each year, we could rent 61 apartments for a month, or we could pay the rent for a full year on about 5 apartments, thereby saving the taxpayers a bundle with each individual housed.

I know, I know, "they oughta jis pull themselves up by their bootstraps and get a job."  

Unfortunately, the boots have long since been walked off their feet; the jobs are now in China, India and Taiwan, and  the straps are used to stake down their tents at the local homeless camp.  

Sometimes our Puritan work ethic gets in the way of good common sense.....




Study: Homeless shelters stays can cost more than rent

Updated 1h 42m ago |

Enlarge By Anne Ryan, USA TODAY Donlaya McCullum, 26, gets her children ready to head to a doctors appointment from Olive Branch Mission, Chicago's oldest homeless mission.

By Marisol Bello, USA TODAY

Cities, states and the federal government pay more to provide the homeless with short-term shelter and services than what it would cost to rent permanent housing, the U.S. government reports.

A study of 9,000 families and individuals being released today by the Department of Housing and Urban Development finds that costs to house the newly homeless vary widely, depending on the type of shelter and social services provided by the six cities in the report.

Emergency shelter for families was the most costly. In Washington, D.C., the average bill for a month in an emergency shelter ranges from $2,500 to $3,700. In Houston, the average is $1,391.

Many communities probably don't know that they are spending as much "to maintain a cot in a gymnasium with 100 other cots" as it would cost to rent an efficiency apartment, says Dennis Culhane, a University of Pennsylvania professor who studies housing policies. "We are paying for a form of housing that is largely substandard, and we are paying as much, if not more, than standard conventional housing."

He says the report bolsters a move by the Obama administration to focus on helping the homeless get permanent housing. The federal stimulus act last year set aside $1.5 billion to prevent homelessness by helping people pay rent, utility bills, moving costs or security deposits.

Nationwide, 1.6 million homeless people received shelter in 2008, according to government figures.

The new study does not look at the cost-effectiveness or quality of the programs. Costs to shelter first-time homeless people varied based on the type of shelter and other services provided, how long they stayed and overhead. Shelters may offer drug and alcohol treatment, mental health care, family counseling and help obtaining government benefits.

Mark Johnston, deputy assistant secretary of HUD, says the report should prompt communities to lower costs by targeting people with only the services they need and to improve aid for those who repeatedly become homeless.

"We saw higher costs and longer lengths of stay than expected," he says. The longest average stay for individuals was 73 days in Des Moines. The longest average stay for families was 309 days in Washington.

"We do not want people to languish in emergency shelter," Johnston says.

Neil Donovan of the National Coalition for the Homeless says the report is limited because it covered 2004 through 2006. It doesn't include families who became homeless in the recession.

"A lot of things have become very different in the last couple of years," he says. "If it's used to a greater degree than a conversation starter, it will be used to a greater degree than it's worth."

HOUSING THE HOMELESS

A study by the Department of Housing and Urban Development finds that the average monthly cost to house the homeless varies widely.

Individuals:

	Houston	Kalamazoo, Mich.	Greenville, S.C.	Washington
Emergency shelter	$1,391	$1,614	$2,269	$3,530
Transitional housing	$3,340	$813	$1,209	$2,170
Market-rate rent, two-bedroom apt.	$743	$612	$599	$1,225

Families:

	Houston	Kalamazoo, Mich.	Greenville, S.C.	Washington
Emergency shelter	$1,391	$1,614	$2,269	$3,530
Transitional housing	$3,340	$813	$1,209	$2,170
Market-rate rent, two-bedroom apt.	$743	$612	$599	$1,225

Source: HUD

"Catch and Wreck:" children identifyng targets they think are homeless and beat and rob them for fun

Along w several of my own personal experiences of being targeted by roving bands of ignorant brats roaming around looking for trouble in as many places as they could find it, attacks on the homeless by kids and young adults have always been in the top five of problems mentioned to me by folks I've encountered and assisted on the streets.  

