How Have You Struggled With Housing?

My finances were tied up and supporting family members who are in poverty; this resulted in debt over $10,000. I had no confidence that I would be able to afford an apartment in a safe environment where I lived.

A friend of mine worked for an agency that would approve me for transitional housing, allow me to address other needs to include mental and physical health as well as financial health.

What the VA did for me is provide me with a liaison who would help me and encourage me to submit a claim which led me to 100% disability rating.

What would help other veterans is the help that I needed to include neurological assessment where it was confirmed that I have ADHD/autism. It is important for me to have this diagnosis as being medicated would be necessary in order for me to get the most benefit out of therapy sessions.

Although the VA suggested a recommended financial readiness program, what helped me was a different agency, recommended by another homeless vet. My financial counselor spoke with me and on my behalf, while talking with the collection agencies who supported my needs, agreeing to a settlement.

What I would also like to see is help assessing diagnosing people who have a learning disability.

It would be wonderful if The Veteran Administration for housing built more affordable efficiency apartments for Veterans based on 30% of their income.

I have been close to homelessness before, but was able to lean on family until I could figure things out again.
A month or two before I got out of the Service, my command sent me to a series of classes with members from all branches who were close to discharge. They taught us all kinds of things about how to get a job on the outside—from making a resume to how to shake hands with a job interviewer.

If the military is no longer doing this, I think the VA should pick up that slack, and even if it still is being done, there’s plenty of slack the VA could still pick up. For instance, automatically evaluating every exiting service member for PTSD, depression and alcoholism. The military goes with alcohol like water goes with wet. The military taught me how to drink, and I was never deployed. We all get out at some point. I think the military/VA should spend just as much time, money and effort turning us into productive civilians as they do turning us into Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen/women and Coast Guardsmen/women

Good evening. Excellent post. Thank you for sharing this on RP. :-]

Desperately, sought help from the VA after losing my home due to my service-connected disability causing me to go on a medical leave of absence from my job. Sadly, there were no "beds" for woman at the shelter and I was left to fend on my own once again. The lack of support for female veterans is absurd. The only good thing is I know I can't depend on these programs, so I have become "stronger", despite ending up in a worse state, once again.

In 1996, I was a highly-decorated, 12+ years USAF E-5/SSgt with no prior UCMJ issues stationed at Holloman AFB NM when an unplanned incident occurred that involved myself with a multi-million dollar, international cannabis smuggler that, due to it's sheer magnitude, I self identified to Security Police/OSI the very next day after the incident happened. Upon describing in explicit detail the unplanned events that had happened the day prior, my participation in the incident earned me a General Court martial that in turn, awarded me a reduction to E-1/AB, forfeiture of all pay/allowances, one year in military confinement, a Bad Conduct discharge unable to be upgraded, and branded me a felon for life. Relocating to Las Vegas Nevada with my wife and 2 kids after I served my confinement sentence, it was very difficult for me to find permanent employment, so I was forced to use temp agencies on and off for jobs over the next 10 years, during which time I was hired by several of the companies that I worked as a temp for. My wife and I added another child to our family in 2000, and, together with her income as a cocktail waitress, we eventually bought a house in Las Vegas. Things were going great until 2007, when, after 17 years of marriage and 3 beautiful children, plus making my Philippine wife a U.S. citizen (with no legal assistance from an immigration attorney), my wife wanted a divorce which was shocking/took me by surprise, especially after everything we'd been through together in the past and how we had overcome those issues to be where we were at that time. On Father's Day, Sunday, June 17, 2007, my wife watched me fire an arrow from a pistol grip crossbow into the wall of our garage, and although I had never pointed at her or threatened her or my kids, she called the police, who arrested me and charged me initially with attempted murder, but that was reduced to assualt with a deadly weapon. No bail was ever possible, and a one year restarining order was issued at a famity court hearing I was brought to 6 days after my arrest, while I was still confined at the Clark County Detention Center. Even though there had never been any physical or sexual abuse ever in the 17 years of our marriage, the false criminal charge that I was charged with (but not convicted of) apparently weighed heavily on the Family Court judge's decision to err on the side of caution, so the temporary restraining order issued upon my arrest was made permanent for 1 year. Returned to CCDC after the family court hearing, I wanted to prove my innocence as soon as possible, so I exercised my right for a "speedy trial". I was released from CCDC after my 90th day there due to my being found "not guilty" by a jury at my trial, but sadly, that finding of not guilty had no effect on the one year restraining order that prevented me from contacting my wife and children, or returning to my home. I had nowhere else to go in Las Vegas, so I relocated to Phoenix Arizona temporarily to stay with my mom while I figured out what to do next. After trying but failing to remove the one year restaining order through the family court (why, especially after being found not guilty of the charges that caused the restaraining order to be issued to begin with, nor had there ever been any incidents of abuse ever in our 17+ year marriage?), I truthfully had no other choice but to go to my house in the Philippines that my wife and I had purchased in 1995, (while we were stationed at Yokota AB Japan before PCSing to Holloman). At least there in the P.I., I was outside of the jurisdiction of the U.S., and could call my family without violating the restraining order, which sadly, in the end, it didn't matter. Somehow, my wife got our divorce she had filed in Las Vegas finalized, even though I had never seen it, agreed to it or signed it. My wife knew where I was (at our house in the Philippines), so this wasn't a case of my abandoning my family or not knowing where I was. The finalized divorce gave my wife our house, cars, possessions and full custody of our children. I received limited visitattion rights with my children and a monthly child support requirement of $900.00 a month ($300 per child), payable until my children are age 18 unless they remained in school/college, which could be up through age 22. I received a copy of our final divorce decree in August of 2009, about 8 months after it had been finalized in December of 2008. It was mailed to me to my house in the Philippines by mom back in Phoenix, and put me $7,200 behind (in arears) for child support by the time I received it. Knowing this and that, due to my BCD, it'd be impossible for me to find a job to support myself and pay $900.00 monthly for child suport, plus being garnished for the child support I already owed. I vowed at my house that day in the Philippines to never work and/or pay U.S. taxes ever again, and cost society as much as I could whenever possible if/when I ever returned to the U.S.. Why should I support by my paying taxes any court and/or government that granted a divorce that I never, agreed to or signed, and in turn, left me with nothing but a huge and fastly growing debt, especially when I had done nothing legally wrong to justify my being forced out of my home in Las Vegas and away from my family to begin with? Sadly, due to the death of my mom in December of 2009, I was forced to return to the U.S., and after staightening out the legalities involved with her passing, I became homeless until May of 2013. My mom had willed to me $50K, but I paid all of that $ directly to my ex for the back child support I owed her and for future child support payments. I didn't pay the $50K through the family court, simply because I know they would have somehow taken their "share" from it via their ("administrative costs" or fees or penalties etc.) before ever paying my ex anything she was owed, and then keep the remaining leftover amount from the $50K (possibly earning interest on it?) until it was delpleted/gone after paying her the $900 child support every month I owed. Although I could have used my 50K inheritance to prevent my homelessness, I'd still have to find a job to support myself (eventually), and in turn, have my paycheck garnished by the Las Vegas District Attoorney for all of the back child support I owed, and regardless of whereever I worked in the U.S.. Since it was never a question for me wanting to support my children (only a question of how), I really didn't have any other viable choices or alternatives that I could think of. As for my being homeless in Las Vegas from April of 2010 through May of 2013, it was never easy, but it taught me a lot of lessons. Since I had vowed in the Philippines to cost society as much $ as I could, I accomplished that first by pretending I was suicidal, which sent me as an inpatient to the Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital (aka Las Vegas Mental Health) which proivided me with a roof over my head in a climate controlled environment, 3 meals a day, and pretty nurses to look at (hehe). Eventually, after 4-5 months, they had a Board Certified psychiatrist determine I was perfectly sane, so I was discharged (as well as my being banned for life from ever returning there for treatment ever again). The final bill for it (which I'll never pay) was about $70,000 -$80,000 that I cost society. But I was homeless again, so my next way to cost society was through State of Nevada social services, where I was given $200 a month in food stamps (EBT), and occasionally rent vouchers ($400 per month), or placed in one their halfway houses they used. In May of 2011, in order to receive another $400.00 rent voucher, my social worker gave me the option of going to the VA to apply for a pension or going to 30 places to apply for a job (recording what business, their address, who I spoke to, phone # etc.). Personally, I thought it was a waste of time to go to the VA and apply for a pension, because I had already been denied (due to my Bad Conduct Discharge) for VA medical care/benefits when I had shown my DD Form 214 at a branch VA clinic. But, since it was easier than doing 30 job searches, I went to a VA office and applied for a pension. I used my exwife's address of her new home where she and my family now lived for any corresponce from the VA. The VA had 2 years to make a determination on whether or not to approve my pension. Since there were no other documents or evidence I could use to support my claim of having tinnitus that was caused by the .38 pistol I used to qualify with for finance courier duties (my career field was 6F052, Accounting & Finance), I was simply going to let the merits of my having continuous honorable service from 25 May 1984 thru 30 March 1994, as well as having earned/awarded 2 Commendation Medals, 2 Achievement medals, 3 Good Conduct Medals, ribbons for Joint Meritorious Unit, Overseas Long and Short Tours, National Defence for Desert Storm/Shield, NCO/Leadership School (PME) Graduate, Longevity, plus was my Accounting & Finance Squadron's (or higher Resource Advisor level) Airman of the Month 5 times, Airman of the Quarter 3 times, Airman of the Year (1987), a Distinguished Graduate of NCO Prepatory School, Outstanding Performer at 374 AW/CPTS Yokota AB Japan (twice), as reasons to approve my pension. Having completed the Nevada Social Workers requirement to file for a VA pension, I got my rent voucher and had a place to stay for another month. But once I had reached my limit of rent vouchers, I was back outside and homeless. In the summer months in Las Vegas, it was no problem sleeping outside at night, typically a few feet away from the railroad tracks in overgrown vegetation to hide my presence on a piece of cardboard, that was close to the "Sally" (Salvation Army), where I'd use my food stamps to buy a breakfast, lunch or dinner meal. Also near the Sally was St Vincent's Catholic Chari'ties that had a free daily lunch meal. In the colder months, I would stay at either the Sally or "St. Vinny's", but although it was free, both places had long waiting times to enter the facility, typical overcrowding, and bedbugs (yikes) to deal with. The Sally's dayroom was where I found a few homeless friends, and we all enjoyed some fiercely competitive games of spades, cribbage or eucher to pass the time each day. On the few occassions that VA reps would come to the Sally looking for veterans to help, I always showed them my DD Form 214, which they would at first admire due to all the awards/ribbons I had earned, but then retracted their offers of any/all help they could give to me due to the Bad Conduct Discharge I had received. So, after experiencing all of the ups and downs that being homeless had to offer me from April of 2010 until May of 2013, my exwife called me (on my government issued free phone) and told me I had received a U.S. Treasury check for $38K+ in the mail, and also some paperwork from the VA. Apparently, the VA had approved my pension, but not for any of the reasons I had submitted. They approved my pension because it was determined that I was unable to secure work or steady employment to enable me to support myself, since according to all records available (IRS records?), I had not reported or earned any income or paid any taxes for being self employed during the entire 2 year period my VA pension was being evaluated. (hehe) Imagine that! My refusal to work/pay taxes ended up getting me a VA pension! Needless to say, that newly approved VA pension that started in May of 2013 allowed me to put a roof over head and support myself, and continues to do so as I write this long statement about my homelessness and it's causes. As for the $38K check, I gave that to my ex for child support, which pays me up in full for all 3 of my children through age 22 based on $300 per month per child. And no, I never paid one damn cent to the family court that ordered the $900 per month child support in that damn divorce decree that I never agreed to or signed (or one cent to the District Attorney's office that processes garnishments for child support in arrears).

I haven't. But the way the question was asked is typical of government assumptions about the masses, and veterans in particular. We the public have become addicted to entitlements and subsidies, and the bureaucrats search for "victims." I love my country, I'm not very fond of my government.

There are people who need help. There are veterans who have had a particularly rough row to hoe, but let's not be condescending assume that is the starting place for all veteran's. And I much rather get help from a veteran than from a bureaucrat.

The problem I have is that I meet income requirements but have bad credit and am considered a bad risk due to that even though I have always paid my rent on time. None of the programs offered fit my situation at all. I don't need income assistance or vouchers, I need help finding a landlord willing to rent to me is all.

Instead of subsidizing foreign wars to no apparent end, try investing that money into a VA partnership with every city in the united states. Kinda like what is done with education system. Better yet stop pushing homosexuals on the children and have the trans people work with veterans in every community.

Injured my back working in Dementia Care. Doc at the VA put me on Vicodin. Social worker at the VRC convinced my family to abandon me when I was slated to die a few months later. VRC wharehoused me with other homeless vets and essentially tortured us until we either left on our own or found other resources. Had to move all the way to a friend's house in New Orleans to quit the Vics and heal.
Came back to homelessness in Reno 6 months later to be close to my kids.
VRC wharehoused me again and tried to blame all of their issues on us, the homeless veterans at their mercy. It was my rep at the HCHV that managed to get me HUDVASH just as the VRC was kicking me out for complaining about the abuse. I watched them commit no less than a half dozen crimes against homeless veterans without even blinking an eye. FYI, they are now called, ironically, "Nations Finest". They have never apologized for destroying my family unit. The social worker who gaslit me is still out there destroying more veteran's lives.
I still face possible homelessness at least twice a year, usually related to my utility bill. In the HUD housing, if your utilities get cut off you get evicted. I am literally too poor to afford poverty and the VA is still jerking me around with my false discharge. I am supposed to be receiving benefits for a traumatic brain injury in the Navy. Instead they "lost the records" so I only get 30% for hearing loss.
Until I get justice for either offense, I am an unstable liability to my community.