HUD/VASH Program Making the Homeless Veterans Suffer

HUD/VASH Program Making the Homeless Veterans Suffer

In the 4 months I have been at Borden Ave I have been exposed to some things no one should have to live with on a prison yard, much less at a Veteran’s Transitional Program imprisoned in a violent and chaotic environment without access to edible food, coffee, or sleep solely because we’re all veterans. What has been going on since I arrived is that veterans on a supposed path of housing and financial stability being directly housed with veterans in various stages of severe mental illness. Hardly a night passes that there isn’t an ambulance is at Borden Ave taking a veteran to the hospital only to have return a few hours or days later. NYPD is there at least once a day, sometimes two or three.

Wayne Bull comes from a military family. His father retired after 33 years as a Command Sergeant Major and he served (1972-75) with the 16th Engineers in Vietnam and then with the 10th Engineers in Germany. He has a Purple Heart and sleeping in an open bunk in the middle of a chaotic homeless shelter worse than Rykers Island. He doesn’t understand why he’s being treated, ‘like shit’ just because he’s homeless. “People took bullets. Got shot at. Vietnam was no fucking joke.” 

Wayne tells me he was inexplicably moved from a cubicle to an open bunk where he has remained for months. The $2,000 he receives in pension deems him ineligible for VA Disability and no one has shown him how to apply for Social Security even though he’s almost 70 years old. He told me he has an eye on a specific apartment and willing to wait to get it although after a year he is still in the dark as to whether a HUD/VASH voucher even exists in case he changes his mind on the first choice.

Kevin Buggle came into the system on July 20th. He is waiting too on HUD/VASH but has little answers to his many questions. He is unsure but thinks he has been awarded his HUD/VASH voucher, but like me, Kevin is stranded on a deserted Veterans Affairs island with no ship in sight. He has no money and his EBT card isn’t working yet while they tell the rest of America how great they’re treating the homeless veterans. He describes the food as, “having little nutritional value and sometimes the portions are small. Most guys in Bordon have digestive problems like constipation and diarrhea mostly because of the food here. When the food is occasionally good people have to wait over two hours for a second helping.”

Jeff has been waiting in a cubicle for a check from the VA so he can obtain housing. Jeff has been at Borden Ave for two months waiting on a VA check so that he can get housing. His disability will require additional assistance with supportive housing for his injuries incurred when he was hit by a car in Brooklyn in 2018. Jeff served in Infantry (2005-12) with tours of 15 months in Iraq and 12 months in Afghanistan. He tells me, “Its not these guys (Borden Ave), this is the VA.” While Jeff is being treated with every bit of dignity and respect possible from staff here, this is no place for a disabled combat veteran simply because he has the word, ‘veteran’ in front of his name.

Jeff should be in an environment where he can at least get a cup of coffee someplace he doesn’t have to be pushed over train tracks a mile away to have because the kitchen only serves coffee with breakfast between 7:30 and 9:00 am. There’s no coffee available here at Borden Ave and there are strict rules for bringing in beverages and food. The only way is to leave, pay $4 for a cup of coffee, and then make sure it’s gone before getting back.

Reggie Nash is another Vietnam Veteran (1971-78) who has been at Borden Ave waiting months on a HUD/VASH voucher since coming into the system on June 15th with no definitive idea of when that might be. He says that mixing veterans with severe mental issues isn’t working and would like to see the veterans with such challenges be housed in a place they can get help. His question is simple, “Why can’t I get a HUD/VASH voucher unless I am homeless?” Veterans are expected to seek employment opportunities and face exited from the program for not taking a job.  In the four months since I was, ‘triaged’ on July 26th, I have waited as a dozen VA case workers have taken weeks to schedule a zoom meeting with other staff members who I most likely will never neither see nor hear from again. Waiting to be told the reason I’m waiting is only because I’m waiting on them telling me that I’m waiting defeats the purpose. My experience with the New York City Department of Veteran Services (NYCDVS) has been stellar, but frustrating. I was told that the office of only 4 case managers for 550+ homeless veterans has been overwhelming. They too are being handcuffed to incompetence and red tape. Veteran Service Officers (VSO) from the DAV, VFW, and others routinely file claims for disability on behalf of the veteran. Whatever additional information the VA requires is run through that particular VSO through adjudication. It would make sense for veteran service agencies such as NYCDVS to sit down with the veteran and establish that one-on-one relationship in order to expediate the HUD/VASH voucher process. One case manager to submit all the documentation directly to one VA representative who then reviews everything and signs off on the voucher. The NYCDVS case manager receives an email with the voucher attached. The veteran is then free to take that voucher to any organization that provides Section 8 housing. I would propose that rather than a dozen VA case managers for one veteran, we have a dozen veterans working with one case manager each with the authority to file for a HUD/VASH voucher.

The environment at Borden Ave is untenable at best, especially for veterans trying to better their life. Open cubicles allow sound to travel throughout the building. An issue between a veteran and security at two in the morning is a common occurrence and can easily wake up the entire building. The food is inedible and there are no resources available because of damage incurred by other veterans. As a veterans in transition, this is should be the last stop to stability, but without proper nutrition, resources, and sleep; this appears to more punishment than appreciation. We served this country and we deserve better from this country.

HUD/VASH Program Making the Homeless Veterans Suffer 

Timothy Pena initially traveled to NYC at the invitation of RIP Medical Debt founder and U.S. Navy Veteran Jerry Ashton to collaborate for his project, Veterans Mission Possible. Soon after arriving, Tim decided he would rather be homeless in NYC than commit suicide in Phoenix and spent five months in a shelter before obtaining his HUD/VASH voucher for supportive housing while detailing his journey from homeless to homeness with a series of articles called, 'Be the Story'. He has testified before the NYS Department of Veterans Affairs, is a member of the NYC Veterans Task Force and Military Veterans in Journalism, while founding The Forgotten Veteran non-profit. Email: Timothy Pena