Many readers will remember the post about Ray Ray and the punk kid who threw a rock through his tent behind a Nashville Waffle House, hitting him in the head while the child's parents laughed uproariously.    My dear friend and street-brother Bones, who many readers will remember from posts long past, went out of his way to find places to hide at night because he was so terrified of being attacked - again - by punks who get their jollies by attacking defenseless people

Many Nashvillians will also remember what happened to Tara Cole, (see "Tara's Story/listen to the song written about her death here) thanks to a couple of young thugs looking for kicks one night along the riverbank of the Cumberland river.  If any good came from her senseless and tragic death, it is that it brought a city together - for a moment - and raised awareness of the dangers those experiencing homelessness face on the street every single night of the year.  

Many have long argued that attacks against the homeless should be considered hate crimes and progress has been made in getting them listed as such, but we've still got a long way to go.  If you're still on the fence about this issue, consider this: 

"Over the past decade, there have been more than 2 1/2 times more unprovoked killings of homeless people than homicides based on race, religion, national origin, disability and sexual orientation combined" (CJ Professor Brian Levin).

 (Image courtesy ABC news)

2 Philly kids face charges in random-attack game

The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA -- Two preteens assaulted a woman walking home through a playground as part of a violent game called "Catch and Wreck," in which children identify targets they think are homeless and then beat and rob them for fun, police said Tuesday.

An 11-year-old boy was arrested Monday night and charged with aggravated assault, conspiracy and robbery, Philadelphia police Lt. John Walker said.

A 12-year-old girl was charged shortly after the Friday night attack in southwest Philadelphia. The victim was surrounded by children, then punched and hit with sticks, police said. She suffered minor injuries to her knee and head and delayed seeking medical attention to help police with the investigation.

Police also plan to charge the boy in an attack on a 73-year-old man who was beaten and robbed in the same area on March 13, Walker said. The victim in that assault, Vincent Poppa, suffered a heart attack and remains hospitalized.

A spokeswoman for District Attorney Seth Williams said both children were being charged as juveniles. Their names have not been released.

Investigators believe the assaults are part of a game called "Catch and Wreck," which children in the neighborhood described to them after Friday's attack.

Children told police the game involves pinpointing passers-by they think are homeless and then beating and robbing them for fun, Walker said. The woman who was attacked, however, said she is not homeless.

"We're just hoping it's isolated and that (these arrests) will quickly bring it to a halt," he said.
Deputy Commissioner Richard Ross, who oversees all field operations for the department, said the recent reports of "Catch and Wreck" were the first the department had gotten.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/23/1543296/2-philly-kids-face-charges-in.html#ixzz0j5jXUrbz

Homelessness, poverty, mental illness, addiction; these are complex issues and so too are some of the solutions to address them.

One of the bummers about working two jobs is that it leaves little time for some of my favorite pasttimes, like early morning blogging.

I've been exceptionally busy both prepping for an upcoming regional training event in South Carolina for SAMHSA and HRC/PATH and have also been training a new assistant veteran services coordinator to help me at my day-job over at Operation Stand Down Nashville. 

It's left little time for much else, but don't let me leave you with an incorrect impression; I absolutely love what I'm doing and I think it will generate some great future blog posts, both here and at Change.org, not to mention on the HRC/PATH/SSH websites, regarding providing better services and a voice to those on the street who aren't always able to be heard.

Don't mean to break my arm patting myself on the back here, just letting folks know I haven't dropped off the face of the earth and I'm not out wasting anyone's time, either.  I'm working on improving my own knowledge base and skill sets so I can share it with others who do this kind of work and love every minute of it in the process.

Homelessness, poverty, mental illness, addiction; these are complex issues and so too are some of the solutions to address them.  I'm a big fan of the KISS formula  but it's difficult to pigeonhole and cookie-cut answers to the problems generated as a result of homelessness.  

Every day I hear about someone somewhere doing something that works for them and each time I hear it, I want to know more, MORE about it!

I'm hoping to share as much of it as I can with as many peeps as I can.  Hope you'll stick around to see what some of it is.

a new ordinance making certain intimidating behavior a civil infraction fosters fear of poor people

I'm not so sure I agree with Ms. Marrone's statement here, but I think she does have a valid concern about initiating panhandling bans in general.  Panhandling is an activity that is driven by a need.  We ought to be working to remove the need.

Many readers and local residents will recall Nashville's decision to create an "anti-panhandling" ordinance a couple of years ago.  Several contentious meetings occurred as advocates, city officials and local business owners jockeyed for the dominating final opinion, which turned out to be a watered down version of the original, very strict law.

