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Ending veteran homelessness will take sustained political will

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Veteran Patrick Parks, looks out the window of his new apartment at the Veterans Academy, in San Francisco, on Friday, November 6, 2015. He can't remember the last time he got really good sleep.
Veteran Patrick Parks, looks out the window of his new apartment at the Veterans Academy, in San Francisco, on Friday, November 6, 2015. He can't remember the last time he got really good sleep.Gabrielle Lurie/Special to The Chronicle

Veterans make up as many as 1 out of 4 of America’s homeless, and San Francisco is no exception. During his visit to welcome new residents to Veterans Academy, Swords and Plowshares’ permanent housing facility in the Presidio, Mayor Ed Lee acknowledged as much when he noted that, “These great people have served our country, and now they need homes.”

Along with 680 other U.S. cities, San Francisco has pledged to end veteran homelessness by the end of 2015. Some skeptics are questioning the feasibility of that goal and whether its initiatives are failing. But as foot soldiers in this crusade to house our warriors, my organization can attest that our local efforts are, in fact, getting San Francisco’s chronically homeless veterans off the streets and into stable housing.

We’ve had many successes. The remodeled Stanford Hotel at 250 Kearny St. is now home to 131 veterans exiting chronic homelessness. These residents, arguably the hardest to house, averaged seven years on the streets before moving in. Leased by the city for this purpose, the property represents a successful collaboration between the city, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (through its Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing voucher program), the San Francisco Housing Authority and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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Swords to Plowshares staff provide the 24/7 wrap-around care needed to support veterans with histories of chronic homelessness in order to keep them housed. We need to see more of this kind of cooperative effort on an ongoing basis.

Between 2013 and 2015, the annual homeless count in San Francisco dropped by more than 100 veterans, however we’ve housed many times over that number during the past 24 months. The process is two steps forward, one step back: For every three or four veterans we house, two names are added to the city’s Homeless Veteran Registry, a list intended to prioritize those with greatest vulnerability and risk of dying in our streets.

Veteran, Alfred Okonigbo, looks out the window of his new apartment at the Veterans Academy, in San Francisco, on Friday, November 6, 2015. Okonigbo served in Afghanistan for four years.
Veteran, Alfred Okonigbo, looks out the window of his new apartment at the Veterans Academy, in San Francisco, on Friday, November 6, 2015. Okonigbo served in Afghanistan for four years.Gabrielle Lurie/Special to The Chronicle

In our heated rental market, more than 45 percent of homeless veteran households are forced to move outside the city to secure housing. With the stock of affordable housing dismally low throughout the Bay Area, we invest considerable time finding suitable rental units or negotiating with landlords. We do all that it takes to find just a few friendly landlords with units that these veterans can afford or their housing subsidy will cover.

While we’ve had many successes, thanks to local collaboration, investment and hard work, it will remain a challenge to continue housing chronically homeless veterans. San Francisco may have housing subsidies for veterans, but a shortage of dignified and acceptable housing will remain an issue. San Francisco is in a position to fully house its chronically homeless vets, but it will require sustained political will to tackle the issue head-on.

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While we cannot control the influx of homeless and at-risk veterans moving to San Francisco nor build affordable housing units overnight, we can make a long-term commitment and continue working collaboratively to do everything we can to house the homeless. To truly reach our goal, we need more landlords to accept veterans with government vouchers, and we need the city to cover the gap in operating and rental subsidies that affordable housing requires, as it has done at 250 Kearny St.

Veteran, Alfred Okonigbo rubs his hands together in his new apartment, at the Veterans Academy, in San Francisco, on Friday, November 6, 2015. Okonigbo, originally from Maryland, served in Afghanistan for four years.
Veteran, Alfred Okonigbo rubs his hands together in his new apartment, at the Veterans Academy, in San Francisco, on Friday, November 6, 2015. Okonigbo, originally from Maryland, served in Afghanistan for four years.Gabrielle Lurie/Special to The Chronicle

Even with more veterans becoming homeless or migrating to San Francisco every day, and with the highest housing costs and lowest available housing stock in the nation, we are seeing significant progress. And we will continue to do so — that is, as long as we prioritize veterans every day and not just on Veterans Day.

Michael Blecker is a Vietnam veteran and the executive director of Swords to Plowshares, a nonprofit agency that provides services to at-risk veterans. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at www.sfgate.com/submissions.

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Alfred Okonigbo

√ He spent four years in the U.S. Army as an infantry mortar man, working his way up to corporal while stationed at Fort Drum in New York. After his military service ended in 2012, the Delaware native decided to migrate to California in search of opportunity.

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“As a soldier, I was used to moving around a lot, but after a while I wanted to settle down,” Okonigbo said. “I am in a much better place now than where I was.”

As he struggled to find work while battling post-traumatic stress disorder, Okonigbo bounced around the Bay Area until he landed at Hope House, a temporary shelter in Bayview. Eventually a slot opened at Veterans Academy, a permanent housing facility in the Presidio.

“But there are still quite a few (homeless) veterans out there having a hard time. I think very soon we can get caught up, the services are very good when veterans can get them,” Okonigbo said. “I guess we’ll see what happens.”

Patrick Parks

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A radioman in the U.S. Navy from 1984 to 1987, he finished his service at Naval Air Station Alameda, and decided he liked the area enough to stick around rather than return to his boyhood home in Long Beach. As with many veterans, however, the transition back to the civilian world was difficult.

“Today people see that you’re a veteran and thank you for your service, because we’ve had wars and there’s more awareness that freedom is being fought for by young men and women willing to risk their lives to preserve it,” Parks said. “But back then, the attitude was, ‘You’re a veteran, whatever. What else you got?’”

After a series of temporary shelters — or in some cases no shelter at all — finding a permanent home at Veterans Academy was a godsend.

“It’s so beautiful here, there’s lots of space for my service dog, and I can get downtown on a half-hour bus ride,” Parks said. “Plus there’s a certain sense of camaraderie living with other veterans — especially the older you get — because we all know what’s like to be in service and how difficult it can be, and it becomes a sort of fraternity. We have a common bond.”

As for the greater challenge of veteran homelessness in San Francisco, Parks said many veterans don’t know where to go to for help.

“To get housing for people who don’t have all the chips in place, it’s really difficult. Even when there are organizations out there to help, a lot of veterans don’t get the information,” Parks said. “There needs to be more peer advocacy, so that we go around and tell them what’s going on. If people are more aware of services, then we can serve more people.”

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Guest opinions in Open Forum and Insight are produced by writers with expertise, personal experience or original insights on a subject of interest to our readers. Their views do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Chronicle editorial board, which is committed to providing a diversity of ideas to our readership.