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'Alarming' rise expected in number of younger homeless veterans, advocates say
by Bill Briggs, NBC News contributor
As the latest report card arrives Monday on the Obama Administration's push to end veteran homelessness by 2015, some experts predict a further decline in the number of ex-service members sleeping in parks, under bridges or in public spaces.
But other advocates – including a small cadre of soldiers who use their spare time and combat skills to track, clothe and house veterans forced to live outside on home soil – say they're seeing an “alarming” rise in younger homeless veterans, many of whom fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will release Monday afternoon its 2012 count of homeless Americans – including a fresh tally of homeless veterans, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH). And the head of that nonprofit group expects HUD's status report will show that a fortified federal effort to house more disabled and low-income veterans is working.
“I expect the number to go down because there's been a big increase in resources to make sure it does decrease,” said Nan Roman, NAEH president. “There's been a lot of investment in newer strategies around housing – programs that are really solution-oriented.”
One of those approaches, Roman said, is a $60 million initiative by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that offers prompt financial help to ex-military members on the brink of eviction – or those recently turned out of their apartments. In fact, the VA estimates that its Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program will have helped the 42,000 veteran families by the end of 2012, according to an agency spokesman.
“Sometimes people get laid off, can't pay their rent, and lose their apartment. It's a high cliff to get back into an apartment because you have to pay the first and last month's rent plus deposits,” Roman said. “In most places, that's $2,000 or $3,000, minimum. If you had $2,000 or $3,000, you probably wouldn't have gotten evicted in the first place. So this program helps with that sort of thing.
“There's been a lot of determination at VA to make the homeless veteran numbers go down,” she added. “I'll be very disappointed if they don't go down, frankly.”
VA spokesman Josh Taylor said the agency already has gauged critical gains as the rate of veteran homelessness dropped by 12 percent from 2010 to 2011. He cites, in part, SSVF – “our new homeless prevention and rapid re-housing program” which during the 2011 fiscal year helped house more than 35,000 people, including nearly 9,000 children, Taylor said.
A second federal program – one forged through a HUD-VA partnership – gives “eligible veterans” vouchers to pay for stays "in a residence of their own,” Taylor said, adding that nearly 40,000 veterans have accessed that program during the past two years.
According to a HUD report issued in December 2011, there were 67,495 homeless veterans in this country - down from 76,329 one year earlier. The same report projected the homeless veteran population would shrink to 45,797 during 2012.
In its 2013 budget request, the VA asked for $333 million in additional funding – an increase of 33 percent over 2012 – so that it could provide “specific programs to prevent and reduce homelessness," the VA said in making the pitch last February. The overall VA budget request for 2013 totaled $140.3 billion.
“We have made good progress, but there is more work to do,” Taylor said in an email to NBC News. “Our homeless initiatives are based on a strategy of rescue and prevention.
“The unprecedented effort under way, and the unprecedented resources being dedicated to it, have played a major part in the reduction of the veteran homeless population over the past couple of years. That work is ongoing and we expect it will continue to show progress,” Taylor added.
'They are coming back messed up'
But in Southern California, where Army veteran Joe Leal routinely leads a handful of active-duty and former service members on personal missions to find and help homeless veterans living “beneath bridges and in canyons,” Leal said he has encountered thousands of post-9/11 veterans without homes.
“It's alarming,” said Leal, an Iraq War veteran who founded the Vet Hunters Project in 2010. His group, funded by private donations, has worked to place more than 2,600 veterans in temporary or permanent homes, he said.
“We house more Iraq and Afghanistan and younger veterans than older veterans. It used to be where a homeless vet was typically about 60 years old. Now, they're 22 years old,” Leal said. “And a lot of them are female veterans who have witnessed combat. They are coming back messed up. They are coming back homeless.”
Monica Figueroa, 22, was an Army parachute rigger who served from 2009 to 2011, spending time in Germany, performing test jumps out of planes. She has a 17-month-old son and is married to Sgt. Jason Snyder, a 30-year-old Army reservist, who served four tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. While Snyder was still overseas, Figueroa couldn't hold a job and couldn't find a home for herself or her son. She slept in a car for several weeks near Los Angeles, she said.
“When we met her, she was living in a garage where they repair vehicles,” Leal said. “She was bathing in a sink where they wash car parts. Monica was just overwhelmed. She joined the military when she was young. She got out. She had a child. She was used to the fast pace of military life. And then, in getting out, the transition (preparation she received from the Army) was lacking.
“A lot of the active-duty people are getting out even though they don't have a plan” for post-military life, he added. “They're so fed-up after five to six deployments. They say, ‘I don't care what I do when I get out, I'll just figure it out when I get out, but I know I don't want to do this any more.' That's what I'm running into.”
The Vet Hunters Project helped Figueroa, her son and husband recently move into a furnished temporary apartment in Loma Linda, Calif., and enter a program that provides them financial counseling to prepare for an independent life.
“Before this, my living situation was very unstable, moving from one house to another. Just jumping. Just living anywhere I could, with family members, friends, anybody who could help me for two weeks or so,” Figueroa said. “I had to leave my son with my mother — there was no room for anyone else where they were living. So I stayed in a car that my dad owned.
