Group helps set up homeless vets with security deposits

TOLEDO, OHIO — More than a decade of bad decisions, toxic relationships and sleeping inside garages and vacant apartments had left Army veteran Michael Robertson with thoughts of ending his life.

It wasn’t until he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder that he began seeing a way out. But with no way to afford the upfront costs for his own apartment, he was stuck in a shelter for the homeless three years ago in Houston where he settled after drifting around the country.

That’s when a nonprofit organization called Veterans Matter stepped in — one of several groups that fill gaps government agencies can’t reach even as they push to end homelessness among veterans.

Since setting out with that goal at the beginning of this decade, the departments of Housing and Urban Development and of Veterans Affairs said in November the number of homeless veterans has dropped by about half to 38,000.

Robertson, who served in the Persian Gulf War, is among the many no longer on the streets. Now, he has a dream of opening a food truck someday as he continues with therapy. “I couldn’t imagine any of that or being stable just a few years ago,” he said.

The number has dropped under a strategy that brought the two federal departments together to offer homeless veterans assistance with monthly rent and case management and clinical services.

But they can’t cover all the needs, said Anthony Love, director of community engagement for the Veterans Health Administration’s office for homeless programs. Some nonprofits help the veterans furnish new apartments, buy groceries or find jobs. Many operate in just one community or region, Love said.

Veterans Matter pays for security deposits and the veteran’s share of the first month’s rent. So far, it has helped 2,600 veterans in 20 states get off the streets. Nine out of 10 remain housed after the first year, the organization said.

“Veterans Matter is one of few with a national scope that will go where the need is,” Love said. “They can get a check to a landlord pretty much the same day or within 24 hours.”