I would argue, as I think would most of the staff and vendors of The Contributor, that the newspaper has had more of an impact on curbing aggressive panhandlers in the downtown area than any law ever has.

This is because most of the aggressive panhandlers didn't like the competiton, since paper vendors were actually selling a real and valuable product damned near alongside the panhandlers, making them look like...well, panhandlers.

Folks passing by who felt the need to give invariably chose those who were actually working versus those who were simply begging, and it didn't take local businesses long to notice that when vendors were present, aggressive panhandlers disappeared.

This created a climate of acceptance for vendors that continues today, and because we trained our vendors to always be courteous, respectful and non-aggressive, they posed no threat or concern to business owners.  In fact, for some businesses, it was a way to show their support in assisting those on the street who were working to get off of it, and it greatly improved relationships among the many of the homeless and the downtown community.

Panhandling is a fairly complex issues when you get right down to it, and for the most part, the majority of people experiencing homelessness don't panhandle at all, let alone "aggressively."  When they do panhandle, it's often for a short period and there are certain "hotspots" that those "in the know"  know well, and those spots are used heavily. 

It's probably more likely than not that Seattle will institute a ban.  I'm hoping calm heads prevail and if an ordinance is drawn up, it's one that is well thought out and doesn't infringe on a person's right to free speech.  There's plenty of material available to do it right, if it's going to be done....

Some speak out against Seattle council plan to crack down on panhandling

Downtown business-community members said tourists and locals avoid downtown because they are afraid of and intimidated by people asking for money. But many people said it's poverty that makes people uncomfortable and the city should spend more money helping the poor and homeless instead.

By Emily Heffter

Seattle Times staff reporter

Kate Marrone said her husband was on his way to work when a panhandler in Belltown punched him in the face.

Despite that, Marrone testified Wednesday against a proposed new Seattle city ordinance to crack down on aggressive solicitation.

She told Seattle City Council members that a new ordinance making certain intimidating behavior a civil infraction fosters fear of poor people and wouldn't have helped her husband.

She joined nearly two hours of testimony on both sides of Councilmember Tim Burgess' proposal before the Public Safety and Education Committee.

The ordinance, which may come up for a council committee vote April 7, sparked debate about panhandlers' civil rights and whether downtown really has a problem with aggressive panhandling.

Downtown business-community members, who largely support Burgess' proposal, said tourists and locals avoid downtown because they are afraid of and intimidated by people asking for money.

Many people who testified against the ordinance said it's poverty that makes people uncomfortable and the city should spend more money helping the poor and homeless instead.

"Just stop and allow yourself to actually imagine if we could actually help homeless people instead of trying to fight homeless people," said Shy Wit, who is homeless and stays in Tent City IV.

Tim Harris, the executive director of the Real Change newspaper, said the proposed ordinance would erode free speech and attempts to hide its "real motive" to "clamp down on panhandling" through "squishy, open-to-interpretation terminology."

Burgess' ordinance would include panhandlers and people soliciting for signatures or selling things on the sidewalk.

The ordinance would make it a criminal offense to solicit someone using a cash machine or parking pay station. It also bars intimidating behavior, such as following people or using abusive language.

"I deal with thousands of customers and people a year, and the fear and intimidation that is felt is real," said Alan Booth, who manages Tom Douglas' restaurants downtown.

Booth said the city should seek a solution that balances the "tolerance that we've always had in this city" for people who are struggling with the rights of people to enjoy Pike Place Market and other parts of downtown without feeling intimidated.

Burgess' proposal has the support of the Downtown Seattle Association, the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, some advocates for the poor, and from the police. It is part of a package that includes putting more cops on the street and creating more housing.

Interim Police Chief John Diaz said Wednesday that dealing specifically with aggressive panhandling will give people a "greater sense of safety."

Council members at Wednesday's meeting expressed some skepticism about the proposal.

Councilmember Bruce Harrell said he's never been aggressively panhandled.

"I didn't know if there's a crisis around the ATM machines and I just didn't get the memo on that. I didn't experience that," he said.

