Vietnam Vet, PTSD and once homeless moves upscale

Season of Sharing: Once homeless, veteran's family moves upscale
Peter Hartlaub, Chronicle Pop Culture Critic

Sunday, December 30, 2007


Umoja Selassie and his three daughters were the first family to move into the tony planned community of Bayport Alameda last year. They remember everything seemed to sparkle, with sidewalks that were flawless and a street so empty that their footsteps echoed across the neighborhood.

"We were the first ones in the whole neighborhood, and everything was brand new," Selassie remembers. "The street wasn't even named when we got in here."

Unfortunately, it wasn't the first time the 55-year-old Navy veteran and his three then-teenage daughters lived without an official address. They were homeless in San Francisco several years ago, until they received help finding an apartment in 2003, with several months of rent provided by The Chronicle's Season of Sharing Fund.

Years later, they've turned into one of the program's biggest success stories. A case worker at the veteran aid organization Operation Dignity helped Selassie find his new home - a three-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath apartment that he rents for less than $500 in a neighborhood that includes million-dollar houses. All of his daughters are in college, with plans to become an artist, a nurse and a psychiatrist.

For Selassie, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from working on ships during the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and the conflict in Somalia, the home is a blessing that he makes sure his family gives thanks for every day, not just Christmas.