homeless veterans – Black & Blonde Media

Bloated Veteran Nonprofits Receive $326m in FY19 Taxpayer-Funded Grants

©Black & Blonde Media — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 17:42:45 +0000

While the general public has been dishonestly assured, in many locales, that veteran homelessness has been “functionally ended”, we still continue to see and hear about homeless veterans who choose to remain on the street instead of opting for the “services” (shelters) and/or deal with indifferent nonprofits and the seemingly lackadaisical social worker class.

Despite the nonprofit model of high salaries and overhead with few documentable success stories to promote, the American taxpayer will be footing the bill for yet another year to help keep tax-exempt, nonprofit principals and employees comfortably housed and very well fed.

In particular, look at the amounts of “contribution and grants” coming into these nonprofits vice the “salaries, other compensation, employee benefits” supporting those who claim to care about veterans and you may not need an explanation as to why veterans are still in need of stable housing today.

Note: Some of these nonprofits claim to have “ended” veteran homelessness but still maintain active web pages soliciting donations to help house homeless veterans….

ALASKA

Catholic Social Services: Anchorage CoC (Continuum of Care)

ALABAMA

Housing First, Inc.: Mobile City & County/Baldwin County CoC

ARIZONA

UMOM New Day Centers: Phoenix, Mesa/Maricopa County CoC

Primavera Foundation: Tucson/Pima County CoC

CALIFORNIA

Goodwill of Silicon Valley (dba Goodwill Industries of Santa Clara County): San Jose/Santa Clara City & County CoC

SHELTER, Inc.: Richmond/Contra Costa County CoC

The Salvation Army, a California Corporation: Los Angeles City & County CoC; Santa Maria/Santa Barbara County CoC; Oxnard, San Buenaventura/Ventura County CoC

The Salvation Army is listed as a “church”, they are not required to file a Form 990, so you’re just going to have to take their word for it.

Volunteers of America of Greater Sacramento and Northern Nevada, Inc.: Sacramento City & County CoC; Roseville, Rocklin/Placer, Nevada Counties; Davis, Woodland/Yolo County CoC; El Dorado County CoC

CONNECTICUT

Community Renewal Team, Inc.: Connecticut Balance of State CoC

FLORIDA

Advocate Program, Inc.: Miami-Dade County CoC; Monroe County CoC

Jewish Family & Children’s Service Of The Suncoast Inc: Sarasota, Bradenton/Manatee, Sarasota Counties CoC; Punta Gorda/Charlotte County CoC; Ft Myers, Cape Coral/Lee County CoC; Naples/Collier County CoC

GEORGIA

Central Savannah River Area Economic Opportunity Authority, Inc.: Georgia Balance of State CoC; Augusta-Richmond County CoC

IDAHO

El-Ada, Inc.: Boise/Ada County CoC

ILLINOIS

Thresholds: Chicago CoC; Cook County CoC

INDIANA

United Way of Central Indiana, Inc.: Indiana Balance of State CoC; Indianapolis CoC

LOUISIANA

Volunteers of America of Greater New Orleans: Lafayette/Acadiana Regional CoC; Lake Charles/Southwestern Louisiana CoC; Shreveport, Bossier/Northwest Louisiana CoC; New Orleans/Jefferson Parish CoC; Slidell/Southeast Louisiana CoC; Alexandria/Central Louisiana CoC; Houma-Terrebonne, Thibodaux CoC; Louisiana Balance of State CoC

Volunteers of America of Greater New Orleans has no Form 990 available online as…

Volunteers of America is exempt from filing Form 990 under Section 6033(a)(2)(A)(i), as an exempt organization described in Section 170(b)(1)(A)(i). However, in the interest of transparency, the organization completes a pro-forma Form 990.
— Volunteers of America, Our Financials

Get a load of these overall numbers.

Wellspring Alliance for Families, Inc.: Monroe/Northeast Louisiana CoC

MASSACHUSETTS

Volunteers of America of Massachusetts, Inc.: Boston CoC; Cambridge CoC; Quincy, Brockton, Weymouth, Plymouth City and County CoC; Massachusetts Balance of State CoC; Somerville CoC

MARYLAND

Alliance, Inc.: Cumberland/Allegany County CoC; Baltimore CoC; Harford County CoC; Annapolis/Anne Arundel County CoC; Howard County CoC; Baltimore County CoC; Carroll County CoC; Cecil County CoC; Frederick City & County CoC; Garrett County CoC; Mid-Shore Regional CoC; Hagerstown/Washington County CoC; Wicomico, Somerset, Worcester Counties CoC

“Alliance is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mosaic Community Services”

MAINE

Preble Street: Maine Balance of State CoC

MICHIGAN

Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency: Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Westland/Wayne County CoC; Washtenaw County CoC; Monroe City & County CoC

Southwest Counseling Solutions: Detroit CoC; Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Westland/Wayne County CoC

NORTH CAROLINA

United Way of Forsyth County, Inc.: Winston-Salem/Forsyth County CoC

North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness: Greensboro, High Point CoC

Passage Home, Inc.: Raleigh/Wake County CoC

NEW JERSEY

Catholic Charities Dioceses of Camden, Inc.: Atlantic City & County CoC; Camden City & County/Gloucester, Cape May, Cumberland Counties CoC; Salem County CoC

NEW MEXICO

Goodwill Industries of New Mexico: Albuquerque CoC; New Mexico Balance of State CoC

NEW YORK

HELP USA, Inc.: New York City CoC

H E L P Social Service Corporation has no formal mission statement or Form 990 available for public scrutiny….

Westchester Community Opportunity Program, Inc.: Poughkeepsie/Dutchess County CoC; Newburgh, Middletown/Orange County CoC; Yonkers, Mount Vernon/Westchester County CoC; Rockland County CoC; Sullivan County CoC; Kingston/Ulster County CoC

OHIO

FrontLine Service: Cleveland/Cuyahoga County CoC; Ohio Balance of State CoC

OKLAHOMA

Community Service Council of Greater Tulsa, Inc.: North Central Oklahoma CoC; Tulsa City & County CoC; Northeast Oklahoma CoC; Southeastern Oklahoma Regional CoC

TEXAS

Families in Crisis, Inc.: Texas Balance of State CoC

Caritas of Austin: Austin/Travis County CoC

These numbers were a little odd.

Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth, Inc.: Fort Worth, Arlington/Tarrant County CoC

VIRGINIA

Virginia Supportive Housing: Richmond/Henrico, Chesterfield, Hanover Counties CoC; Charlottesville CoC; Virginia Balance of State CoC

And this is just a sampling of the proposed federal awards for fiscal year 2019 ($326 million) to nonprofits who receive donations, state and federal grants and do more to provide steady employment and incomes for their employees than the veterans they exploit.

Most retail businesses try and keep their employee costs between 15-30% to remain competitive, but as nonprofits don’t need to observe such fiscal disciplines, spending close-to or over half of their revenues on salaries and bennies, regardless of mission accomplishments explains why veteran homelessness is an issue they really don’t wish to ever be solved.

h/t Code of Vets

Ben Carson and the ‘National Coalition for Homeless Veterans’ Sideshow

©Black & Blonde Media — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 17:12:54 +0000

Veterans continue to be fundraising props for liberal nonprofits and those they need to suck up for even more federal grant money, despite the fact that actually achieving their so-called missions would end their need to exist.

In 2016, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe started the lie that his state “functionally ended” veteran homelessness and sadly, President Trump’s HUD Secretary repeats the expanded version of that lie to this day. Most recently at the National Coalition for Veteran Homelessness “Annual Conference” on May 31, 2019 to an audience that looked like they had other things they’d much rather be doing….

It would have been preferred if Secretary Carson consulted with someone like Walter Williams and done an audit of the effectiveness of the nonprofit sector, especially when it comes to homeless veterans. Are they effective or are they essentially making life harder for veterans in order to keep the donor dollars and grant money coming in so those at the nonprofits can continue to live their comfortable lives?

Notice of Funding Availability: HVRP Grant Applications Due April 26
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) announced the availability of approximately $13.5 million in Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP) grants. HVRP grants provide services to assist in reintegrating homeless veterans into…continue

Notice of Funding Availability: GPD Grant Applications Due May 20
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is announcing the availability of funds to eligible entities to provide time-limited case management services to improve the retention of housing by Veterans who were previously homeless and are transitioning to permanent housing from…continue
— National Coalition for Homeless Veterans website

While Carson and others pat themselves on the back at how readily available VASH (Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program) vouchers are to homeless veterans who need them, the reality on the ground is entirely different. HUD employees who do the “intake” with veterans seldom display or act in any sense of urgency. The perception is that most veterans in need of VASH vouchers have drug, alcohol and/or psychological issues but in too many instances, these “issues” arise only after dealing with the fat and comfortable government employees and nonprofits who are very good at telling the veteran what they can’t do after the lengthy intake process and direct them to other entities that also tell them what can’t be done. Veterans who are fortunate to have received the VASH voucher are then subjected to humiliating “case management” that keeps more employed and fed at the veteran’s expense, seeing how not all veterans are in need of condescending babysitting.

