by Bill Maddick
VETERAN’ S CORNER
The VA Effort Against Homelessness
The lobby at 3030 Downing looks like a lobby of any other public health facility. There is a front door in the center, flanked by two large windows on either side, that open into a clean, neat and well lighted room. The receptionist counter is large, revealing tables, file cabinets and phones behind, and there is enough seating to accommodate ten or so, with an internal door adjacent to the main door that intuitively draws your attention. Access to it is gained by completing an intake procedure and being called inside--just like at a doctor’ s office.
A couple of veterans were seated when I entered, and Missy Mish, Program Manager of the Community Resource & Referral Center( CRRC), noticed the arrival. She said hi and, as anticipated, proceeded to open the internal door for my admittance. Being the Program Manager for the Community Resource & Referral Center, at this location, the entire facility is under her authority.
The Community Resource & Referral Center just opened in March of 2012 as the first center of its kind in the country. The VA has been actively dealing with homelessness since the Civil War( those agencies that ultimately merged into the VA, at least) and has more experience with it than any other government agency; so much so that they garnered $ 1.64 billion for veteran homeless programs in the President’ s 2015 budget. The Community Resource & Referral Center is a product of such effort and the VA website summarized it as follows:“ Denver has one of a handful of fully operational VA Community Resource & Referral Centers, which are designed to better serve Veterans who are homeless.
The Denver Community Resource & Referral Center provides one-stop-shop services to Veterans where they are in the community. On a walk-in basis, Veterans can access job training resources, substance use treatment, mental health counseling, housing resources, showers and hygiene kits, storage for their belongings, and other needed assistance.”
Walking through the internal door, a main room filled with office cubicles becomes visible where fifty of the various staff of this facility work. Progressing around on the side of this, we stop at a little open area behind the receptionist counter which appears to be the only space accommodating enough to have an out-of-theway conversation in an otherwise compact facility( the conference room was in use). Here, Missy explains that the focus of this center is outreach and engagement for those who don’ t know they have benefits, and that they get forty to sixty people walking through the front door on any given day.“ It’ s about building relationships,” she says, and offers that there are an estimated 500 homeless veterans in the Denver metro area.
Continuing the tour, we approach a couple of private rest rooms with showers that are open to use by homeless veterans( laundry services are also available). There is also a storage area available for veterans use, wherein each person must keep their belongings in a standard tote bag on a designated shelf space for
www. thunderroadscolorado. com up to thirty days. In addition, veterans have access to counselors, VA representatives and employment services here, along with peer groups and PTSD groups. As well, the center keeps three people in the field daily, monitoring food lines of various charities around the city as well as tracking the chronic homeless to let them know that services are available, so that many veterans find their way here by referral. It offers a safe oasis for those in need and for those transitioning, even though there still remains that twenty percent of homeless who seem chronically resigned to the fact that they can never find housing.
It is hard enough to hold it together and keep a roof over your head even if you are employed and have a support group. For those without a job or a support group, who may be in poor mental and physical health, and who may be a victim of trauma or catastrophe, trying to keep a roof over your head can become impossibility. One of the tools that the VA uses in its effort against homelessness is the administration of subsidies. Two that Missy explained are: 1) VA Grants that are temporary and function on a per diem basis. These are often applied to a homeless shelter and can sometimes be used at hotels to at least keep a veteran off the street for a brief period of time. 2) HUD vouchers for permanent housing which are provided through a collaborative between HUD and the VA. These are intended for permanent housing and it requires that the veteran pay thirty percent of the rent themselves. Currently, the Community Resource & Referral Center has fifty veterans that are eligible for these vouchers yet can’ t find housing in the Denver area because of high rent prices. Further, there are some veterans who have lost their housing, even though they have a voucher, because the price of rent has increased beyond what the government can approve for said vouchers. Essentially, they get kicked out when the rent goes up.
Veterans have a higher percentage of homelessness than any other demographic, which is why the VA has put the effort into its outreach programs that it has. It is a serious enough effort that Missy left the homeless program at St. Francis Center to become the director here at the Community Resource & Referral Center. She says that,“ You can’ t end homelessness at the federal level, it has to be local.” So she continues to successfully run this program at the community level, which was a pilot program just three years ago. And it may be the best program there is, among many, to fight homelessness.
When I asked Missy if this location would be the best place to start if anyone was facing homelessness or if anyone knew of someone who was, she was shaking her head affirmatively before I even finished the sentence. Missy and her staff are serious about what they do and they deserve credit for it.
So readers, if you might be having a tough time right now yourself or if you might know a veteran who is, your place of refuge and support is the Community Resources & Referral Center at 3030 Downing St, Denver. Or call them at 303-294-5610 for more information. Walk-ins are welcome.
January 2016 Thunder Roads Magazine ® Colorado 17