Help available to homeless vets, but they must want it first

Help available to homeless vets, but they must want it first
Part 2 of a two-part series
By Carissa Marsh Special to the Acorn


For five years in the '60s Frank Mastre served his country as an active duty member of the United States military- and for the last five years Frank Mastre has been homeless.

At age 58, he wears a long gray beard, and his kind but tired face reveals a sense of both sadness and strength.

"Being homeless is terrible," said Mastre, a Vietnam combat veteran. "Not being able to afford food is ridiculous. You're like a dog. Everyone needs the basics- food, shelter, that sort of thing."

Mastre- who said he became homeless following a costly divorce- ran away from home at 15 and lied about his age to join the military.

"Times were different back then. There was a real push to join the service, to be a good American," he said. "I knew I had an obligation to my country, my neighborhood and my town."

Mastre went to Vietnam in 1965, serving in the Marines as a special operations "ground pounder." Like so many soldiers, he faced death on a daily basis, taking part in several parachute drops behind enemy lines.

And as a member of the United States Air Force, in 1969 he took part in the bloody conflict later known as "The Battle of Hamburger Hill."

Mastre is just one of dozens of homeless veterans in Ventura County and one of several in Simi Valley.

Cathy Brudnicki, executive director of the county's Homeless and Housing Coalition, said a recent survey they conducted shows that Mastre's story is not an isolated event.

"This count is representative of our community," she said.

The survey found that nearly 15 percent of the county's homeless population are veterans. Nationally, 25 percent of people living on the streets are veterans, with more than 20,000 in Los Angeles alone.

And most, like Mastre, are Vietnam veterans.
go here for the rest
http://www.simivalleyacorn.com/news/2008/0229/Front_Page/005.html