“The thing that made it very rough was I had no idea of the benefits I had. All I knew about was the GI Bill. Otherwise, no one ever explained anything else to me (about post-military benefits). I was not prepared for the transition.”
It's not uncommon, in fact, for the Vet Hunters to come across Army reservists who are still serving the country but who have no home, Leal said.
“These guys show up for service looking sharp,” Leal said. “Then they leave at the end of the day and go sleep in a Chevy.”
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/10/15761391-alarming-rise-expected-in-number-of-younger-homeless-veterans-advocates-say?lite
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Oregon
Oregon boys ages 7, 11 accused in attempted carjacking of 22-year-old woman
DETROIT (AP Modified) - Two boys, ages 7 and 11 are accused of attempting to rob a woman with a loaded gun outside a church parking lot in Oregon.
Portland police say the boys tried to carjack the woman, who was waiting for her parents in the family's truck.
The woman, Ami Garrett says when the boys came to the car, the 7-year-old suggested that the 11-year-old show his gun.
When Garrett refused to give up the vehicle, the boys demanded her money and cell phone. As she drove away, Garrett says she saw the 11-year-old pull the gun from his pocket.
Police responded to reports of the boys with guns and they found the .22 caliber handgun in the older boy's pocket.
The boys could not be taken into juvenile custody because of their age but they were returned to their families.
Police are investigating how they got the gun and plan to turn the case over to the juvenile court system.
You can read more on this story and see photos here.
http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/oregon-boys-ages-7-11-accused-in-attempted-carjacking-of-22-year-old-woman
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South Carolina
To new Bluffton chief, community policing is key
by ALLISON STICE
The definition of "community policing" can change depending on whom you ask.
"There are some police officers who don't know what it means," said Sgt. Tony Charron of the Bluffton Police Department.
The department's new chief wants to change that. Hired in September, Chief Joey Reynolds aims to have all of his officers trained in his community-policing philosophy.
"Each police chief has their own vision of what they think it is, but it's really a very simple model," Reynolds said. "It's the idea that police are part of the public, and the community has to be part of the police so we can be successful in what we do."
"We can't arrest ourselves out of social problems," he added.
The foundation for community policing already is in place at the department. The Neighborhood Services Division, a team of three officers, has been around since 2009, funded by a U.S. Department of Justice grant.
But Reynolds said he wants all 38 department members serving as community police officers, not just three. The neighborhood division could soon be tasked with training other officers, he said.
Officers need to learn more about partnerships and problem-solving, Charron said.
"When people tell you that community policing is riding a bicycle or going on foot patrol, that's a program," Charron said. "And when it's over, there's no great impact.
"In a partnership, each party has say-so, has input and has a stake in it."
That means police will be relying on community institutions, such as neighborhood watches and the town's Public Safety Committee, to develop solutions to crime problems.
Reynolds is drafting a strategic plan for the police department over the next few years that will outline specific steps. Town manager Anthony Barrett wrote in an email that he and Bluffton Town Council members look forward to discussing Reynolds' plans for community policing training during its annual planning retreat in March.
Kelli Normoyle, member of the town's Public Safety Committee and a retired New York City police officer, said she knows firsthand the difference community police work can make.
"I think it's the answer," she said. "When you have officers go out and deal with the community, eventually police aren't seen as the enemy, but as someone you can go to for help."
http://www.islandpacket.com/2012/12/10/2306456/to-new-bluffton-chief-community.html
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Texas
Police look to spur interest in neighborhood watch groups
by CHRIS AGEE
In conjunction with his advocacy of community policing, Mineral Wells Police Chief Dean Sullivan has recently released information to assist in the formation of local Neighborhood Watches.
Sullivan addressed city council members last week, explaining the program will likely begin in earnest next spring, though he said he hopes to spark interest among locals in forming groups.
Describing a neighborhood watch program in Mineral Wells as the combined effort of residents, the MWPD and the city's community resource officer, Cpl. Penny Judd to protect property and promote neighborhood safety.
Sullivan explained anyone interested in becoming involved should first contact Judd at (940) 328-7884 to determine if a group has already been formed in the neighborhood.
If a Neighborhood Watch already exists, authorities will provide the name and contact information of the watch captain; if not, the department will assist in its formation.
Though volunteers will receive support from local law enforcement, Sullivan noted individual groups are responsible for keeping the program active in their communities.
Before getting started, a potential watch captain should create a list of neighborhood issues to address, establish a means of communicating with neighboring residents, publicize an initial meeting place and time, provide a sign-up sheet for anyone interested in becoming block captains, and gather crime facts about the area.
Information about neighborhood crime can be found online at crimereports.com, Sullivan explained.
When a group is formed, he noted participants will be responsible for maintaining a watch of neighborhood activity as well as communicating regularly with officers and holding consistent meeting to discuss any new information.
Should a change in crime patterns emerge, authorities will offer prevention suggestions and potential warning signs.
Sullivan said Neighborhood Watch programs have been beneficial in countless communities by controlling and preventing residential crime. He said participation helps create safer neighborhoods and develop important partnerships with the MWPD.
The city provides each group with signs promoting the program and a quarterly newsletter offering crime prevention tips and other helpful information.
http://mineralwellsindex.com/topstory/x1752047916/Police-look-to-spur-interest-in-neighborhood-watch-groups 
