Recently, I read an article in The Villages Daily Sun which indicated that the Veterans Administration is planning to address Veteran homelessness. I think it is wonderful that after more than 23 years following the September 11, 2001 attacks and literally hundreds of thousands of homeless veterans the Veterans Administration finally realized there is a need to help these heroes get things together. Some of the most vulnerable veterans we have – the homeless. This is a last-ditch effort by the Biden Administration to appear to be doing something – wrong! The public will not be fooled anymore by programs that purport to solve problems but never do.
This is how it is presented in The Daily Sun: “The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has announced programs to help veterans who are dealing with homelessness. This includes the Supportive Services for Veteran Families Grants, Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Case Management Grants and New Mayor’s Pledge to House Homeless Veterans. For more, visit VA.gov/homeless.” This is a maze of programs. Exactly where does a homeless veteran go to find all of this. Shouldn’t the VA employees be looking for them?
Are they kidding? Can this be real? Please tell me it ain’t so! After four years of providing every necessary need that 10 million illegal immigrants can dream of including, food, phones, lodging, clothing and debit cards, and free air fare to go wherever they want across the USA, now we get to our veteran heroes! What a “johnny come lately” scheme is this.
Where have these programs been? Are they new or didn’t they tell anyone they existed. If you have been to a Veterans Administration facility lately one thing immediately comes to light. The volunteer staff is much more friendly than most of the providers or employees, except the veterans that work there. Government employees have an attitude, period! We cannot let this happen. The VA cannot get into providing housing.
By contrast, let me suggest a real solution. The current administration has used many Non-Government Agencies (NGO’s) to provide for all the needs of illegal aliens. These NGO’s are not audited and many cannot account for where the billions of dollars went. But that is OK because they are providing services to a group that is favored and assisted by the current administration – illegal aliens.
Tunnel To Towers (T2T) however is a qualified non-profit organization that is audited and can prove that 95% of all their funds go to their beneficiaries. Yes, 95%. I can only guess how many multi-millionaire executives are running the NGO’s providing for the illegal aliens at these unaudited NGO’s. Does anyone know or care?
My point is simple. Do not let the Veterans Administration expand into the homelessness business. Either use the T2T organization to provide this assistance or copy their proven program. When you visit VA.gov/homeless website you are presented with a complicated page of phone numbers, program names, definitions, instructions for Veterans, Landlords and Business Owners including multiple places to call in order for them: “conducting a coordinated outreach to proactively seek out Veterans in need of assistance.”
Why not send out VA employees on any street in any major city and ask the homeless if they are a veteran. If yes, take them by the arm and lead them to a safe place, then find them lodging, food and all the other services they qualify for. STOP CREATING A MAZE FOR VETERANS TO CRAWL THROUGH AND DO YOUR JOB!
Most government agencies are cumbersome, but the Veterans Administration is a clear example of feckless government full of non-descript programs that force the needy to seek them out rather than finding ways to “provide the services,” to the needy – in this case needy veterans. I find it absolutely abysmal that they can “find” all of the illegals they want to give money, lodging, air fare, phones etc. but they cannot “find” homeless veterans.
I for one have had enough of the “announced programs” for Veterans. Find a way, any way, to actually provide the assistance every veteran deserves. If we can “find” billions for illegals, we can find whatever we need to give veterans who have given their time, talents, limbs, mental health and in some cases their very dignity for this country. We must demand that the “government” reach out and “find” every veteran. After all they have all of our information, unlike illegal aliens that nobody can identify including criminals.
After veterans are identified and found then ensure that each one has every service for which they qualify. No veteran should ever be fearful of seeking a new service because they might lose the services they have. Veterans, once confirmed, should never fear losing a service or payment due to changes in rules or a change in their status. Unlike illegals, veterans have EARNED everything they get! Many veterans were draftees who gave up two years of their life and potential earnings to serve. Isn’t that worth something, some recognition and not just a simple “no you don’t qualify – because!” Oh yes, there is always a reason you don’t qualify because you were successful in life following service. How about something just because you served? How is that for a concept. Send a veteran something because they served – no other reason – just thanks, take this!
So, my advice to the Veterans Administration is to first find every veteran, we know you can do that, even the homeless. Then ask them if there is anything they want or need personally – each one. Then force them to take their benefits even if they don’t want them. If you send a veteran a check instead of constant announcements of new programs, I think they will cash it. How about $2,500 for each year served to every veteran just for serving, if they are not getting a military pension. Of course, we cannot do that but illegals can get a $1,100/month debit card in NY City. I guarantee you NY City residents are not paying for that – you are!
Sometimes veterans will not seek assistance as they do not want to have another veteran go without – unlike illegal aliens who take everything they can get and then give Americans the middle finger! Until Americans speak up the Veterans Administration will not change. It is and will always be a self-serving bureaucracy like every other federal agency has become. Hopefully, we will eventually see real change in the Veterans Administration as the number of living veterans decreases dramatically each year it will soon be too late to help many of them.
Villager Robert Nyce is a former SSG E6, 1st Battalion, 3rd Infantry, “The Old Guard” Arlington National Cemetery, Fort Myer, Va.
