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| TWO WINS FOR THE GOOD GUYS |
Published: 01/21/2011 Author: Chris Hill
Posted On: January 21, 2011 at 6:23 AM By: |
After more than 18 months of homeless lunches, clothing drives, fund raisers, service officer meetings and more than a little anger at the system, we have finally begun getting some of our homeless brothers off the street and into Buchman Meadows, the new homeless vets complex in Chester, PA.
Two of our brothers came to my office to tell me the great news. One is picking up his keys tonight and the other has his paperwork started. Neither has ever complained and we now have the system in place to expedite these moves.
We also acquired some bed space at another venue courtesy of Yes We Care, an organization brought to fruition with NO government assistance. Clayton Williams, a proud Marine saw a need in the community and got it done, all with ingenuity and stubbornness. YWC will need our ongoing support, but having moved the ball forward we ain't going back. I'll keep you posted as to how you can help with this initiative.
And lastly, an emergency call reached me late last week. After 8 years of honorable service a just discharged Marine moved to Philly with her husband and 5 kids (yes they need more cable channels) to begin college.
What should have been a fairly easy transition into civilian life became a nightmare. Long story a little longer, the Marine and family got to Philly without her transition funds and terminal leave pay. This caused them to lose the apartment on which they had signed a lease.
Due to federal guidelines they couldn't have 5 kids in the homeless complex. The feds actually told us they could have 2 kids there, but would have to make arrangements for the other 3. Bean counters somehow haven't realized we are people with names, not numbers.
Anyway, in an effort spearheaded by the Second Brigade and Viet Nam Vets MCs, cash was collected to do an end around on the multiple government agencies who seem to think making an honorably discharged Marine, her husband and their 5 kids go without shelter for up to 7 months while they fill out endless forms, is just the way the system works. Multiple individuals and veteran organizations contributed to the effort and we have now collected enough for them to get the deposit down on an apartment.
Our Marine's paperwork is still in flux, read SNAFU, and we have a couple more hills to climb, namely service connected disability and college benefits, but we're fighting from the high ground now.
All in all, none of this was perfect and none of it got done as quickly as we wanted, but it's a damn sight better than it was, thanks completely to our veteran's community. PA and NJ vets saw the enemy approaching, fell back to the perimeter and, with all the weapons on the wire, won the day. KUDOS to all of you my brothers and sisters in arms. I am beyond proud to be counted amongst your number. Manchu
Chris Hill |
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| Posted on January 21, 2011 at 6:23 AM by
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