Veteran killed himself outside of Cleveland VA

Veteran dies by suicide outside Cleveland VA hospital Monday, lawmakers demand action

USA TODAY
Donovan Slack
April 29, 2019

WASHINGTON – A veteran killed himself outside the Veterans Affairs medical center in Cleveland on Monday – the fourth veteran suicide at a VA facility this month – and more than a dozen lawmakers from both parties called for more to be done to prevent veteran suicides at a rare, joint press conference on Capitol Hill.

The Cleveland death happened outside the facility's emergency room around 3 a.m., according to Melissa Bryant, chief policy officer at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, who was briefed on the incident.

VA officials declined to release details about what happened, citing privacy regulations. In a statement provided to USA TODAY, they offered "deepest condolences... to the loved ones affected by this death." read more here

⥅Well, the reporters paid attention to the two veterans who committed suicide in Georgia...then the one in Texas. They missed the one in Florida and they missed the one who had been delivered to the VA by Jimmy Johns earlier, in Columbus. Oh, but his death was at Columbus Community Health emergency department in the parking lot.

So exactly when will the "one too many veteran" commit suicide before things change?

Two Tours Of Duty, Veteran Faces Homicide Charges After Car Accident?

Reports Say Suspect in Fatal Shooting Was Veteran With PTSD
ASSOCIATED PRESS CLEVELAND
By MARK GILLISPIE
Aug 30, 2016

A man charged with murder for fatally shooting a woman after a traffic accident near Cleveland served two tours in Iraq with the U.S. Marine Corps and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, records show.

Matthew Desha, 29, of North Ridgeville, is being held on a $1 million bond in Solon, where the slaying occurred. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in Bedford Municipal Court.

Solon police said Desha ran a red light at an intersection on Saturday morning and struck a car driven by 53-year-old Deborah Pearl, of Twinsburg, who was headed to work. The impact caused Desha's sport utility vehicle to roll over several times. Police said Desha fired multiple rounds at Pearl with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.

A witness who saw the crash said Pearl's arms were raised when she was shot. A Solon police lieutenant said there are no indications that Pearl and Desha knew each other.

Desha's court-appointed attorney didn't return telephone messages on Tuesday.

A minister from Pearl's church attended Desha's initial court appearance on Monday and spoke for her family.

"We're baffled that something as basic as a car crash could turn into a homicide," Pastor Mel Kendall McCray told Cleveland.com after the hearing. "It's just beyond our comprehension."
read more here

Cleveland Browns' Seneca Wallace USO Tour

Pretty good shooting from a football player and not a cameraman!

Greetings again from The NOC!

I want to pass along a new feature on the recent USO tour of The Cleveland Browns' Seneca Wallace. Wallace video documented his four-day stint in Kuwait, after which he sat down with The NOC to talk about the experience and narrative his footage.

The piece that emerged is unique in its perspective and fascinating in its access; it's a meditation on opportunity and responsibility that speaks to the tremendous sacrifice made by our troops abroad. We'd love you to consider sharing it with your readers.

Might make for a nice 4th of July feature.

Senator Sherrod Brown learns more about homeless veterans

Senator learns more about homelessness, mental health of veterans
By Loren Genson • Gazette Staff Writer • April 1, 2010


Homelessness and mental-health issues were hot topics when Sen. Sherrod Brown visited the Chillicothe VA hospital Thursday to speak with veterans and center hospital directors.

Director Jeff Gering said he was pleased Brown, a member of the Veterans Affairs committee and a northeast Ohioan, took the time to visit and learn more about the veteran population in southern Ohio.


“Addressing homelessness among veterans in Cleveland is very different than in Appalachia,” Gering said.


While the center has always worked to find homeless veterans a place to stay, the troubled economy has increased the number of veterans it must serve.


Foreclosures and more recent veterans returning home with mental-health problems have added local veterans in need of housing and mental-health assistance.
read more here
Senator learns more about homelessness

WEWS News team comes thru for homeless veteran

Homeless Veteran Turns To Troubleshooter Team For Help

POSTED: 5:51 pm EDT August 6, 2009
UPDATED: 7:00 pm EDT August 6, 2009

CLEVELAND -- For the past year, veteran Joseph Cooley, of Ravenna, has been living in his 1995 Buick.

The 65-year-old keeps food and supplies in the back seat. A tree has fallen on the roof, and it leaks.

“Every penny counts when you’re living like I’m living,” said Cooley.

Cooley isn’t penniless. He gets a veteran’s benefit check every month, but there’s a problem.

The Social Security Administration is taking a Medicaid deduction out of his check. He said they shouldn’t because he uses Veterans Affairs healthcare.
read more here
http://www.newsnet5.com/troubleshooter/20308435/detail.html

Veterans Increasingly Becoming Victims of Violent Crime in the U.S.

Veterans Increasingly Becoming Victims of Violent Crime in the U.S.
Tim King Salem-News.com
The people who lay their lives on the line for their country are encountering violent crime for a variety of reasons.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Criminal, violent acts against American combat veterans are on the rise in the streets of this nation. It may not be anything new, but there does appear to be an increase in the number of crimes taking place against people who once served in uniform. Some of it relates to chance, but several of the reported cases apparently involved veterans specifically being targeted.

One recent story involves a 21-year old Marine Lance Corporal named Robert Crutchfield, who survived 14 months of intense fighting in Iraq, only to be gunned down by robbers at home on leave during the Christmas holiday, on January 5th. It happened at a bus stop at East 72nd Street and Superior Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio; in America's heartland.

The really sickening part is that this happened while the Marine was in uniform, with his girlfriend, grocery shopping. He was not allowed to live the American dream; his life was cut short by cold steel fired from the hand of someone who stole far more than a life, far more than dreams. According to newspaper reports, Robert Crutchfield stepped out of the bus shelter and was grabbed by two men who threw him against a telephone pole.

Cleveland Police Lt. Thomas Stacho told reporters with The Plain Dealer, that 19-year old Ean Farrow, and 20-year old Thomas Ray III, both of Cleveland, rifled through the Marine's pockets before one of them shot him in the neck.

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Foreclosed homes occupied by homeless

Foreclosed homes occupied by homeless
By THOMAS J. SHEERAN, Associated Press Writer
Mon Feb 18, 5:02 AM ET



CLEVELAND - The nation's foreclosure crisis has led to a painful irony for homeless people: On any given night they are outnumbered in some cities by vacant houses, and some street people are taking advantage of the opportunity by becoming squatters.

Foreclosed homes often have an advantage over boarded-up and dilapidated houses abandoned because of rundown conditions: Sometimes the heat, lights and water are still working.

"That's what you call convenient," said James Bertan, 41, an ex-convict and self-described "bando," or someone who lives in abandoned houses.

While no one keeps numbers of below-the-radar homeless finding shelter in properties left vacant by foreclosure, homeless advocates agree the locations — even with utilities cut off — would be inviting to some. There are risks for squatters, including fires from using candles and confrontations with drug dealers, prostitutes, copper thieves or police.

"Many homeless people see the foreclosure crisis as an opportunity to find low-cost housing (FREE!) with some privacy," Brian Davis, director of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, said in the summary of the latest census of homeless sleeping outside in downtown Cleveland.
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