We’ve also heard that VASH vouchers not offered to homeless veterans are rolled into the Section 8 program for local dispersal to those deemed most needy and deserving, like immigrants and refugees.

From NCHV 2016 1099 form

Keeping in good with the grant issuers appears to be doing right by the National Coalition for Veteran Homelessness.

While claiming to respect and care for veterans, this year’s NCHV annual conference theme said it all: homeless veterans are nothing but “data” they can use to justify more money to fund their nonprofit salaries and overhead (including the immodest ±$300k cost of a three-day “annual conference” at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Washington, D.C.).

2016 NCHV “Annual Conference” cost

As far as the glowing reviews, we still have “case workers” (the vast majority non-veteran) who for the most part are not the most motivated, and government employees who set veterans up for letdowns more than they achieve results, and if they do, it’s a very lengthy process.

BTW — A “Veteran’s Affairs Social Worker” is the #4 “Highest Paying Jobs in Social Work“. #5 is “Executive Director of a Non Profit Organization”….

And “saving the best for last” is another Democrat hack who’s used the nonprofit route to elevate herself, using her veteran status to carve out a niche in supposedly helping homeless female veterans, despite her “Women Veterans Interactive” having $0 in income and assets while receiving grant funding in the past.

Secretary Carson may only be regurgitating the oft-repeated liberal lie of veteran homelessness being “functionally ended” because we all know how employees tend to put the best face on projects for the boss. But until homeless veterans are not looked at as golden goose opportunities to keep career welfare alive in the nonprofit sector in particular, there will be justified need for all the case managers and social workers.

Lastly, a commonly-used justification for the nonprofit and/or VA caseworker class is the slander that too many homeless veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. But it’s never honestly discussed where the PTSD originated because the truth is inconvenient.

At the point of separation from the military, 2.4% of all Veterans and 9.3% of subsequently homeless Veterans were diagnosed with PTSD.
— Homelessness and Risk Factors for Homelessness Among Veterans from the Era of the Afghanistan (OEF) and Iraq (OIF/OND) Conflicts

However, the truth is never publicly mentioned by the comfortable for obvious reasons.

A lot of studies show that homeless people often experience PTSD after becoming homeless….
— Psychologist Jack Tsai, PhD, of Yale University

Dealing with those who promote, promise much and dash hope will do it every time.

A veteran in need will be driven to alcohol, drugs and may even consider suicide because dealing with those who receive taxpayer dollars to care and deliver results don’t have to.

Political Declarations of ‘Ended’ Veteran Homelessness is a LIE

©Black & Right — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 19:28:56 +0000

In the media’s ongoing attempt to prove how much better they are than the American people, CNN issued the following “Do more than just thank a veteran” in their daily email drop.

Help veterans on the streets
A phone call can also make difference in the life of a veteran who is homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Call 877-4AID-VET, or 877-424-3838, to connect with help at the VA. This service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Stand Down program is designed to help homeless veterans “combat” life on the streets. Stand Downs are usually one- to three-day events that provide food, shelter, clothing and health screenings to homeless and unemployed veterans. To find a Stand Down program in your community, contact your local VA hospital.

This implies there ARE veterans that don’t have a warm place to call their own, however if you were look at the declarations of states and municipalities (mostly Democrat-run) you would get a far different impression of the plight of too many veterans.

The whole theme of “ending veteran homelessness” was initially a pet project of First Lady Michelle Obama and we all know the priority “pet projects” of the boss’ wife are given, even if the results have to be embellished to keep the wife happy and those involved in good favor.

Opportunist politicians took the cue and announced successes that require a suspension of common sense.

Virginia Just Became the First State in the US to End Veteran Homelessness

And it just snowballed from there….

The disingenuous definition of “ending veteran homelessness” for the politically callous is sending a homeless veteran to a shelter. If he or she goes to that shelter for a night, that veteran is checked off the “homeless” list. This is VERY temporary and too many veterans would rather sleep on the street than go to potentially dangerous homeless shelters.

When this administration took on the challenge to end veteran homelessness, many believed that it was an unattainable goal. A growing list of more than 35 communities, and the entire states of Connecticut, Delaware, and Virginia, have proven that ending veteran homelessness is possible and sustainable.
— Tina Tchen, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady

“Functionally” and “effectively” are political words used to dance around reality for political backpats and points. Some even leave those words out and make the declaration despite the very real reality on the ground.

Utah had touted ending homelessness for veterans years ago. Now the numbers are increasing

While the first person whom a veteran reaches out to points to a shelter, what does it say when being on the street is preferable to any homeless shelter a social worker, politician or nonprofit brags about but would NEVER choose to stay in themselves?

This shelter pictured above probably got advanced notice a state senator would be dropping by so don’t assume it looks (and smells) this clean the other 364 days of the year.

Let’s be real: the military and subsequent veterans are very low on the priority list of many politicians, yet politicians and nonprofits love to be pictured with black homeless veterans in particular to tug on public and donor heartstrings.

But as no one has called the politically-motivated out on the lie, it continues on….

St. Joseph reaches goal of ending veteran homelessness
Manistee, Missaukee, Wexford counties celebrate being ‘Functional zero’ for veterans homelessness
Lexington first city in state to effectively end veteran homelessness
Mayor announces end to veteran homelessness in Lansing

The federal government is even showcasing the ending-veteran-homelessness fabrication.

Communities and states that have ended Veteran homelessness

The VA continues to be a mess, albeit not as bad as in previous years, and taxpayer dollars meant for homeless veterans are quickly diverted to more desired immigrant refugees, illegal aliens with children, unwed mothers with children, etc.

The “success” stories continue to trickle in….

Series of innovations has virtually ended homelessness among veterans in Minnesota
James Lovell Federal Health Care Center marking an end to veteran homelessness in Lake County
Phoenix Valley model on ending veteran homelessness getting attention from Washington D.C.

Yes, the same Phoenix the late John McCain said was free of homeless veterans and way up near the top of our list, Connecticut in 2015 was declared the second state to end veteran homelessness.

That was then….

Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness CEO Richard Cho says in the report that “Connecticut appears to be maintaining its progress on ending veteran homelessness as the number of homeless veterans remains low, and homeless veterans that are identified continue to be reconnected to stable housing quickly (e.g., within 90 days).”
— Fox 61, 6/22/19

Kinda sucks when you have to revise the lie; a lie that requires constant updates.

Abilene officially ninth city in US to end veteran homelessness

The fact we still have homeless veterans is something we’ll continue to see on our street corners and sidewalks despite what politicians, bloated self-enriched nonprofits and the media say to our faces.

Veterans homelessness is down 49% since the Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Veterans Affairs began an inter-agency effort to tackle the issue nine years ago.

More specifically, about 77 communities and three states across the country have declared an effective end to veterans homelessness, Hunter Kurtz, assistant secretary for public and Indian housing at HUD, told a handful of members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee at a field hearing in San Diego, California, last week.
— Federal News Network, 8/28/19

If only Secretary Kurtz and the president really knew the reality.

Have You Ever Heard of a Homeless Veteran Officer?

©Black & Blonde Media — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 10:50:00 +0000

They’re glamorized in movies and television programming. They’re the “experts” we see on cable news. They’re called to give expert testimony on Capitol Hill.

We dare you to find and send one link to a news story about a homeless veteran who was an officer as we’ve done the research and our suspicions have been verified.

Persons who subsequently became homeless were disproportionately among those with the lowest pay (72% of the homeless came from the 44% that had the lowest pay grades). This corresponds to substantially reduced adjusted hazard ratios (AHR) associated with the higher pay grades.
— Homelessness and Risk Factors for Homelessness Among Veterans from the Era of the Afghanistan (OEF) and Iraq (OIF/OND) Conflicts

You very rarely see officers at veteran job fairs because they either get hooked up (within their own fraternity network) with government contractors or have that guaranteed pension coming in that cures most ills.

Think about how differently the approach to veterans issues would be when it comes to employment and housing if the officer class had to deal with government agencies or so-called veteran nonprofits that do more to keep themselves in business than actually give the vet the services they offer in advertisements.

President Donald Trump had at least 1,987 vacancies within his new administration, most of which did not require Senate confirmation, according to data from tracking service Leadership.
— CNN, 2/25/17

Every federal government vacancy should be offered to a veteran FIRST, regardless of discharge status. From the look of many who currently occupy many jobs within the government, finding qualified applicants shouldn’t be a problem and veterans clearly come with a work ethic far superior to their civilian counterparts. A good-paying JOB alleviates many issues that eventually result in homelessness.

Don’t get us started on the lies some politicians tell on the backs of veterans when it comes to homelessness, and we won’t even get into the promises given to veterans during campaign season vice the promises kept AFTER the election.

The Government/Nonprofit War on Veterans

©Black & Blonde Media — Sun, 28 Feb 2016 19:50:48 +0000

It was easy for some to attack Donald Trump’s veteran fundraiser and call it a political stunt because he didn’t just write a big check directly to a slew of potential nonprofits.

Mr. Rieckhoff is a founder of the veterans group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. Yes, another nonprofit dot org; one of many that displays the same, consistent symptoms: good intentions, questionable results, and generous compensation for the principals.

