Homeless Veterans

PYHIT has operated transitional housing for veterans through the Veterans Administration Homeless Grant and Per Diem Grant program for several years. The projects are as follows:

• 60 beds, 575 Broadway, Menands, NY and enhanced mental health service funds to facilitate reintegration for 20 chronically mentally ill homeless veterans. It provides and on-site psychiatric nurse, social worker, and recreational aide. This flourishing program serves homeless veterans who are afflicted with PTSD and with a complex array of substance abuse issues and mental health issues.
• 12 beds located at 629 Old Liverpool Rd., Liverpool, NY
• 24 beds located at 26-28 Wyoming Ave., Buffalo, NY (capital funds)
• 25 Bed Drug Free Residential Program for returning Iraqi veterans, 1180 Berne-Altamont Rd., Altamont, NY

We have a longstanding and successful history with the Veterans Administration participating in Project CHALENG (Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education and Networking Groups). We have received above average reports in the NEPEC (Northeast Psychiatric Evaluation Center) report and the ratings in Syracuse are as follows:

• 88% success rate in our goal of residential stability for veterans who moved on to independent housing.
• 83% successfully engaged in community efforts which support personal development (i.e. VESID, self help, work therapy, substance abuse recovery)
• 92% engaged in some sort of employment, vocational, and/or educational programming upon discharge from the Grant and Per Diem Program

Our experience in serving veterans demonstrated that the main strategy for treatment engagement is to draw upon the strong bond of military brotherhood that exists between veterans. Early engagement interventions will take into account any difficulties or complications in the veteran's motivation and commitment to behavior change during the assessment process and include close monitoring of the individual's treatment goals and objectives. We have implemented a peer Vet to Vet approach that changes the social environment and the dynamics between the provider and potential resident in a profound way, veterans are treated as potential customers. Our veteran's programs appeals to the veteran, rather than the veteran having to demonstrate that are qualified or motivated. The planning for contiguous services (i.e. treatment, housing, economic assistance, vocational, employment), the removal of other barriers and leveraging involvement in treatment through the VA when appropriate, will serve to enhance involvement in the program.

From "The Evangelist", 2/3/05 

Housing and More

Father Young teams with federal agency to offer boost to those in need

by Pat Pasternak, Staff Writer

Four years ago, Rev. Peter Young, pastor of Blessed Sacrament parish in Bolton Landing, walked into the Veteran Administration's Healthcare for Homeless Veterans office in Albany, looking for a way to assist homeless vets.

Julie Laurenzi, the coordinator of the federal program, remembers the encounter as "a lucky day for us both."

As a result of their meeting, Father Young's Housing, Industries & Treatment Foundation (PYHIT) obtained a federal grant to house dozens of homeless vets at Schuyler Inn in Menands, which is operated by PYHIT. There, men and women who served their country can rest, recover from addictions and become productive citizens again.

Needs of vets

According to Sheila Rourke, director of the program at Schuyler Inn, most of the veterans served in the Vietnam War and suffer from a variety of combat-related illnesses, including post-traumatic stress disorder; drug, alcohol and gambling addictions; and bipolar disease. Most are unable to hold down jobs.

"The Veterans Administration has been very generous," he noted, "but it is also very specific about the goals of the program, and the treatment and care we provide."

The first requirement is that the vet must have been honorably discharged from active duty, sober, and willing to participate in the treatment and job training programs offered.

Screening

While some of the vets are referred from another treatment facility operated by the VA, some "enter from the street when they have no place else to go," Sheila Rourke noted. "They are carefully screened to ensure that all their credentials are in order. The most important is that each veteran has been honorably discharged. They do not need to have been involved in overseas duty or any war."

The veterans are in residence for a minimum of a year or a maximum of two, depending on the individual's particular needs.

This year, the Albany program qualified for an additional grant that will expand services. Two social workers and a job coach were added to the staff to work directly with each veteran. In addition, a van was provided to transport vets for doctor and hospital appointments.

Rare site

"The Schuyler Inn is one of only 14 sites across the nation that receive these benefits," Ms. Laurenzi noted. The new grant provides "an opportunity for mentally ill vets to get some much-needed clinical treatment for their disabilities, treatment that includes intensive care management, medical monitoring and extended social activities -- services that they did not have before.

"The goal is to provide the opportunity for these veterans who have medical conditions to become stabilized and in control of their lives once again."

Sheila Rourke added: "There are 275,000 homeless veterans in this country on any given night. These are men and women who have, at sometime in their lives, given service to our country. This program is a wonderful opportunity to give them the services they need and deserve."