UK: Homeless veteran has way to make positive changes

Homeless army veteran gifted bicycle by Essex Police

Epping Forest Guardian UK
By Lewis Berrill
May 26, 2020

“I finally feel as though my life is beginning to get back on track. It’s now up to me to push myself and make positive changes.” 

34-year-old army veteran Jaime was gifted a bike by Essex Police. Photo: Essex Police

Jamie had been sleeping on the streets after leaving the armed forces but with the support of military veteran charity Project Nova has been housed in emergency accommodation in Grays.

On Monday, May 18 the 34-year-old veteran asked the charity to help him find a push bike.

Project Nova launched an appeal and within 48 hours, Detective Inspector Rob Staples and Inspector Matt Crow of Essex Police located one in Harlow.

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George Taylor, advocate for homeless veterans, passed away

Longtime Brevard County homeless veterans advocate George Taylor dies at 70

Florida Today
Tyler Vazquez
May 18, 2020

Taylor's own experience with PTSD and homelessness enabled him to form a real connection with homeless veterans, according to those close to him.

Students at Pineapple Cove Classical Academy in Palm Bay invited veterans and veterans groups to their campus on Friday for a Valentine's Day to honor their service, and learn from their experiences. The kids put together care packages for National Veterans Homeless Support, and loaded them up in a van for NVHS Founder and President George Taylor, Sr. (Photo: TIM SHORTT/FLORIDA TODAY)

George Taylor, the longtime champion of veterans issues in Brevard County, passed away Sunday at the age of 70 after suffering a heart attack last Thursday.

A former homeless veteran himself, Taylor was rarely without his signature black cowboy hat and even less often without his purpose: Helping homeless veterans survive and find housing.

He could be commonly found in the wooded areas and sandy scrub brush where homeless veterans were known to camp. Reaching out to them and connecting them with needed services was his purpose and his mission and led him to found National Veterans Homeless Support, a group that aids homeless vets.
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A simple casket with an American flag for Vietnam Veteran Andrew Elmer Wright

Miracle for Marine serving in Iraq

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
May 14, 2020

There are many stories about homeless veterans, but the one that stands out the most in my mind, is the string of miracles that happened, because the story grabbed my heart.

Story from Wounded Times

Vietnam Vet Andrew Elmer Wright found a home as a homeless vet

March 25, 2010

A simple casket with an American flag for Vietnam Veteran Andrew Elmer Wright.

A simple bouquet of flowers was placed with a simple photo a church member snapped.

By all accounts, Andrew was a simple man with simple needs but what was evident today is that Andrew was anything but a "simple" man.

A few days ago I received an email from Chaplain Lyle Schmeiser, DAV Chapter 16, asking for people to attend a funeral for a homeless Vietnam veteran. After posting about funerals for the forgotten for many years across the country, I felt compelled to attend.

As I drove to the Carey Hand Colonial Funeral Home, I imagined an empty room knowing how few people would show up for a funeral like this. All the other homeless veteran stories flooded my thoughts and this, I thought, would be just one more of them.

When I arrived, I discovered the funeral home was paying for the funeral. Pastor Joel Reif, of First United Church of Christ asked them if they could help out to bury this veteran and they did. They put together a beautiful service with Honor Guard and a 21 gun salute by the VFW post.

I asked a man there what he knew about Andrew and his eyes filled. He smiled and then told me how Andrew wouldn't drink the water from the tap. He'd send this man for bottled water, always insisting on paying for it. When the water was on sale, he'd buy Andrew an extra case of water but Andrew was upset because the man didn't use the extra money for gas.

Then Pastor Joel filled in more of Andrew's life. Andrew got back from Vietnam, got married and had children. His wife passed away and Andrew remarried. For some reason the marriage didn't work out. Soon the state came to take his children away. Andrew did all he could to get his children back, but after years of trying, he gave up and lost hope.
Discover the string of miracles that happened here

Homeless veteran was assaulted, abandoned by hospital...helped by police officers and angels

"I saw a very frail, frail old man that physically appears much older than 62," Zamudio said.