While it’s easy to create agencies and nonprofits that claim to help veterans, the extent to which they are helped can be interpreted in many convenient ways and if you actually talk to veterans in need of assistance, the customer satisfaction is quite low, that is if a homeless veteran seeking a place to hang his or her hat being uniformly directed to another nonprofit shelter can be defined as assistance.

When it comes to those who claim to want to help veterans, the Chris Rock analogy on medicine comes to mind….

Ain’t no money in the cure. The money’s in the medicine. That’s how you get paid. That’s how a drug dealer makes his money! Curing AIDS? Shit, that’s like Cadillac making a car that lasts 50 years. You know they can do it but they ain’t gonna do nothing that fuckin’ dumb.
— Chris Rock, Bigger and Blacker, 1999

There are a whole slew of so-called veteran nonprofits out there and just what do you think would happen if they actually did what they’ve claimed they want to do for years? They would be out of work if they were effective, and the same can be said for government agencies that also claim to be there for veterans and this is where the politics comes into play.

As repeated here many times, when a Republican is in the White House, we will see and hear stories about the homeless ad nauseum. When a Democrat is in the White House, the scourge of homelessness is very seldom discussed until that president can be seen in a photo-op setting “helping” and highlighting the homeless.

As usual, when politicians get involved, numbers can and will be skewed to their advantage.

Anyone with a brain knows that veteran homelessness has not been ended, and adding the word “functionally” is an insult to the intelligence of the American people and veterans but politicians surely believe it makes them look good, thus is something they can and will run on for their own self-serving, reelection purposes.

Government agencies and nonprofits with the mission to get veterans off the street are an abysmal failure, if they were ever intended to complete that mission. The one thing they ARE good at is telling veterans what they can’t do and any veteran reading this will be nodding their heads in agreement of experience.

Government agencies and nonprofits with the mission of helping veterans obtain meaningful employment (independence) have the same abysmal track record.

Filling the janitorial jobs with veterans helps the VA meet its hiring goals without intruding on a lucrative union giveaway that favors current government employees over everyone else for the majority of open positions.
— Daily Caller, 1/17/16

Nonprofits and government agencies are, simply stated, career mills for liberals and we know from experience there is genuine disdain for the military from those who are tasked with the sole directive of helping veterans. We were recently told by a nonprofit supervisor that it’s unfortunate that more government monies available to help the homeless because so much is currently spent on “armaments”. We can only speculate that supervisor may have assumed I didn’t know what that word meant, but that’s illustrative of the contempt for the military seeing how all veterans either worked with or supported the use of “armaments”.

Why are nonprofits and government agencies hesitant to hire veterans in meaningful jobs? From experience we know liberals are some of the most intolerant, especially in a workplace environment and reliable, hardworking Republican veterans would intrude in their safe spaces.

Also, a hardworking veteran would expose the lackadaisical approach of co-workers and it’s just easier to point him or her to a mop instead of a desk.

Any veteran who has visited a veteran nonprofit or government agency serving veterans will note the amount of people who clearly never served, been homeless, let alone missed a meal. There is often no sense of urgency and understanding of the plight when veterans are given a photocopied piece of paper, phone numbers, or links directing them to yet another nonprofit or government agency. And if you were to look at the use of funds donated or directed to veterans, the ROI is an obvious fail.

While it’s easy for some to criticize Donald Trump’s fundraising for veterans, let’s also remember that some of those running for president have been instrumental in funding (through legislation) the very scandal-plagued government/nonprofit machine that receives taxpayer and/or charitable donations that benefit those entities FIRST, and actually helping veterans is something they won’t do because it would potentially put hundreds of thousands out of lucrative employment.

As for Mr. Trump, bringing attention to veterans is laudable.

We just don’t think he really understands just how bad the problems are, made worse by those who claim to be helping.

Keeping Veterans Homeless is a Necessary Nonprofit Imperative

Despite the onslaught of radio and television commercials you consume from supposedly benevolent entities who are doing this for veterans or that for veterans, the reality appears to be a whole lot different and those who claim to be helping vets (of course, with your charitable donation) don’t really want to solve the problem because that would eat into their bottom line.

Go to the Facebook page of a nonprofit that claims to help homeless veterans and for the most part, you’ll see staff members who clearly aren’t veterans, thus have no frame of reference and no sense of urgency. You’ll see people who point veterans to a shelter (owned and operated by another nonprofit) and food bank, who clearly could miss a few meals themselves and overpaid principals who post their lavish vacation pictures for all to see.

