Research - Rehabilitation - Re-Employment

Sgt. Shaft 10/08/2001

I was reading today of you r effort at getting some help for homeless veterans, and I really do hope that you can get something done that will help, if only a little.

However, I am not a homeless veteran by choice. I am the manager of an anti-crime commission, and one afternoon when I was out in the field at work, my house and everything I had was burned down into ashes, same as the arson on the World Trade Center.

Moreover, my father was a veteran of World War I. He was crippled for life. He stayed in this town for years, and at the Walter reed Hospital for most of the time; but he never got a pension here.

Fortunately, unlike any other State in the Union, North Carolina has its own Veterans Administration, so they gave him a pension, which was probably even better than the one he ought to have gotten here.

I am a veteran of World War II, and 80 years old. It is so hard on me to see so many other homeless veterans out in the streets with nowhere else to stay. Worse still, even veterans with a pension in this town cannot possibly afford the high rent. Each week-end, more than 500 apartments are offered for rent, but less than three could be afforded by anyone on a pension.

In short, roughly half of the homeless people in this town are veterans. The city government here does next to nothing for any veterans, and still less for the homeless veterans.

In conclusion, I have not left off my work because of staying at a homeless shelter. Only last week-end, I ran a funeral for a homeless voluntary worker whose family didn’t look for him while missing, didn’t come to see him in his misery and didn’t come to bury him when he was found to be dead, all in spite of the many crimes that he helped to prevent. Then too, you must not forget that the most terrible crimes of arson suffered in this town, and New York too, were preventable crimes, which is the worst part of all.

Wish you the best.
John W/J/
Washington, DC

Dear John:
Thank you for sharing your personal story. You have put a human face to a serious problem facing many veterans. The following information will be of interest to you. Please feel free to spread the word.

The Blinded American Veterans Foundation (CFC #2107) has recently donated $1000 to help sponsor the Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center’s Winterhaven 2001 Health Fair for Homeless Veterans. The Fair will be held at the VA Community Clinic, 40 Patterson Street, NE from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on November 28 and from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on November 29. Kit Angell, program coordinator said, "This event will offer homeless veterans a respite from the street. We will feed and clothe them, while offering health screening, job counseling and housing referrals." The free health screening will include blood pressure checks, prostate screening, flu shots, consultative services for infectious disease, nutritional counseling, oral health, women’s health, psycho-social services, such as substance abuse treatment and mental health. Employment services and housing information will be available November 29 and eligible veterans can meet with counselors to discuss access to rehabilitation and job training programs. Eligible veterans can also meet with Veterans Benefits Administration counselors, receive Veterans Identification Cards and other information. They can also receive clothing vouchers for use at local AMVET Thrift Stores. Lunch will be provided.

KUDOS 
The Sarge salutes President Bush for naming good friend Governor Tom Ridge to head the newly created cabinet-level Office of Homeland Security. At this time of national emergency, I know of no other person who is better suited to coordinate more than 40 federal agencies to prevent terrorist activities.

As long-time buddy and fellow Vietnam Veteran, Carlton Sherwood, a Peabody Award and Pulitzer Prize winner, articulated: "Tom Ridge is a perfect choice for this job, in part because of his experience as a decorated Vietnam combat Army Sgt. Unlike many political leaders, Tom doesn’t have to grapple with the notion of an enemy without a face or a war with no front or clear beginning and end. He understands the nature of the enemy, has seen this before in Vietnam and remains the only man I know to be drafted twice in the service of his country during a time of war."

Governor Ridge exemplifies the best and brightest of America. A family man, devoted to his wife, two children, his friends, fellow Vietnam veterans and his country, Ridge’s appointment to this demanding position will make all Americans sleep a bit better.

SHAFT SHOT
A large caliber shot to ABC for barring its journalists from wearing flag lapel pins. Goofy and Daffy sure have rubbed off on ABC news network. Their spokesman said, "Especially in a time of national crisis, the most patriotic thing journalists can do is to remain as objective as possible. That does not mean journalists are not patriots. All of us are at a time like this. But we cannot signal how we feel about a cause, even a justified and just cause, through some sort of outward symbol." A journalist friend so aptly states, "Anyone who watches ABC knows that network ‘signals how we feel about a cause’ all the time. Now, above all periods in American history, is not the time for dopey political correctness. That’s what got us into this mess in the first place."

The late Spiro Agnew must be somersaulting and shouting, "an effete corps of impudent snobs."

Send letters to Sgt. Shaft, c/o John Fales, P.O. Box 65900, Washington, D.C. 20035-5900; fax to 301-622-3330; call 202-462-4430 or email sgtshaft@bavf.org.

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