Spittle later told Zamudio and Voice of San Diego he had been released from Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla after being assaulted in Pacific Beach over the weekend. He believes he has a broken rib and said he was initially unable to walk more than a couple feet.

Marine veteran Steven Spittle, 62...Let that sink in for a minute.

Now here is the story.

Police Turned To Activists For Help After Veteran Was Denied Access To Convention Center

By Voice of San Diego, News Partner
By Lisa Halverstadt
Apr 24, 2020

The city of San Diego is temporarily housing homeless residents at the Convention Center in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus. (Adriana Heldiz/Voice of San Diego)

SAN DIEGO, CA — Marine veteran Steven Spittle, 62, had just been discharged from a local hospital after he said he was assaulted over the weekend. He's lived on the streets for years, so he said hospital staff paid for a cab to drive him to the temporary shelter at the Convention Center on Sunday afternoon.

But there wasn't a bed available for Spittle, who was in pain and too weak to stand. He laid outside the Convention Center, confused and unsure what to do.
v Lacking other options, an officer from the Police Department's Homeless Outreach Team called activist Amie Zamudio, who has teamed with another local activist, Tasha Williamson, to put up vulnerable homeless San Diegans in hotel rooms, to ask if she could take in Spittle for the night. Zamudio said yes and rushed to the Convention Center.

The situation captures the desperation playing out as homeless San Diegans seek shelter that's in limited supply during the coronavirus pandemic and local governments and activists scramble to respond. The mayor and other elected leaders have touted the decision to open the Convention Center to homeless residents as a significant step toward protecting the homeless community during the pandemic. Faulconer even called it "a centerpiece of our fight against the coronavirus," when he announced the facility would open to the homeless. But Spittle's experience demonstrates that the need for shelter is still greater than the capacity.

In the absence of resources, advocates like Zamudio and Williamson, who have temporarily housed more than 50 homeless San Diegans in a Midway hotel – an effort that's separate from the county's plan to house vulnerable residents in hotel rooms – have sometimes filled gaps.
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Hoarding hurting veterans' charity helping them heal!

Hoarding Hits Local Veterans Struggling For Supplies

CBS News Sacramento
By Marlee Ginter
March 26, 2020

“It’s been complicated, to say the least. I know at Sam’s Club we’re not allowed to buy more than two items, and two packs of laundry pods for 57 people just isn’t going to cut it,” said Residential Programs Manager Amy Childers.

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — As people continue stockpiling, facilities that help veterans in need are scrambling for the basics.

Jared Dannenberger, an Iraq War veteran, signed up to serve and protect. Now veterans like him at the Sacramento Veterans Resource Center of America need their own protection in the fight to curb the spread of COVID-19. Facilities are running low on hand sanitizer, cleaning supplies and basic hygiene items.

“I mean donations are always welcome, hand sanitizer, hygiene,” said Dannenberger.

”Soaps, towels things like that you know, we’d be very grateful,” said Vietnam-era veteran Vincent Craft.

Employees keep hitting empty shelves from store to store and have even tried getting things online.

Most of the vets are recovering from PTSD, drug and alcohol abuse, and homelessness and need any support they can get. Add tight quarters and a COVID-19 lockdown, and that can take a toll on an already vulnerable population.
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Florida Deputies took custody of homeless, partially blind veteran with open hearts!

A partially blind homeless veteran was robbed. Florida deputies put him up in a hotel.

WTSP
Author: Dale Greenstein
March 23, 2020

The deputies said it was a privilege to help someone who fell on hard times after serving our country.

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Sadly, his story is far from unique. He risked his life for our country, and now he’s spending his life on the streets.

But one homeless veteran’s desperate situation got even worse – when he was robbed. He’s partially blind. He was hungry. And he needed help.

He has family – a sister – but she's is dying from cancer, so he refused to become a burden on her.

That’s where two Florida deputies come in.

According to a Facebook post from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Deputies Perez and Wensyel came across the veteran and simply couldn’t turn a blind eye.

They bought him a warm meal. But, they weren’t finished.

