“Homeless Veterans Stand Down returns: Vets get one-stop shop; event organizers also aim to help agencies assess ...” |
| Posted: 10 Nov 2010 02:03 PM PST Published: Wednesday, November 10, 2010, 4:31 PM Updated: Wednesday, November 10, 2010, 4:35 PMFLINT, Michigan — David Carswell of Flint doesn't blame his service in Vietnam for the troubles in his life. He remembers it as the one time he had order, stability and a clear job description. "You were told what to do over there. It's a hard reality to be back," said the former Army specialist, 59. "You always had a function. When you lost that function, you didn't know what to do." Since then, the on-and-off carpenter has spent many nights on the street. He has battled alcohol addiction. There have been days behind bars. Carswell is among an estimated hundreds of veterans who are homeless in Genesee County. About 200 of those veterans got help this week at the Homeless Veterans Stand Down, an event that hasn't been held in the city for four years. Veterans headed to the Flint National Guard Armory for free clothes, groceries, haircuts, flu shots and access to area resources for help with jobs, health, housing and veteran benefits. "When they come home from being at war or in the military, they have to acclimate back into society," said Tina Harris, one of the leaders of nonprofit Alternative Veterans Solutions, which hosted the event this week. "Some have sound sensitivity, undiagnosed post-traumatic stress, alcoholism. ... There are a lot of services available to them, but sometimes they're not in the state of mind to seek those out." The Stand Down was designed not only to aid homeless veterans, but also to help area social services agencies know how many there are and what they need. The homeless veteran count will be part of a study being conducted at the University of Michigan-Flint and the Metro Community Development in Flint on the social network of the overall homeless community in Genesee County. Researchers hope to use the "six degrees of separation" concept to reach more homeless people through the people they know. The study will help local groups get a more accurate number of the area's homeless during an official count in January conducted by the Metro Community Development, which collects the data for the state. "We need to count them and find out where they are and help connect them with services that can move them off of the homeless roster," Harris said. "My life just got off track," said Nathan Bell, 51, of Flint, who served in the Air Force during peacetime from 1977 to 1984, mostly in Germany. The 1978 Flint Northwestern alumnus said that during his service he sometimes felt out of place and isolated. Alcohol and drugs quickly turned into a stress reliever for him and some fellow comrades. After the service, he worked in several jobs. There was a stint at General Motors. There was work at the former Country Fresh dairy plant. There was even an opportunity to be a firefighter. "Drugs were either directly or indirectly tied to losing a job," said Bell, who has been in rehabilitation programs and homeless shelters but now is living in a transitional facility. "I'm just taking one day at a time now. I just want to try to turn around." Meanwhile, Army veteran Robert Pollard spent the day at the Stand Down getting a haircut and a flu shot and talking to people about community resources. He said he has been plagued by alcohol problems in the past, an issue he calls "widespread" among some of the older veterans who returned home after service and were unable to find jobs. There also was discrimination. He said he tried college a couple of times without obtaining a degree and spent several years moving around in jobs, suffering from mental strain in 1990, when he left his last job as a correctional officer in Flint. Today, Pollard, 58, lives in a senior building and is happy to just have a roof over his head. "I struggle from time to time," he said. "I ain't ever going to be rich, but God is good." Gulf War veteran Tredale Kennedy, who started Alternative Veterans Solutions with Harris, said many veterans just need to be informed about the benefits they are eligible for because of their service. "When we learned about the percent of veterans who are homeless, we said somebody has to do something," said Kennedy, 45, of Flint. "Flint hasn't had a Veterans Stand Down since 2006. Our veterans need to be counted so they can get help." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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