Catholic Charities program helps homeless veterans get back on their feet

As the Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri's Supportive Services for Veteran Families case manager, Karen Auner said she's never viewed the services offered by her agency as "charity."

The program provides veterans and their families who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness with immediate housing, then keeps them stable through case management and connection to local resources.

As of early May, it has helped house 65 families in the organization's service area, which encompasses more than 30 counties. The area stretches from Illinois to the Oklahoma/Kansas border, covering the state's southernmost counties.

"I don't see what we do as a charitable service, but payment for services rendered," Auner said.

Last year, Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri applied for and recently received a grant through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs worth more than $600,000 to fund the program. Veterans in its coverage area are eligible if they have low income, are homeless or on the verge of homelessness and have any kind of military discharge other than dishonorable discharge.

Auner said the grant allows them to help veterans and their families "with a ton of things," including rent, utilities, furniture and basic household supplies. She and Kyle Schott, regional director for Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri, said in their experience, the smallest acts can garner some of the biggest reactions. Trips to the store for items such as dishes and detergent can become emotional.

"That's when their eyes light up and they say, 'Oh my gosh!' and I get a big hug," Auner said.

The items seem small, but they are critical to helping families stay stable in their homes, she said. Through the grant, they have paid for such necessities, but Auner said donations from businesses and other organizations have helped them stretch the money a little further. The faith-based HOPE International organization in Bernie, Missouri, has been particularly helpful because of donations of furniture from its thrift store.

"HOPE International has been the huge thing because the thought was, 'OK, we've got them in houses, but now what do we do? Are they sleeping on the floor?'" Auner said.

Schott said several businesses and churches have pitched in, as well as other social service agencies such as the Salvation Army. Landlords and utility companies typically are understanding, too. Auner said landlords have worked with her on deposit deadlines for apartment rental, and some have renegotiated rental fees to fit a client's budget.

"I think a lot of that is because it's a veteran," she said.

Catholic Charities also works with the Department of Veterans Affairs, particularly the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Their work is primarily centered around the HUD-VASH program, which combines the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's housing voucher rental assistance with Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing.

"One of the huge problems we've had in the past is that, we can supply HUD vouchers, but we have no cash assistance available," said Craig Barwick of the medical center's Homeless and At-Risk Services Program team. "So one problem we run into is with rent and utility deposits. We don't have any money for that, and that's one of the things where Catholic Charities has been of huge assistance."

Any help the organization can provide is always much appreciated, Barwick said. There's no shortage of need when it comes to taking care of homeless veterans in the area, he said, so "there's always room for help."

Auner works in Iron, Madison, Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Scott Stoddard, New Madrid and Mississippi counties. Of the 65 veteran families to receive assistance through Catholic Charities, she has helped 15. That represents 23 people.

The goal, Schott said, is to help 125 families of veterans by the end of the fiscal year in September.

"So far we've helped 65 families, which is a total of 85 people. That's just in four and a half months, so I think we can easily meet our goal by September," he said.

In her experience, Auner said she often sees single veterans needing assistance. Contributing factors to their homelessness vary from loss of a spouse to post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

"The ones who served overseas and in times of conflict, especially serious conflict, have more emotional problems," she said.

PTSD can lead to other issues such as substance abuse, inability to hold a job and health issues that can further contribute to homelessness. To get veterans and their families in a stable home, Auner said contact with the closest VA medical center and other social services often is necessary. But making that connection isn't always easy, Schott said.

Most veterans don't seek typical social services, he said, and asking for help may be perceived by them as a sign of weakness. They're not looking for a handout, and Catholic Charities isn't giving them one, he said. The services they provide are meant to get veterans and their families in a stable living situation, but reaching that point requires the families and individuals be invested in it.

In some cases, Auner said veterans in need may not have sought services simply because they were unable. Lack of transportation, particularly in rural areas, is a barrier. Gaining access to a phone or Internet to research and make connections with services also represents a problem to people who are not even sure of sleeping arrangements for the night.

"When you're living out on the street, you really don't have a lot of time or incentive to contact those services, because you're just trying to survive," she said. "What will I have for lunch, where will I sleep, where can I stay tonight -- even where can I go to the bathroom, something as basic as that is a challenge. Then, you have to find some way with no money, no food, no transportation to answer all those questions. It takes so much energy to figure that stuff out."

To be left wondering about something as basic as finding shelter is a dire situation, but is not an unfamiliar one to many of the veterans assisted by Catholic Charities. Fernando Nunez, a 60-year-old U.S. Marine Corps and Army Reserves veteran, was on the verge of homelessness when he was introduced to Catholic Charities' services.

Nunez was in a halfway house, searching for a job and place to live, with little luck.

"They came and told me 'OK, we're going to help you,' and they did," he said. "I want to work, I want to stay clean, I want to stay away from problems. So they gave me an opportunity to get up, on my own."

"Like a magician," Nunez said Auner helped him make things happen. He found a place to live and received assistance with items such as furniture and clothes.

Nunez now has a job in Poplar Bluff and is able to pay for his needs himself. He's considering applying to a vocational school.

Because of the opportunity he received, Nunez said he's "looking for a better tomorrow."

"I think can manage now," he said. "I'm happier now, and I'm humbled."

srinehart@semissourian.com

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