Prepared for:

IDA-DOWNTOWN CONFERENCE September 24, 2012

From Trauma to TriumphA Veteran Puts Down Roots

• Danielle “Dee” Rogers was meritoriously promoted and at the top of her class but experienced trauma in the military, where she was one of only a handful of female Marines. She says she was ostracized and experienced sexism, leading her to go AWOL multiple times to escape followed by a brief stay in a psychiatric hospital. After discharge she was homeless for 10 years. A policeman in Oregon—a fellow veteran—referred her to the Portland VA for help.

• With VA help she got treatment, housing and connection to the HVRP program and its career club. She now supervises their Roots to Road program, a six-month program designed to help jobless and/or formerly homeless veterans learn agricultural skills so they can find employment.

• She says: I have more confidence. I have structure I didn’t have before and a sense of accomplishment.” She credits becoming sober and getting a job, along with the healthy relationships she found through the HVRP program, with turning her life around. Being a supervisor is challenging, but “I try to remember I’m helping someone.”

The Situation￫ Approximately 150,000 veterans are homeless￫ Average of 4-5 veterans commit suicide daily￫ Post 9/11 Unemployment rate - 11.5 percent in 2010/21.9% for 18-24 year olds￫ ≈ 300,000 current conflict veterans are likely to be living with PTSD or depression￫ > 320,000 current conflict veterans may have experienced traumatic brain injuries￫ Rates of sexual harassment -78% among women and 38% among men over a one-year period. In one study, 23% of female users of VA healthcare reported experiencing at least one sexual assault while in the military.

The Costs￫ Economic: wages and purchasing power; use of emergency and health services￫ Growing body of research on the impact of prolonged deployment and trauma-related stress on military families, particularly spouses and children ￫ Hopelessness, despair-revolving cycle of homelessness

What Works￫ Integrated/coordinated services￫ Partnerships, partnerships, partnerships￫ Prevention services

Persistence Paves a Veteran’s Road to Recovery

• The 42-year-old St. Louis, Missouri, native served as an enlisted sailor. When he left the service in 1990, Mr. Coleman worked in Seattle and in St. Louis in a business that failed, as a janitor, car salesman and quality assurance for a local bottling company. When his girlfriend left him he became depressed and started drinking. “I was disappointed in the way my naval career turned out,” Mr. Coleman says. “I had planned on being an electrical engineer and was always interested in renewable energy”.

• On and off for the next 8 years, Mr. Coleman was homeless. He lived in his van, stayed at his parents’ house, or squatted in buildings he was renovating. For most of this time he was working, “but I could never get a foot hold,” Mr. Coleman says.

• A Missouri Career Center directed him to the HVRP at St. Patrick Center in St. Louis. The employment specialist helped him complete a Building Performance Institute (BPI) certification course. Today, Mr. Coleman is active in the lives of his sons, ages 4 and 15, and he recently bought the first new truck he has ever owned. He has his own company where he plans to employ others—including veterans—to retrofit houses to increase energy efficiency and decrease utility bills.

Addressing Homelessness Among Veterans

National Veterans Technical Assistance Center

• Training and technical assistance to over 150 Homeless Veterans Reintegration Programs (including those for incarcerated, female veterans, and veterans with families)

• Webinars, Research, Direct Training/TA, Communities of Practice, Employer Partnerships, Best Practices

• Purpose: Increase employment among Vets who are homeless

• http://bbi.syr.edu/nvtac/ Our 2012/2013 Goal: Identify, disseminate,support new downtown/HVRP jobspartnerships.

What Can Downtowns Do?• PARTNER with programs in your community to

provide employment opportunities for homeless/at risk veterans

• DETERMINE potential to contract services from program providers

• PINPOINT a business leader/convener• MAKE AVAILABLE training programs to homeless

and at-risk vets• IDENTIFY company mentors/champions that can

liaise with programs and assist with job assimilation• EXCHANGE best practices among BIDS

WE CAN HELP: Nicole LaCorte-Klein, TA Coordinator

(315) 480-9153 nllacort@law.syr.edu

Ending Vet Homelessness through EmploymentPlease Complete the Following

• Do you currently partner with agencies to provide jobs or job training for vets who are homeless? Y/N

• Are these contracted jobs (e.g. street cleaning?) Y/N

• Are these to fill open jobs in your business? Y/N

• What agencies do you work with now? (add to the reverse if needed)

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• Would you be interested in developing an ‘Ending Vet Homelessness through Employment Partnership in your district? Y/N

• What three areas of training or TA would you find most useful?

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________________________________________________________Please return at the end of the session and/or contact Gary Shaheen at geshahee@syr.edu

Name: ______________________________

Affiliation: ______________________________

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Phone/e-mail: ______________________________

Questions?

Visit our IVMF website For Tools, Guides and

Resourceshttp://vets.syr.edu/