Remember, these nonprofits are the beneficiaries of tax-exempt status and/or millions in annual government grants (fraud, waste & abuse?) and yet there are some things they DO do best: point a homeless veteran to a shelter, offer housing and/or programs that require that veteran to have at least one case worker to intrude into their lives as a condition. Nonprofits need veterans whom they can control so they can keep their employees fat, housed and happy.

For example, there’s one nonprofit that services the Southern Maryland/D.C./Northern Virginia area that currently receives around $30 million annually in government grants, employs over 600 people, and personally told us they’re having financial difficulties. How does that work, unless most of the money that’s supposed to go to helping the homeless and veterans are primarily diverted to a quasi-effective staff?

We won’t even get into that near-impossible to access VASH program for homeless veterans. Dead links are a bright red flag and also a clear message.

Veterans must meet the definition of homelessness defined in The McKinney Homeless Assistance Act as amended by S. 896 The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009.

With that, the following was written by a homeless veteran in Atlanta who gave us permission to share a very common frustration….

To Whom It May Concern,

My name is Steven Roberts Jr and I am a homeless veteran who has been diagnosed with severe depression and suicidal tendencies. I have not had a place to call my own in well over a year and a half but I do not fit the constantly changing definition of homeless that qualifies me for help from the VA Housing for Urban Development. I have been called twice in 6 months for an interview where I have answered all of the questions to the best of my ability to include my current and past living arrangements, physical health, and mental health. Both times I have been told that I do not qualify for HUD VASH and that I should try other avenues. As I am usually a very empathetic person who has the ability to see both sides of a coin with understanding this time I am not. Maybe because it’s very personal and hurtful to me that despite my best efforts I remain unable to find permanent housing on my own and then to be told from an agency that I was referred to and have seen help other veterans who have been in exact similar situations as myself yet I’m told sorry, you’ll have to try another agency or continue being homeless before we can help.

Right now I’m staring out of the window looking at the ground. Tonight I will be looking for abandoned cars with unlocked doors to sleep in. With any luck I will find one with open doors, closed windows, and enough space to where I can actually lay down but close quarters enough to huddle myself between the front and back seats to preserve warmth. It’s sad to think that I have to plan my evenings this way. I don’t want to live like this anymore, so much so that I’m now thinking that I don’t want to live at all. Why should I bother caring about my life when no one else does? The fact that HUD VASH would call me, ask all these personal questions, and allow me a slight moment of hope that I am finally catching a break and will be able to get something stable in my life, only to tell me that through everything that I’ve experienced in the past year and a half that I’m not a viable candidate for housing is something I could have gone without in my day. If I had my depression under control before than I am certainly in a downward spiral of negative emotions now. I wish they hadn’t called. At least then I wouldn’t have been uplifted only to be slammed down.

With the definition of homelessness ever changing and the number of Veterans with mental health issues at an all-time high it seems as though a homeless veteran who commits suicide is an acceptable loss. It’s less money that needs to be allotted towards housing and health care. It’s cheaper for the govt to let you kill yourself or put yourself in a situation where you might commit a felony than it is to help them find housing if they’ve been anywhere less than on the streets for a cascading amount of time. I understand now. My life, my sanity, and my well-being are of no actual concern to the country I pledged six years of my life to is what I’m getting from all of this. America is a corporation and this is a business decision seems to be what I’m understanding. I will stop wasting everyones time. I will find a bridge, a rope, and a handgun if necessary so as to save the govt the burden of needing to worry about me. My struggle is of no consequence to the Veterans Administration, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Inter agency Council on Homelessness, Selective Service Veterans Fund, or any other agency or council that is perceived to be a beacon of hope for disadvantaged veterans needing a boost to end their string of hopelessness and homelessness. I’m sure this isn’t a specific goal, but it sure is a cost effective byproduct. God bless all who these agencies have helped, and I pray that the others like me who have a hard time seeing the positives in this process stay strong and find the help they need to continue fighting against homelessness.

V/R
Steven Roberts Jr.

We understand Mr. Roberts’ frustration, only exacerbated by those who say they want to help veterans (the homeless veteran in particular) and then donate to a nonprofit that takes in that donation and points a veteran to a shelter, instead of helping that veteran secure employment and housing with the minimum of intrusion. Just check out the HUD-VASH model that appears to put the emphasis on keeping a “case” worker employed over fostering veteran independence.

Eligible candidates for the program are expected to participate in case management and utilize the supportive services, treatment recommendations and assistance needed to successfully maintain recovery and sustain housing in the community. Case Management is the heart of this program and is a requirement for participation in the HUD-VASH voucher program.