The deputies found him a hotel to stay in and paid for the room out of their own pockets.
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Homeless veterans being kicked out of Fort Thomas VA to make room for COVID-19 patients

Veterans say they are being forced to leave Ft. Thomas VA with no place to live

WKRC News
by Christian Hauser
March 19th 2020

“I was told that everyone was being discharged. You know, no warning, no nothing. They just told us all we have to pack our stuff and we have to find somewhere to go,” Bevis said.

FT. THOMAS, Ky. (WKRC)- Navy veteran Timothy Bevis has been in the Ft. Thomas VA Domiciliary program for about a month.

“The VA was somewhere I knew I could get myself back together at,” Bevis said. “They help you find housing. They help you with your finances. They help you make a budget out. They’re just very helpful and it’s been a very good program."

Bevis says he was at a job interview Thursday and when he got back to the domiciliary, he got some shocking news.

Cincinnati VA Chief Communications Officer Todd Sledge says the vets are being asked to leave. It's because the VA is creating room for the possible influx of coronavirus patients it could see in the coming weeks.
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Ted Phillips, Navy-Vietnam-Homeless Veteran Laid To Rest By Community

Homeless Navy veteran buried with honor by veteran community

KSN News
by: Byron J. Love
Posted: Feb 13, 2020

WINFIELD, Kan. (KSNW) – Homeless veterans are all too often laid to rest in solemn, sparsely attended services as the surviving family of the deceased can often be difficult, if not impossible, to reach.

Data from a 2019 report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that approximately 40,056 veterans are homeless on any given night, and over the course of a year that number can double.

The inscription above the Kansas Veterans’ Cemetary mausoleum reads “No one is ever buried alone, all are buried with honor,” and the staff and south-central Kansas veteran community do their best to fulfill that promise.

A great deal is unknown about the life of Ted Phillips, 73, who was laid to rest Thursday at the Kansas Veterans’ Cemetery in Winfield. Phillips, who was born April 5, 1946, according to his service records, served in the United States Navy during the time of the Vietnam war, including duty from 1964 to 1968.
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MAG-V founder collected 10-21 years for ripping off homeless veterans!

NY man convicted for stealing from homeless vets

Connecting Vets
JACK MURPHY
FEBRUARY 12, 2020

New York City courts slammed Michael Erber after he defrauded the government and stole from homeless veterans.

The New York Attorney General's office said Erber, of Brooklyn, formed a non-profit organization called MAG-V, then began recruiting homeless veterans by posting fliers at homeless shelters and community centers.

Next, he signed master lease agreements with landlords in Brooklyn and the Bronx. He then sub-leased the apartments to the homeless veterans he had recruited and applied for government aid money intended to help veterans facing the risk of homelessness. Elber, however, never paid that money to the landlords, pocketing more than $67,000.

To add insult to injury, once the federal funding for homeless veterans was tapped out, Elber collected rent directly from the veterans he had moved into the apartments but again failed to pay the landlords. As a result, these veterans were evicted from their homes.

Elber also coned a disabled veteran, convincing him to invest $200,000 of his lottery winnings in MAG-V, which he also stole. According to bank records entered into evidence at the trial, the Attorney General's office showed "Erber spent more than $110,000 on rental cars and more than $41,000 to buy a car."

Judge Donald Leo in Kings County Supreme Court handed down his sentence to Michael Erber of Brooklyn this week, handing him 10-21 years.
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Homeless veteran reunited with family after they see KOCO 5 story

warning:before watching this video...have tissues ready

'I have my family back': Homeless veteran reunited with family after they see KOCO 5 story

KOCO ABC 5 News
February 12, 2020

OKLAHOMA CITY — Earlier this month, KOCO 5 spoke with homeless veteran Paul Rambo for a story about how the Homeless Alliance had helped put on a Super Bowl party.

Rambo had not seen or heard from his family in three years. His family saw KOCO 5’s story, and now Rambo has been reunited with his nephew, his son, his daughter-in-law and his five grandchildren.
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Young veteran helped homeless 83 year old Korean War veteran

Local veteran helps find home for fellow 83-year-old Korean War vet

KNOE 8 News
By Reggie Wells
Jan 31, 2020

MONROE, La. (KNOE) - A local army veteran helped another vet who had been homeless for years. Drew Baker and Arthur Calhoun first met when Calhoun was looking for a warm place to rest in a local restaurant.

