10 | SUMMER 2011 St. Vincent de Paul Village


Standing Down But Still Standing Tall


Homeless veterans find fellowship and fulfillment on the road to recovery


The Village's Point-in-Time team.


Specialty census sees an increase in homelessness


Point-in-Time Count reports hard numbers for San Diego County


The number of homeless people in


San Diego County is on the rise according to a dedicated census. The county’s annual Point-in-Time


Count (PIT) revealed a total of 8,802 homeless persons in 2011, an increase of 3.3 percent over last year. Those living out in the open increased from 4,599 to 4,758 while the number of people living in shelters rose from 3,918 to 4,044 — an appreciation of 3.2 percent. This year’s count represents the


highest number of homeless people ever recorded, according to census organizer the Regional Task Force on the Homeless (RTFH). The number suggests that increasing numbers of San Diegans are


becoming displaced due to joblessness, program cutbacks, rising costs and other economic factors. The PIT census is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which uses the information to distribute federal monies to service providers like Father Joe’s Villages. The count was conducted over a single


night during pre-dawn hours. More than 550 volunteer census-takers scoured county streets, parks, beaches, and alleys to count the open-air homeless while area shelters supplied in-house numbers. According to the RTFH, the large number of volunteers made this year’s census the most thorough to date. A team composed of Village employees,


residents and supporters was among the participants. The team, which was organized by Homeless Prevention Services Manager Paul Delessio, canvassed fi ve areas including Barrio Logan and the port district. More than 200 homeless where counted. ■


T


he day was one of fall’s fi nest at the Village, where veterans of four wars gathered to remember.


Some 80 men and women sat at picnic


tables swapping hellos and news. Although they came from different backgrounds, each could remember days of military precision, of shared purpose, and of the pride that comes from fi ghting for a cause believed-in. Unfortunately, they could also remember days of confusion, self-doubt and loneliness, because those were the emotions that occupied their lives on the street as homeless men and women. Patriotic bunting did nothing to betray


the strain felt by these former warriors. And yet despite the odds, their dignity remained intact. In fact, it was in naming that dignity and celebrating it with others — others whose pasts remained wildly checkered and yet, providentially, one- and-the-same — that their companionship found its identity: Veteran. November 11 may have been Veterans


Day, but for many former military personnel the date was hardly congratulatory. Last year the U.S. Defense Department revealed that approximately 107,000 veterans are


currently living on the streets, while a recent “60 Minutes” report estimated that 9,000 of those individuals are veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.


Bringing aid to those who served The Veterans Team of St. Vincent de Paul


Village is well aware of these statistics. The team — a multi-disciplinary cooperative composed of professionals from both St. Vincent’s and Veterans Village of San Diego (VVSD) — was created to assist those for whom military service had ended but not the fi ght for survival. The team consists of case managers,


medical providers, residential specialists, chaplains, a substance abuse counselor and a mental health clinician. By integrating its specialties, the team has successfully bridged the gap into which so many homeless veterans fall for lack of resources, an unlivable income, or the grip of addiction. And, by training its focus on veterans, the team has sharpened the Village’s existing programs to better meet the needs of these men and women. While at the Village, veterans have


April 15 saw the topping-off ceremony for St. Vincent de Paul Village’s new building at 15th & Commercial. The ceremony is a traditional construction milestone wherein Suffolk-ROEL personnel, building funders and Village staff all signed the top-most beam prior to placement.


Arthur B.


Carl G.


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