NEWS
Milwaukee Veterans at Risk of Homelessness BY ANTHONY MARK HAPPEL
I
magine what it is like to live outside, to be without a roof over your head, to be homeless. Everything you own is in your car or, maybe, a duffel bag. Think about all the things impacted by having no home. No respite from the elements. No safe place to sleep or store your belongings. No privacy. No place to hide out from the world. Think about what it is like to be without a kitchen or a bathroom. Now, imagine dealing with a chronic health or a mental health issue. With so many things already working against you, how do you manage? How do you make sure you have clean clothes for appointments? How do you groom yourself? The issue of self-care is central to everything we do, and critical to how we present in the workplace and the world. Being homeless challenges self-confidence and self-esteem. Being homeless is a constant reminder you are not fully functional because homelessness is a dysfunctional state, made worse when multiple issues need to be addressed. It is always a complex confluence of events that causes someone to become homeless. And something as simple as not having a vehicle, for example, can become a primary hindrance. Those with no or limited income are hustling agencies and social workers for bus passes and Uber gift cards. Not being able to travel freely causes more stress and anxiety while in an already stressful state. Of the approximately 9 million veterans currently enrolled in 8 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
MILWAUKEE SOLDIERS HOME OLD MAIN
the Veteran’s Administration system, 1.4 million are at risk of homelessness or are/have been intermittently homeless. In Milwaukee, they can turn to the VA’s Zablocki Medical Center, a 10-storey facility with 189 beds that provides primary, secondary and tertiary care, covering 16 Wisconsin counties. The VA is tasked by law with providing as much support as possible and reasonable in most areas of a veteran’s life, with safe, secure housing being central to everything. If a veteran is homeless or on the verge of homelessness, the VA will be concerned with housing as well as all other pertinent issues. The VA may already be involved in assisting a veteran, or the veteran may be in a temporary shelter or housing of some kind. Housing represents a long-term issue that can pose ongoing problems for years. The VA operates a national program, administered by outside agencies of various kinds, called Supportive Services for Veteran’s Families (SSVF), which assists veterans who are homeless and also keeps vets who need rental assistance in their homes, sometimes for a period of months so they can regain some control of their finances and their lives. In addition, there is a Housing & Urban Development (HUD) program called HUD-VASH (Veteran Assisted Supportive Housing) that provides longer-term rental assistance for qualifying veterans and their families who need an extended time to deal with financial and other matters. The agencies the VA utilizes to administer SSVF, Photo by Michael Burmesch.