When going to a function for veterans consists of receiving small bags of toiletry items, model airplanes with no glue (and where would a homeless veteran proudly display a completed model?), being pointed to the websites of even more nonprofits where people are lackadaisical in responding (if at all), it’s no wonder we still have a homeless unemployed veteran and problem.

Veteran services for the unemployed and homeless should be run by veterans who understand and can relate to the sense of urgency. Unfortunately, more times than not, veteran nonprofits are run by the fat and comfortable or the hustler who is making a very good living off the plight of veterans.

Many of these tax-dollar-funded veteran and homeless nonprofits appear to be liberal career mills. All they are really good at is telling that veteran what they can’t do for them while they remain permanently and gainfully employed.

Friendship Place: Another Parasitic Non-Profit Living Large Off the Homeless

Granted, Washington, D.C. is across the Potomac from Virginia, but seeing how Governor Terry McAuliffe announced the end of veteran homelessness in the Commonwealth of Virginia, there really shouldn’t be that many homeless vets in the Nation’s capital… unless they’re sneaking in from Maryland.

President Barack Obama, joined by the entire first family, on Wednesday began the Thanksgiving holiday by serving dinner to the local homeless population and veterans at Friendship Place Homeless Center in Washington.

“It’s not only of the spirit of giving during this holiday season, but our national obligation to make sure all those who serve and sacrifice for our country have a place to call home,” Obama said from the Rose Garden. “My administration considers this one of our top priorities, making sure that we’re bringing about the reality of zero homelessness for our veterans.”

Obama was in charge of serving turkey and gravy to the veterans and other homeless people, while first lady Michelle Obama served up vegetables. Daughters Sasha and Malia gave out other holiday favorites including mashed potatoes, stuffing and cranberries.
— CNN, 11/25/15

Despite the president’s idea of “reality”, at the end of any charitable endeavor is another non-profit….

Friendship Place Homeless Center received a $3.1 million dollar grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2015 for veteran homelessness capacity-building.

As they’ve been around for 22 years, just where do you think a grant to a top-heavy non-profit, employing around 60 people would go? Instead of going towards bloated nonprofit salaries, that $3.1 million VA “grant” could have paid the rent and utilities for modest apartments to house over 1,550 veterans for one year.

Aside from doing the math and dividing that grant money up, you might want to assess the effectiveness of any kind of successful “veteran services” run by these two….

Or a “Community Engagement Manager”… seriously?

Let’s be real. No matter how altruistic the mission statements may be, these non-profits talk a good game about helping those in need, but in reality they can’t end homelessness because they’d be out of work.

And it could be argued that others are doing the real heavy lifting.

Friendship Place—supported by 26 congregations and more than 300 volunteers a year—retains the feel of a small, caring, neighborhood organization.
— Friendship Place, Mission History

Liberals sure love those volunteers because those inside those nonprofits stay fat and happy without breaking a sweat. And when it comes time to pat themselves on the back, they get the very people whom they’re supposed to be helping for their entertainment.

Atlanta’s homeless choir, the Atlanta Homeward Choir, will sing at the White House on December 21st. The 26 men, all currently homeless, will travel to the nation’s capitol to sing at the White House Open House Holiday Celebration.

How fucking pathetic. If their efforts were successful, there would be no need for an Atlanta Homeward Choir.

In sad reality, it’s all about bringing the real deal to the White House to entertain the elitist snobs who’ll fundraise off these poor men, most of whom won’t see a meaningful dime of what will be raised, and when they get back to Atlanta, they’ll be sent back onto the street.

Homelessness is NOT a game. Politicians and non-profits play games with people’s lives, telling themselves and others they’re making a difference by sticking people in a shelter they’d never set foot in, let alone want to spend a night in. What would be more useful, a real place to live or towels with pretty little bows on them that make the staff feel good about themselves?

Democrats are now claiming nationwide that they’re eradicating homelessness and it appears to be a bumper-sticker slogan slowly taking root around the country, at least while a Democrat is in the White House.

Buncombe close to ending veteran homelessness
Norfolk ends veteran homelessness
City of Las Cruces ‘functionally’ ends veteran homelessness
Connecticut was the first state in the country to eliminate chronic homelessness for veterans

Wait, it wasn’t Virginia…?

Trenton vows to end veteran homelessness by end of 2015
Mayor Reed vows to end veteran homelessness in 2015
Syracuse among U.S. cities to end veteran homelessness
Students hope tiny homes will help end homelessness
VA awards grants to prevent and end vet homelessness

Yes, more grants doled out by bureaucrats and issued to top heavy non-profits to end homelessness… functionally (whatever that means).