"What may be intimidating to one person ... may not be intimidating to another person," said Councilmember Nick Licata. "Where do you draw the line?"
Seattle Times staff reporter Steve Miletich contributed to this report.
Emily Heffter: 206-464-8246 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              206-464-8246      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or eheffter@seattletimes.com

Malachi House International, Inc. Brings Hope, Help To Homeless Female Vets

Female vets are more likely to be homeless than their civilian counterparts. They are also far more likely to have experienced sexual trauma. They also have one helluva hard time asking for help, thanks to their military training that taught them to be "an army of one." Programs that help women vets are extremely important....

Program helps homeless female veterans

by Brian Farrell, 13News

Posted on March 15, 2010 at 10:41 PM

Updated yesterday at 11:21 PM

******

Related:

• Malachi House International, Inc.

NEWPORT NEWS -- In 2004, Doctor Mickey Collins and her husband, Waverly, founded Malachi House International, Inc. in 2004 as a training and educational organization to help people who were poor or homeless build better lives for themselves. One piece was missing: housing. In 2008, the Collinses found a way to supply the piece. They applied for a grant through the Department of Veterans Affairs, and got it.

"The sad commentary," says Collins, "are that these people have really put their life out there on the line for all of us, and, then, they come back, and what's available for them?"

With the grant money, Malachi House was able to purchase properties where former military members could live as they received help for post-traumatic stress (when needed), as well as career/job training while they searched for employment. All of the veterans receiving assistance are women, among the estimated 6,500 female veterans who are homeless.

"Looking at the Hampton Roads area, looking at being at war, looking at the number of women that were really going into the military, we just knew that there was a need," Collins tells 13News.

"Tammy" is a vet who lives at Malachi House. The former soldier, who was hurt twice while in the Army, deals with stress and takes more than a dozen pills daily.

"In my situation, I can't work, so that's why I'm struggling, and I'm waiting for an appeal from the VA and Social Security," explains Tammy. "I would love to have my own place, to be able to pay my own bills, to be able to kick back in my own living room."

"Lisa" is a Navy veteran who shares the house with Tammy. She also is the mother of a two-year-old son who lives with them.

"Working closer to a full-time job, I see that coming," Lisa says. "You can't just sit off and kind of be depressed. You have to get up and keep on moving, because the world's not gonna stop."

"The face of homelessness has changed," Collins notes. "Ran into a situation where one lady was in the military, came home, had a great job, was downsized. Had credentials, thought that she could get a job, and couldn't get a job, and, then, she found herself being homeless."

"I just want people to know," begins Tammy, "that it's women out here that are struggling. Don't just pass 'em by. Don't judge. Just look at us as people."

Annual Homeless Walk Coming Soon: April 17. 2010

Walk A Mile in My Shoes 

The Walk is an opportunity to learn first hand about the journey a homeless person travels. The Walk is also a fundraiser to support The Key Alliance or a partner agency that serves the homeless. For a list of our partner agencies, click here.


Walkers can register here, set up their own web page to track their fundraising results, and email their friends and family to sponsor them and make online donations.

Registered walkers that raise $100 for an agency will receive a FREE Walk A Mile in My Shoes 100% cotton t-shirt featuring the colorful logo designed by Room In The Inn participants. T-shirts will be distributed at the sign-in table on April 17. Additional t-shirts can be purchased for $10 a piece.

Sign-in begins at 8 a.m. at LP Field in Lot R at the entrance to the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge. Partner agencies will have booths, WSIX, 97.9, will be providing music, coffee and water will be served. Bring your camera just in case a few surprise guests show up.

At 9 a.m. the Walk begins and will cross the Shelby Street Bridge to 4^th Avenue. After a quick tour around Broadway the Walk will end at Hall of Fame Park with music and dancing by the Soul Choir, an art display by the homeless, and food and beverages.

For questions about the Walk or how to register, please contact Laura Jumonville at ljumonville@thekeyalliance.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 615-780-7014 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              615-780-7014      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

""When I finally decided that I wanted to get clean and I went into the first rehab, it was all men"

I'm increasingly seeing women among the faces of vets needing services that mob our lobby on a daily basis and we have been working on some policies to fast-track these ladies in order to remove them from the testosterone clouds common in many military gathering spots.  

I've got to admit however, that it's hard to get beyond all this testosterone since the Armed Forces are overwhelmingly staffed with....men.

