San Diego Military Not Leaving Homeless Veterans Behind

San Diego Downtown News
Military rallies to aid homeless veterans
Sebastian Ruiz

January 10, 2008

A veteran himself, Schmidlkofer said the program helps homeless veterans get back on track to a normal life. Many veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental and physical illnesses that often lead to drug and alcohol addiction, he said.

Now that the coldest nights of the year have arrived, the Veterans Village of San Diego (VVSD) on Pacific Highway has opened a winter shelter that provides an extra 150 beds for homeless veterans in San Diego.

In cooperation with the city, the VVSD provides shelter, food and social services to aid more than 1,200 homeless persons who, according to the San Diego Regional Task Force on the Homeless, have identified themselves as veterans.

Located near the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in the Midway area, the shelter has been helping homeless veterans stay out of the biting cold for the past five years, said Vincent Schmidlkofer, VVSD communities project coordinator and winter shelter director.

“Nobody grows up saying they want to be homeless,” he said.
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