“It was quite a shivering cold day that evening," Baker says. "He had came in trying to seek some shelter. It was warm. There were a couple individuals offering to give him a ride home, but Mr. Calhoun explained he didn't have a home. He was living on the street."

After meeting the 83-year-old Korean War veteran a second time on the Louisville Bridge, Baker knew he had to find a way to help him.

Baker gave Calhoun food, opened up his home for a few nights in his home and even helped get Calhoun admitted into the hospital to check on some injuries.

"I put Mr. Calhoun in a hotel for a couple of nights until the Northeast Louisiana Veteran's Home could take him in and get everything processed."

"This guy has saved my neck a time or two,” Calhoun says. “He don't look much like a hero, but he's a pretty good friend."
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Vietnam veteran James Nicoletti called crisis line...and blue angels showed up!

Vietnam War veteran gets unexpected help from Berwyn community after calling crisis hotline

ABC 7 News
By Cate Cauguiran
January 16, 2020

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Vietnam War veteran got help from an unexpected source when he needed it the most.

With little more than the clothes on his back, James Nicoletti called a hotline for help after moving back to his hometown in suburban Berwyn last week.

Police officers in Berwyn responded to his call, which started a series events that have changed his life.

"I had a hundred dollars in my hand when I arrived here in Chicago," said Nicoletti, a U.S. Army vet.

He hadn't eaten for days and was trying his best to hold on to the last bit of cash he had.

"I had to sleep in a bathtub. That's where I slept," he said. "I put blankets there on the bottom so I don't get cold."

He said his life was going down the drain, and that's when he decided to call a veteran crisis hotline looking for help.

"I thought, 'It's over. You know what? They're going to put me away,'" Nicoletti said to himself when Berwyn police officers showed up at this door.

That fear was quickly replaced by hope after responding Officer Ed Tovar and his colleagues embraced the veteran. They pooled together their own money to get Nicoletti a few groceries and toiletries.
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Converted cargo trailer, called Veterans Emergency Temporary Shelter giving shelter to homeless veterans

Boothbay veterans create mobile shelter for homeless vets

NBC News Center Maine
Author: Don Carrigan
January 1, 2020

BOOTHBAY, Maine — As more than 100 people gathered for a New Year’s Day breakfast at the American Legion Hall, two veterans and Legion members used the event to introduce a new project to help find shelter for homeless veterans.

It’s a converted cargo trailer, called Veterans Emergency Temporary Shelter -- VETS for short. It’s the design of Vietnam combat veteran Ed Harmon, built by him and fellow Legion member Arthur Richardson, an Air Force vet. Harmon says the trailer is insulated, has heat, lights, microwave, refrigerator, and even a commode. In short, he says, a comfortable and safe temporary place for homeless veterans to live until more permanent housing can be found.

“It’s a temporary solution, and that’s what we need is that temporary time, so people can work on finding a space for veterans to be housed. Harmon says he got the idea after being part of a statewide committee meeting on the problem of homeless vets. Legion Member John Hargraves was also part of that meeting and said there is no question of the need for temporary housing help.

“Basically, at any point in time in Maine there’s a least ten homeless vets in the system who have applied through agencies who don’t have a bed,” Hargraves says.
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A homeless war veteran 'took his own life' after feeling 'lost' in the UK

Homeless war veteran, 29, 'took his own life' after feeling 'lost' when he left the Army and spending a year 'sofa surfing' with friends

Daily Mail
By LUKE ANDREWS FOR MAILONLINE
December 2019

Wayne Green, 29, was found dead in a friend's flat after receiving 'no help'
He was discharged four months into training for the Duke of Lancaster regiment
Heartbroken father Wayne Snr, 52, said it had been his dream to join the army
A homeless war veteran 'took his own life' after feeling 'lost' when he left the Army and spending a year 'sofa surfing' with friends.