But I think we do well with this issue, and I'd argue that the increase in women visiting the agency attests to our success.

And make no mistake, women vets are more likely than their civilian counterparts to end up homeless.  Many of them have also experienced "military sexual trauma," and many more have struggled so damned hard to succeed in the service that it's almost impossible for them to ask for help out here in the civilian world; after all, if they made it in the military, surely they can make it back at home.

But all that experience they earned while serving is, as my dear departed mother liked to say, "as useless as boobs on a boar-hog" until they learn to take the combat boots outta the resume.

Not an easy task, to be sure, and it's why organizations like Operation Stand Down Nashville Inc. are going to be critically important to both men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan in the coming months and years.

Let's hope our elected and appointed officials recognize this and make certain these resources remain available to those who served our country with honor and integrity.  

We owe them this and we promised them this when they signed on the dotted and agreed to put themselves in harm's way for us if we needed them to do so..... 

For Female Vets, a New Fight at Home

Women Veterans Four Times as Likely as Men to Wind Up Homeless

By LISA FLETCHER and FELICIA BIBERICA
March 14, 2010 

 

 Mickiela Montoya served her country for seven years. A military policewoman in Iraq, she faced mortar attacks and gunfire But when she came home, her bravery and her skills were useless. 

A single mother without a college degree, she found herself on the streets. 

"I don't fit the typical stereotype of a homeless person or how a homeless person would be or look," said Montoya, an articulate and attractive 24-year-old. 

Neither does Alicia Watkins. A veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, she wound up homeless while struggling to cope her physical and emotional wounds. 

"Your family, they want the person that they sent off to the war. And they will never get that person back," Watkins said. "So it's just a matter of trying to get them to understand that I will never be

There are an estimated 6,500 homeless female veterans on America's streets, double the number of a decade ago, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Women veterans are four times more likely than their male counterparts to wind up homeless. 

Dr. Diane West runs one of the few programs in the country specifically designed for homeless women veterans at U.S. Vets in Long Beach, Calif.

 

"Right now we have a program for up to 30 women veterans and I have a waiting list all the time," West said. "The women are coming back and they're depressed. Some of them are suicidal. Some of them don't know how to parent at all and they can be abusive to their own children." 

Women vets face all the same issues as their male counterparts: post traumatic stress, sleeplessness and battle injuries. But they face additional challenges unique to them. 

Many, like Montoya, are single mothers. 

Montoya said she had to leave the army because she had no one to take care of her 2-year-old daughter. 

"I went to the VA to ask if they had any type of daycare help or resources and they said no, she's not a veteran, we have help for veterans," Montoya said. 

Finding a good paying job with money for child care has been tough, she said. 

"My friends went to college and now they have careers," she said. "I dedicated seven years of my life to the military and it's as if it were for nothing."

West's program saved her from hitting bottom, Montoya said.

Mickiela Montoya served in Iraq as a military policewoman, but when she came back to the United States the veteran and single mother wound up homeless.

(Courtesy Mickiela Montoya)

She called the program a miracle, but for Montoya's there, 49-year-old Carmen Black, the miracle almost came too late. 

Black left the military struggling with issues including unresolved sexual abuse she suffered as a child, and fell into drug abuse and prostitution, she said. 

"When I finally decided that I wanted to get clean and I went into the first rehab, it was all men, VA," Black said. "It's hard to share with a man about what I'm feeling about being raped." 

That's the other unique challenge faced by many women vets. A VA study found one in three report they were raped or sexually assaulted while serving. 

Montoya said a fellow soldier threatened to rape her in Iraq. She scared him off by telling him she had a knife. 

Related

Harassment Forced Ex-POW to Quit Army

Female Fliers Take Fight to Afghanistan Enemy

American Major's Secret Afghan Meeting

"I think I can say confidently that every single woman in the military has dealt with sexual harassment at some time in their career," she said. 

West says many of the women she has worked with came from chaotic families and joined the military because they believed it was a place where they would be protected. 

They thought "they'd have a gun and nobody would mess with them again," West said. 

"But there's a power structure in the military," she said. "So they're in the same situation and they gravitate towards the same types of people and they're at risk for being abused and having more trauma while they're in the military." 

