Jobless and Disabled Get New Chance : Homeless Veterans Come In From Cold

YAKIMA, Wash. —  Clare Brower remembers finding a veteran with frostbitten feet living in a garbage can last winter. He was treated at a hospital and is now employed.

Then there was the 54-year-old Korean War veteran in Walla Walla who hadn’t held a steady job since 1953. When he sobered up, doctors realized he was schizophrenic.

And there was the former Navy typist with psychiatric problems who had been living on the street since she was discharged in 1982.

The three are among thousands of homeless, mentally ill veterans who have been helped under a 2-year, $10-million pilot program started in 43 communities around the nation by the Veterans Administration last year.

About 240 such veterans have been found by the Yakima office, the only one in Washington, said Brower, the Vietnam veteran who runs the office.

War Stress Disabilities

“The reason they’re homeless is the same reason as anyone else, for alcohol and substance abuse,” he said recently. Other causes might be anything from mental illness to delayed onset of stress syndrome brought on by their war experiences, he said.

“The single male, in general, has fallen though the cracks in all health projects in the past,” Brower said. “You send a single male to (social agencies) and unless he’s disabled, they tell him to go to unemployment and find work.

“What he needs is food in the belly and a place to stay,” he said.

So Brower searches the alleys, the rescue missions, the drunk tanks, under bridges, old rail cars and other places where the homeless and mentally ill take refuge.

Those who are veterans are referred to a variety of VA and community programs. The others are referred only to community programs, Brower said.

“A lot of veterans are eligible for benefits that other homeless may not be,” said Dan Sullivan of the Walla Walla VA hospital. Benefits include medical care, housing and welfare assistance, education aid and training for jobs.

Mental Problems Common

In the first seven months of the pilot program, about 10,000 veterans nationwide were contacted, said Terry Clark of the VA in Washington, D.C. Of the 7,800 veterans who received formal assessments of their cases, 86% had symptoms of mental illness, he said.

“A lot of studies indicated a significant portion of the homeless population are veterans, and a significant number of them may be emotionally disturbed,” Clark said.

“I don’t think we’ve gotten all of them,” he said.

The goal is to get the veterans back on their feet.

“If a veteran is willing to work, I can get him a job now,” Brower said. “No ifs, ands or buts.”

The homeless vet with the frostbitten feet, who had been in Korea during the 1960s, was found to have a drug problem, was hospitalized and is now working, Brower said.

The 31-year old former Navy typist is hospitalized with multiple psychiatric problems that may have been aggravated by her duties in the service, Brower said.

The vet suffering from schizophrenia was qualified for some back pay. He has moved to Tacoma for treatment at a VA hospital.

Brower, 44, served in Vietnam in 1968 and ’69. He said that 90% of homeless vets drink heavily or have drug habits, perhaps as self-medication for delayed stress syndrome.

“To get rid of nightmares and flashbacks, the greatest medicine is alcohol, and it’s readily available,” Brower said.