Wayne Green, 29, from Bolton, 'received no help' from the army after he was discharged four months into his training for the Duke of Lancaster regiment in Catterick, near Darlington.

His heartbroken father Wayne Snr, 52, said his son was putting up pylons before realising his dream of joining the armed forces in 2017.

Wayne Green, 29, from Bolton, was found dead at a friend's flat after receiving 'no help' from the armed forces

Mr Green's body was found at a friend's flat last month. An inquest is set for June next year.

Wayne's father told The Sunday Mirror that after his son came back from the army, it was as though he could not 'accept he'd left'.

As many as 35,000 veterans could be homeless this Christmas.
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GoFundMe ringleader of homeless veteran story admits guilt!

New Jersey man pleads guilty in GoFundMe scam involving Marine veteran

By: The Associated Press
21 hours ago

“Do your research, and make sure you are donating to a worthwhile cause,” Coffina said.

Mark D'Amico, left, stands with his lawyer, Mark Davis, as he pleads guilty to one count of misappropriating entrusted funds in Burlington County Superior Court in Mount Holly, N.J., on Friday, Dec. 6, 2019. (Tim Tai/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. — A New Jersey man pleaded guilty Friday to a state charge stemming from a scheme that raked in more than $400,000 in online donations with a phony story about a homeless man helping a stranded woman.

Mark D’Amico pleaded guilty in state Superior Court in Burlington County to misapplication of entrusted property stemming from the late 2017 scheme.

D’Amico; his ex-girlfriend, Katelyn McClure; and homeless Marine veteran Johnny Bobbitt faced state and federal charges. McClure and Bobbitt have already pleaded guilty to federal and state charges. D’Amico still faces federal wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges.
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Evicted-Paralyzed veteran, lost everything and then his community supplied love

Disabled veteran loses his possessions in a curbside fire after his eviction

WWMT Newschannel 3
by CALLIE RAINEY
September 17th 2019

Summey said the community was also quick to offer help, after he posted a picture of the burned belongings on social media. "Pretty amazing, within minutes hundreds of messages people wanting to know what they could do to help," Summey said.

STURGIS, Mich. (WWMT) — The contents of his apartment were stacked on the curbside, but before a disabled veteran who once called Quail Run II his home could move the belongings, someone doused the pile with gasoline and lit a match.

"I seen him, he was sitting in his chair. He didn't want to leave his stuff. I can understand, that's all your possessions," said Clint Parsons, who lives near the apartment complex.

Parsons said the gentleman, a U.S. Air Force veteran, told him his rent hadn't been paid in almost a year, even though he had a caregiver who was supposed to be handling his affairs.

According to Disability Attorneys of Michigan in 2015 there were 82,952 homeless people in Michigan, and 5,291 of those were veterans.

St. Joseph County Veterans' Affairs Director Stoney Summey said the county's transitional housing program provided secure, safe housing to 28 veterans throughout the first nine months of 2019.

Summey said the veteran who was evicted from Quail Run II on Friday, is paralyzed, and now brings to six the number of homeless veterans in St. Joseph County.
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Shifty contractor took off with Vietnam veteran's insurance money leaving him homeless

Veteran left homeless after contractor allegedly takes insurance money, leaves home gutted

KLTV
By Bob Hallmark
September 18, 2019

KILGORE, Texas (KLTV) - An East Texas veteran says he’s in a no-win situation in trying to repair his home after a contractor left him high and dry.

Back in March, the south side of Kilgore was hit by a massive storm damaging hundreds of homes.

The victim in this case, a Vietnam veteran, says he relied on his insurance to rebuild his shattered home. But instead, what happened in the months that followed left him homeless.

Most of the homes in south Kilgore along Layton Street that were damaged in the March storms have been repaired, except one, belonging to Vietnam veteran Don Greathouse home for 42 years.

Going through his insurance company, Greathouse hired a contractor, Preston McGinnis, to rebuild. But then things began to go wrong.

“He had promised me that he’d have it back up in two months. I have emailed him and called him since the middle of April. Got no response and he vanished,” Greathouse says.

"The house has been totally taken down to studs by the contractor we had," says daughter Renee Stevens.