The U.S. Vets program helped get Black back on her feet. She said she is sober and has gone through the U.S. Vets Renew Program for women veterans with sexual trauma. 

Black said she now has a good job at the VA hospital in Long Beach, has regained custody of her 12-year-old son and soon will leave U.S. Vets for her own place. 

For now, all three women have a roof over their head. But thousands of other women vets are still in trouble. 

"I thank god for the American public for wanting us home," Watkins said. "But when we get here, we need help." 

Help they believe all veterans deserve.

Nashville’s Homelessness Commission is looking for a way authorities can get help for homeless people, instead of legally punishing them

Good to see that Charlie is making some headway on the Homeless Court issue; all the work and effort Lt. Swisher and I have done to improve officer treatment of the homeless on the streets has begun paying off, as has her desire to begin seeking alternatives to incarceration by contacting outreach workers - those she's able to reach by phone, anyway.  

I know Judge Eisenstien has long hoped for some new options and I'm really thrilled to see we might actually be making some progress, because it doesn't much matter if we can help folks on the outside when they've got so many convictions they're relegated to poverty and unemployment.

And by the way, I applaud Clifton's public comment regarding creating a "Housing Trust;" this idea for a Housing Fund issue has been on the table for at least a couple of years now; we brought it up at some intense commission/Tent City meetings back when they were zeroing in on a close date for the camp. 

Erik Cole commented during that meeting that it was something the commission needed to look into quickly in order to provide the funds necessary for those folks who had nothing and no real promise of getting any income anytime soon, either.  Believe it when I tell you that there are a LOT of folks like that languishing in alleys and camps around the city.  

Granted, some of this poverty is their own fault, no doubt about it.  However, the real bi*ch is that once they decided to make a change, the barriers and obstacles heaped upon them from their ramifications of their previous lifestyle now inhibit and often prohibit them from making substantial forward progress.  It's a real dilemma for those of us working to assist them out here and it's extremely frustrating and disheartening for them, as well.

Let's hope Clifton and the commission can be a little more successful in this endeavor than they've been in meeting housing goal of the ten year plan.....

Homelessness Commission Eyes Alternatives to Jail

Monday, March 08th, 2010, by Daniel Potter

Nashville’s Homelessness Commission is looking for a way authorities can get help for homeless people, instead of legally punishing them. For example when police find a homeless person sleeping in a park, they could have a social worker step in, rather than a criminal court.


Father Charles Strobel works on the committee on police issues with homelessness. He says the program, called Homeless Court, would be based on a model from San Diego.

“At the point where the police encounter a situation that appears to be criminal, social workers are contacted at that point to try and resolve that, rather than put it into the criminal justice system.”

That ties in with another plan, which Strobel says aims to create a “single point of entry” – a unified system that gets homeless people help from various agencies. Otherwise Strobel says they’re often lost in the shuffle for medical help, social workers and housing specialists.
But Strobel cautions progress on the committee is slow, with some members preferring a more hands-off approach.
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Last month Nashville Mayor Karl Dean released a plan to address poverty, which included a call for a housing trust fund. Commission Director Clifton Harris says making homes available is vital, but raising funds for it remains a massive challenge.

WEB EXTRA:
Harris says getting the homeless into housing reduces crime, improves education among children, and leads to fewer hospital visits, by helping protect those with chronic illnesses, and those who would face conditions like frostbite if left to the elements.

“Right now we’ve put 56 people in our Housing First program. We are having success of a 92 percent housing-retention rate. And we have to go as far as getting 1,600 more homes for people.”

Harris says where to find dedicated funding for a Housing Trust is the key question – “It can be a host of things, and I think we have to be creative,” he said.

Veterans Support Organization Back In The News And It Isn't Good News

These guys were warned by several prominent veteran's groups around the Nashville area that what they were doing was scandalous and dishonest, not to mention quite probably illegal.  They were actually given the option of packing up their buckets and bs and moving on before these news stories began breaking.

That they chose to snub their noses at the warnings put forth by real veterans who work daily to truly assist the "needy and homeless" vets on our streets goes to show how little they know about the tenacity and honor among most vets.  

This is not a group of people to take lightly, screw with or try to swindle, trust me.  Mr. Edney would have suffered less had he just gone up and kicked a killer bee hive repeatedly.

