By Catherine Cuellar, KERA 90.1 Reporter
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-493208.mp3
Dallas, TX –
Catherine Cuellar, 90.1 reporter: About a third of the homeless are U.S. military veterans. Until recently, Henry Santellan was among them. A veteran of the U.S. Army, Santellan moved into the Sunrise Village apartments in south Dallas on November 15th. It's the first permanent address he's had in four years.
Henry Santellan, Sunrise Village resident: I'd been working as a pipe liner for over 20 years, 22 years and really that's all I've been doing since I got out of the service. But due to my physical conditions, carpal tunnel hands, and my back and my knee, I could not continue that job any more.
Cuellar: Santellan was also struck by a car in a hit and run accident, which led to physical and substance abuse problems. He moved to Dallas and was on the streets briefly before living in shelters.
Santellan: As the oldest son to my mother and to my rest of the family members, it's a big burden for me to go and ask to stay with somebody.
Cuellar: In order to be considered for an apartment in this new program, Santellan had to prove he was homeless and substance-free with no outstanding warrants or debt, and no history of sex offenses. He is one of 50 veterans getting an apartment through a new partnership between the V.A., where he currently works and previously lived, and the Housing Crisis Center, which works to prevent homelessness. Yvonne Butler is the HCC's executive director.
Yvonne Butler, Housing Crisis Center: The Housing Crisis Center, we do a significant amount of work to help people stay in the homes they're already in because we know that at the point that they are homeless they're in really bad shape.
Cuellar: The Veteran's Administration cannot receive Housing and Urban Development grants because it is a federal agency. So the V.A. sought to partner with the Housing Crisis Center acting as a grant applicant and administrator. Butler was happy to help.
Butler: We are a nation at war right now. It felt like it was the least we could do. We owe some kind of thank you and some kind of support to those who have fought to protect us. So it just made sense.
Cuellar: But homeless veterans have more issues than many of the clients Butler serves.
Butler: It's hard enough to deal with people who are defeated when they get to you. And I think veterans are not just defeated, they're pretty angry because they feel that they've contributed immensely. Veterans have that, they have physical disabilities, and the issues often of mental illness, substance abuse, employment training, an additional layer.
Cuellar: To address those issues, Desi Jackson leads the V.A. outreach to homeless veterans, serving 2,000 people a year. She travels under bridges, into soup kitchens, and works at the Day Resource Center for the homeless in downtown Dallas four days a week.
Desi Jackson, Program Manager, V.A. Homeless Veterans Program: As you can see (door swings open) we have a sign-in sheet on the door, one or two at a time, so we can spend as much time as needed to address their specific needs.
VA staffer: What brought you down here today?
Homeless vet: Well I spoke to John on Monday, we were talking about housing as far as the rehab program at Salvation Army.
VA staffer: What branch of the service were you in?
Vet: Army
VA: Where are you staying right now?
Vet: Well, I'm in-between at the moment.
VA: Where did you stay last night?
Vet: At my mother's
VA: And before that where were you staying?
Vet: Lew Sterrett
Jackson: We usually see 15 to 50 people a day from picking up mail to "I just need somebody to talk to" to "I'm having homicidal or suicidal thoughts today." It's really unpredictable. Every day is a new adventure. And it really keeps the staff on their toes.
Cuellar: Earning her clients trust is also a challenge.
Jackson: You don't always get the whole story through one conversation. It's when they come back either because they forgot something or they needed something else you're able to touch base and explore just a little bit more what to make to be able to give them support and assistance to get 'em through the hump to treatment.
Cuellar: Greta Mankins directs the comprehensive homeless center for the Veterans Administration North Texas Health Care System, which offers an array of services.
Greta Mankins, VA: It includes outreach to the street, substance abuse treatment, transitional housing, permanent housing, vocational services, and rehab classes on money management and how to get a job.
Cuellar: But even when vets have been successful in the V.A.'s programs, it's difficult for them to find a place to live.
Mankins: We have very little permanent housing. and that's the one thing that's very difficult is to find affordable safe housing when the veterans are graduating from programs.
Cuellar: Santellan got a job through the V.A. and has used his income from it to furnish his new apartment.
Santellan: This apartment is nice because I don't have to climb no stairs, but anyway, it has plenty of room. It has two bedroom apartment. It has four closets, a bathroom, and the living room is a nice size. The kitchen is also nice in size because it's not that big. And for a person like myself, it's alright because I can't do too much of a physical work to be able to keep it a large place clean but I do maintain myself pretty good.
Cuellar: Having a home has also helped Santellan reconnect with his family.
Santellan: I'm able to have my own home phone. I'm able to call to talk to my mother and sisters and let them know I'm fine and they first thing they want to know is when I'm coming home. I think it's a pretty good feeling once somebody asks you about that. Because at first they see you down and all that, they wouldn't ask you that. But now they hear that you're doing good an everything, yeah, they want to know when you're coming home. And yes I told them by Christmas maybe I guess.
Cuellar: Santellan's successful transformation proves the value of the 50 veterans apartments, according to Yvonne Butler of the Housing Crisis Center.
Butler: Fifty sounds like a drop in the bucket, but it's 50 drops in the bucket. Our hope is this will be the beginning of what the Housing Crisis Center and the VA can do together.
Cuellar: For KERA 90.1, I'm Catherine Cuellar