Preston McGinnis was arrested and taken to Gregg County Jail. (Source: Gregg County Jail)

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Will Antioch California force Vietnam veteran to become homeless again?

Formerly drug-addicted, homeless veteran finds stability in Antioch RV park; now faces eviction

KTVU
By Rob Roth
Posted Sep 10 2019

ANTIOCH, Calif. (KTVU) - Jimmy Gordon is a Vietnam veteran still living with battle scars from shrapnel.

"It's still right here. It's lodged right here," he said pointing to his leg.

Once homeless and drug addicted, Gordon says he's found stability in this informal RV community on private property in northeast Antioch.

"I've got serenity here. It feels like I am living," he says.

But it appears that paradise is about to be lost. Gordon and the rest of the 16 people living here are about to be evicted.

Not because the property owner, Joe Bosman wants to, but because the city of Antioch says he has to.

Code enforcement is requiring all my RV tenants to leave the property by October 1st," says Bosman, who has owned the almost three-acre lot for 19 years.

He's allowed people with RVs to settle here. Many are veterans, disabled seniors and mothers.

"It's close to our work. The tenants are nice and it is affordable," says Veronica Lewis-Ayers who lives in an RV with her husband and nine-month old baby boy.

Rent is $625 a month. The RVs have plumbing and electricity.

Bosman says the city told him his property doesn't meet the standards of a state-licensed RV park.
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Marine homeless veteran refused shelter from Hurricane Dorian

Some beachside homeless vets refuse to shelter from Hurricane Dorian

Florida Today
Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon
Sept. 3, 2019

Afflicted with psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis, homeless Marine Corps veteran Larry Wells on Tuesday said it's only when the winds are predicted to exceed 120 miles per hour that he'll think about leaving the BP gas station car wash on the corner of 518 and North Riverside Drive in Indiatlantic.

While he recognizes the dangers of Hurricane Dorian which hit the Bahamas as a category 5 storm with gusts exceeding 220 miles per hour, 69-year-old Wells is confident in his ability to ride it out. Dorian's churning, stalling and unpredictable path are a source of amusement, even.

"There's people who've bought gas three different times, I've seen these stores sell out of gas and water twice already in the past five days," he says with a chuckle.

He knows there are shelters with hot meals and a place to sleep, that an evacuation order is in place, and that there are free rides to and from shelters. But, he's insistent he'll be fine, as the family that runs the station where he hangs out much of the time, have given him the key to the bathroom where he can take shelter "if things get really nasty".
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PTSD, suicide: ‘I didn’t care about my life or anyone else’s’ but now he does!

Alabama’s homeless veterans: PTSD, suicide: ‘I didn’t care about my life or anyone else’s’

AL.com 
By J.D. Crowe 
September 3, 2019

Homeless. Veteran. These two words don’t belong together. How could someone who is willing to die for our country wind up on the streets, kicked to the curb after their service? I’m on a mission to draw as many of Alabama’s homeless veterans as possible and let them tell their stories.

Anthony Rivers, Houston County

U.S. Air Force, ’79-‘83, Army National Guard

We met Anthony and more than 60 other veterans who are struggling with PTSD at a recent American Legion Veterans Retreat near Wetumpka, Alabama. There will be more stories to come from this retreat.

Anthony tells his story:

“After I got out of the Air force, I was doing pretty good – I thought I was. I felt good about doing my patriotic duty and I liked the military, so I joined the Army National Guard which kept me connected to the military lifestyle. Before I went into the military I didn’t drink or do drugs or anything like that. I was clean cut. But in the military, I began to indulge in drugs and alcohol.

“Things started happening to me – the way I thought, the way I treated my family, my sisters and brothers. I got divorced because of the way I began to change. I was initiating the type of discipline on my wife that I learned in the military. I didn’t see anything wrong – that was the way I had been taught. It caused problems and eventually she left me.

“After I joined the Army National Guard I got into some legal trouble and had to leave. I wound up doing time in the penal system. Having a criminal record, it was hard to get a job. So I went to a community college and made myself into an electrician.
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