 Come to think of it, I'd say that's exactly what Mr. Edney did....

State Asks Veterans Fundraising Group to Turn Over Records

Posted: Mar 11, 2010 3:47 PM CST

Video Gallery

State Asks Veterans Fundraising Group to Turn Over Records 4:00

Todd Kelley from the state's Charitable Solicitations Division

Hank Edney, the chief administrative officer of the Tennessee Chapter of the VSO

By Jennifer Kraus
Consumer Investigator
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The state of Tennessee is moving forward with its own investigation of a group raising money that it says will help veterans.

The state wants answers to questions first raised by NewsChannel 5 Investigates, questions about how the group is raising money and spending it.

The state has sent a letter to the national headquarters of the Veterans Support Organization asking them to turn over all of their records regarding their operation here in Tennessee.

And the state isn't the only one taking action after seeing our original story.

The Veterans Support Organization claims to help needy veterans. One of their fundraisers told our undercover teams, "We're collecting donations for our veterans today, needy and homeless veterans."

Another fundraiser told us, "Twenty bucks will help get a homeless or needy veteran off the street."

But our investigation found that the VSO keeps most of what you give to pay for its own expenses and that what VSO fundraisers will say to get donations isn't always true.

Todd Kelley, director of the state Division of Charitable Solicitations and Gaming, said, "I'm very concerned about your report."

Kelley said it's illegal for a charity to misrepresent itself.

In fact, one of the VSO fundraisers told me that he was volunteering to stand out in front of a Mt. Juliet business and ask for donations. He insisted that he was not getting paid.

We later discovered that he received 30 percent of everything he collected.

Todd Kelley added, "Obviously when one of the individuals said he was a volunteer when, in fact, we know they were paid, that's a concern."

When we asked a VSO fundraiser how the donations would help veterans, he told us that the VSO was building a shelter in Madison. "Our shelter will just be for veterans who are homeless," he explained.

And that statement also caught the attention of state regulators because, as it turns out, there is no shelter in the works.

"It's a concern when they misrepresent the fact that there's going to be a homeless shelter that's going to be built with the money they're raising," Kelley told me.

Another concern was how a VSO fundraiser told us donations would be used to help the Fisher House build housing for veterans' families in Murfreesboro. "It's a $2 million dollar project. We're still working on it. It's going to happen. We're going to help fund that."

The fundraiser also specifically mentioned the Fisher House by name even though the Fisher House Foundation had asked the VSO not to.

Now, the national office of the Fisher House Foundation tells NewsChannel 5 Investigates, "We were horrified to find out how they were raising funds." The group goes on to say that it's now completely cutting ties with the VSO and will no longer accept donations from them.
But questions remain about just where your donations are going.

Hank Edney, the chief administrative officer of the Tennessee Chapter of the VSO, told me, "We just had a certified public audit done -- and our current donation rate is at 65%."

But we got a copy of that audit and it says last year, the VSO donated just 16 cents out of every dollar to other programs that assist veterans.

So where did the VSO get the 65 percent figure?

According to the VSO, they count the money they spend on uniforms for their fundraisers, rent, and auto expenses. They also count the money they pay their solicitors, even though some of these men are not veterans.

Todd Kelley from the state's Charitable Solicitations Division said of that practice, "I think that's creative accounting."

Kelley also admitted that he was surprised to see that last year the VSO spent nearly $800,000 to pay the salaries of its fundraisers.

"So almost twice as much money went to the people who were raising the money than actually went to the programs that they say they're supporting," Kelley remarked.

What does he think of that?

"I think if I were giving my money to that organization that would give me great pause," he replied.

Click Here to see the Veteran Support Organization's 2009 audited financial statement.

Another concern of the state is that when the VSO registered to solicit money in Tennessee, the VSO maintained that it did not have an office or chapter here. The group now has both, but has never informed the state that they do.

So how does the VSO explain what its fundraisers told our undercover crews?

The group has now put out a statement saying it uses people with PTSD and other mental health problems as fundraisers and that we should not have relied on the information they were giving out. The state though says charities are responsible for what their employees say.
Click Here to read "Veterans Support Organization Not a Scam," a statement issued by the Veteran Support Organization about its employees' claims.
E-mail: jkraus@newschannel5.com
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