TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans indicates that about 12 percent of the adult homeless population is comprised of veterans.
On Monday, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown outlined his legislation, the Veteran Housing Stability Act, which aims to improve housing programs for homeless veterans and their families in Toledo.
"When Congress is very willing to send troops to war, very willing to fund weapons, Congress is not so generous when it comes to veterans services. Whether it's mental health counseling, whether it's health care generally, whether it's education benefits, or whether it's the terrible problem of homelessness," said Senator Brown.
Formerly homeless veteran Keith Bell also spoke as an example of someone who benefited from and thrived with the help of veteran services and programs. Father to an 11-year-old daughter, Bell is back on his feet and living in a new veteran-supportive housing residence. Bell said his time being homeless was stressful.
"People don't understand when you're not welcome, you don't feel welcome. You feel alienated," he said. "We're more of a statistic than a resolution," he said.
Senator Brown says the Toledo-area is doing a good job combatting the issue.
"Toledo and Northwest Ohio have done better than almost any place in reducing the level of homelessness. We hope to get it to zero in the next couple of years. Toledo seems to be ahead of much of the rest of the state, and the country. But this legislation should help us do that," said Senator Brown.
The new legislation would give more veterans access to permanent housing through encouraging landlords to rent to veterans, providing grants to supportive organizations, repurposing transitional housing through VA programs, and improving outreach to veterans. Senator Brown said it's everyone's responsibility to ensure that every veteran has a place to call home, and an opportunity to succeed.
"One of the things you find in programs like this, places like this where sometimes veterans have suffered from drug addiction, or from some kind of domestic abuse, or just down on their luck and couldn't find a job...when they're housed in places like this, so often these veterans say, I want to get a job where I can help other veterans. You saw it with Keith, I think you see it in every community in the state," he said.
That's exactly what Bell's goal is.
"I'm finishing my college courses to be a counselor, a peer specialist. And that's what I want to do, I want to help veterans, I want to help veterans that have PTSD, war-related problems and stuff that they're going through. We need to be understood domestically and politically," said Bell. "I just want to be a part of it: the healing process for all the veterans."
Find additional resources and information on veteran homelessness in the links provided:
