Sat, Jul 04, 2009
 Sixty-four-year-old Terry Taylor, loaded up with newly acquired clothing and bedding items, heads back out onto the streets of Tucson after a weekend of meals, showers and other care that he received during an event dubbed Tucson Veterans Stand Down. "Stand down" means recuperation time in military jargon. Taylor served during the Vietnam War. James Gregg / Arizona Daily Star
Sierra Tucson Eating Disorders Program Coordinator Trades/Construction RANCHO RESORT MAINTANANCE POSITION General A1 Communications Cable Techs Tucson RegionA weekend of care for homeless veterans
Housing, jobs are event's goalsArizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.22.2007
After a weekend of hot showers, free meals and medical attention, 120 homeless veterans headed back to the streets of Tucson on Sunday.
The temporary shelter at the Allen Army Reserve Center, on the South Side, was designed to connect the veterans with services they need in order to find permanent homes or jobs.
Organized by two dozen veterans and social groups — including the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System — the three-day shelter provided an opportunity for homeless veterans to get haircuts, flu shots and help with minor legal matters.
While many veterans expressed gratitude at the bevy of services offered and vowed that they would work at getting off the streets, organizers of Tucson Veterans Stand Down acknowledged that many will still be living in homeless camps and parks this winter.
"A lot of people aren't job-ready," said Mark Pollinger, an event volunteer and vice chair of Tucson Veterans Serving Veterans, a local veterans group.
Tucson veteran-support groups said they have noticed a slight increase in the number of homeless in the city, as problems persist with a population that already has trouble getting help.
Many homeless veterans, some of whom suffer from physical ailments or behavioral issues, are disenfranchised or overwhelmed by the bureaucracy involved in claiming veterans benefits or disability pay, said Mary Pat Sullivan, director of Comin' Home, which provides support to veterans.
"It's harder for homeless to sit in a waiting room," she said. "And the older they get, the more helpless they become."
For Vietnam veteran Michael Rooney, the shelter gave him an opportunity to clear his head after struggling with alcohol and drug abuse.
He pledged to get back into a sobriety program and make an effort, along with his fellow veteran and friend Fred Handy, to find a home.
"My number one priority is to get a place to live," Handy said.
The lure of the streets is hard to resist, Handy said, as veterans use their benefit money to buy alcohol and drugs.
But the cycle can be broken, said Nick Angeles, a Vietnam veteran who volunteers with Comin' Home.
Angeles — one of nearly 160 volunteers who helped at the event — said he was homeless two years ago, visiting shelters like the one organized over the weekend to get free food and other forms of help.
It took getting into a long-term home and cleaning up before Angeles became self-sufficient. He now helps other veterans try to overcome the same obstacles.
"I wish we could do more," he said.
The progress of getting the veterans off the street is a slow one, Pollinger said. When organizers held a similar event last year, only six or seven veterans ended up getting jobs.
And many of the veterans Pollinger met at the first event, held in 2005, were at the latest event.
"You start to know these guys over the years," he said.
As the veterans left the Army Reserve Center, they were given Army surplus sleeping bags, boots and jackets, along with lunches and bus passes.
Some veterans caught rides with volunteers, and a few took off on bicycles — though most packed up their new gear and started walking.
● Contact reporter Aaron Mackey at 573-4138 or at amackey@azstarnet.com.
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