That being the case, we won’t see any of this next month….

What are the chances?

LIE: McAuliffe Claims He ‘Functionally Ended’ Veteran Homelessness in Virginia

There are those rare times nowadays when a falsehood is easily recognized for what it is, no matter who says it. Then again, when coming from anyone with Clinton ties, parcing becomes the necessary word dance.

Incredible statements by the First Lady and especially Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, who had the audacity to say it in front of active duty soldiers and veterans. Some of the numbers of homeless veterans recited by Michelle Obama are simply unbelievable, and the very idea there are NO homeless veterans in Virginia, are on its face also unbelievable, as are the government’s suspect numbers.

The Obama administration recently said that the number of homeless veterans dropped by 12 percent from 2010 to 2011. But getting accurate counts of the homeless is extremely difficult, and the government changed its counting methods during the year of the reported drop. Is the number of homeless vets really going down, or is the drop an artifact of murky statistics?

In 2010, the actual head count of homeless veterans registered 61,011 people. However, HUD knows that a head count isn’t going to include everyone. For example, homeless vets who stay in beds at VA shelters were not counted. Homeless people on the streets were not asked if they were veterans or not. To reflect the homeless veterans the PIT count missed, HUD “imputed”—that is, they estimated—the number and added 15,318 homeless veterans to the official 2010 statistic. For reference, a 12 percent drop in the nation’s homeless vets equates to 8834 fewer people.

Even to a fawning media….

“Folks, there is a reason why we are the greatest state in America. We are because we take care of our veterans,” Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) said at a ceremony at a Richmond veterans memorial.

Technically according to McAuliffe’s twisted political reasoning, a veteran in a shelter counts as being off the street and thus, no longer “homeless”.

McAuliffe announced Wednesday that Virginia is the first state to meet the federal definition of effectively ending homelessness among military veterans. The federal homelessness designation means Virginia has no homeless veterans with the exception of those who have been offered housing but do not want it. The state must find a home for a veteran within 90 days and have more homes available than the number of veterans who have been identified as having no place to live.

Ask any current homeless veteran for their experience on how “the state” found them a place to live in 90 days….

A little over a month since his declarative Veteran’s Day statement about the Commonwealth of Virginia being the first state in the nation to “functionally end veteran homelessness”, Governor Terry McAuliffe took the opportunity to repeat a political comment that requires the suspension of common sense.

After what we’ve written about the governor’s statements (which was polite in comparison to the many we’ve talked to who responded to McAuliffe’s assertion with much more colorful language), we assume the governor saw B&B Media at the grand opening of the Fredericksburg Veterans Benefits Office and may have directed some of his comments to us….

At the 2016 Democrat National Convention in Philadelphia, McAuliffe continued his shameless lie.

Until veterans are no longer used as opportune political props, there will continue to be homeless veterans, despite his lie being the political template used and repeated by politicians nationwide to this day.

Yesterday evening, the Operation Renewed Hope Foundation presented Governor McAuliffe with the Northwestern Mutual Award for Improving the Lives of Veteran Families during the foundation’s Five Year Anniversary Awards Ceremony. Operation Renewed Hope has helped more than 500 veterans and their family members find housing. The organization, which serves veterans through job referrals, transportation assistance, and financial management, chose Governor McAuliffe due to his administration’s achievement functionally ending veteran homelessness in the Commonwealth.

“I am so proud to receive this award on behalf of the Virginia civil servants who worked their hearts out functionally ending veteran homelessness in our Commonwealth,” said Governor McAuliffe, speaking at yesterday’s announcement. “Since we made the commitment to end veteran homelessness, Virginia had helped 2,640 veterans find a permanent place to call home. Virginia’s historic progress over the past three years sends a clear message of support to our veterans. And while we can never fully repay the sacrifices they’ve made, we can ensure that any veteran’s experience with homelessness either now or in the future will be rare, brief, and non-recurring.”
— Virginia Department of Veteran Services, 1/20/17

Again and again.

Governor McAuliffe announced today that the Virginia Department of Veterans Services (VDVS) received the Abraham Lincoln Pillars of Excellence Award from the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The award recognizes the innovative partnership between the Commonwealth and federal and local entities that enabled Virginia to be named as the first state to functionally end veteran homelessness in 2015.

“I am proud to announce the Virginia Department of Veterans Services has been honored for their outstanding work making the Commonwealth the first state in the nation to functionally end veteran homelessness,” said Governor McAuliffe. “The public servants at VDVS worked with their federal, state and local colleagues to demonstrate that smart, innovative government can make a different in people’s lives.”
— WVIR NBC29, 3/28/17

Sad and still true.