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Homeless vets to have added housing
DURHAM, Nov 22, 2008 (The News & Observer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
An apartment complex expected to open next month will almost quadruple the number of beds for veterans at risk of homelessness here, and housing experts say it's not nearly enough.
The nonprofit Volunteers of America built the 24-unit Maple Court apartments in Durham because a disproportionate number of the Triangle's 500 or more homeless veterans live there. Bob Williamson, who runs the health-care program for homeless vets at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Durham, said vets are drawn to the area because of the VA and other veterans services, and the hope of jobs.
For years, however, those who couldn't find -- or keep -- jobs have ended up sleeping in shelters, parks, abandoned buildings and under bridges.
The VA has long recognized homelessness as a problem among veterans; a third of homeless men are veterans.
In the Triangle, there is no emergency shelter dedicated to the needs of vets, who may have post-traumatic stress disorder or other issues that make shelter life particularly difficult.
Though the VA doesn't fund emergency shelter for vets, it has had a program since the 1990s to help nonprofits build and run transitional housing for veterans. Intended to stop the cycle of homelessness, these can house veterans for up to two years while they are enrolled in recovery and job-training programs.
But progress is slow. Maple Court has been eight years in the making. Durham's TROSA, Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers, has 25 beds for homeless vets expected to come online in December. Another program has nine beds for homeless vets, including those who are HIV-positive.
Across the state, there are fewer than 300 beds in VA-supported housing for homeless vets.
"We need more," Williamson said. But in the meantime, "We want to show veterans they are not forgotten."
Floyd Hall was one of the first to apply for a spot in Maple Court. Hall, who served in the Army from 1976 to 1982, has been staying at the Urban Ministries Center emergency shelter in Durham.
"This is not where I saw myself ending up," he said.
Hall, 49, says sleeping in a room with 70 or 80 other men is a severe test for him. Hall says his PTSD causes him to be extremely anxious in open spaces and among groups of more than three or four people.
"I want to be able to make my own way," he said. "I'm pretty sure there are some homeless people who want to be homeless, but I'm not one of them."
Hall lived on his own for years. Most recently, he had been in Kill Devil Hills, supported primarily by a monthly Social Security disability check and working part time when he was able. Then, in February, the checks stopped coming.
Since he's been in Durham, Hall has signed up for the first PTSD counseling sessions he's ever had. His service in Central America left him with such a vivid recollection of the scent of death that he can't stand certain sweet smells. He's scoured the Internet looking for work he can do.
He's waiting to hear whether he'll be accepted into Maple Court.
"We as vets -- we protected while you slept," Hall said. "We deserve some compensation for that. We're not greedy. We just want a little help. I don't think we're asking for too much.
"By training alone, we're strong individuals. But there's a point you reach where hopelessness sets in. And to be honest, I'm pretty much there."
martha.quillin@newsobserver.com or 829-8989
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