By ALEXANDRIA BORDAS | Reporter
Palisadian and U.S. Army combat veteran Ted Howells has been dedicated to helping homeless veterans for years as the Treasurer of New Directions For Veterans, which works to provide housing and support to vets across Los Angeles.
New Directions was one of over 30 organizations participating in the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Stand Down on Wednesday, Nov. 4 at the West LA VA.
The two-day event focusing on providing housing for homeless veterans and their families was held at the new Veterans Welcome Center, Building 257, and was hosted by the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (VAGLAHS).
With over 4,000 homeless veterans in Los Angeles alone, the VA has been working with neighborhood and community councils, such as the Pacific Palisades Community Council (PPCC), to create a Master Plan to outline steps towards ending veteran homelessness.
At the stand down, outreach coordinators from New Directions spoke to homeless veterans about getting involved with their program.
“The stand down helps vets collaborate with service organizations and our goal is to get every veteran counted for,” said veteran Alex Rocha, Justice Outreach Coordinator at New Directions. “We are a transitional housing program and we work to get our veterans affordable housing and subsequent services.”
Rocha conducts outreach in the jail systems and veterans court to promote services.
“Many vets who are getting released from jail are vulnerable to living on the streets if they don’t get the proper support so we hook them up with our program prior to their release so they have somewhere safe to go,” Rocha told the Post.
Other organizations volunteering at the stand down provided immediate relief services such as first aid kits, emergency shelter and acupuncture.
Nathan Pughe, Veterans Liaison for Emperor’s College Acupuncture Clinic, is an army veteran who served in Iraq and broke his back 15 years ago, medically discharging him from the armed services.
“I was on all sorts of medication trying to stop the pain and was willing to do whatever to feel better but I was told by doctors I would never be back to normal again,” Pughe told the Palisadian-Post. “But then I discovered Chinese medicine which changed my life.”
Pughe started using Chinese medicinal healing methods, such as ear acupuncture, to relieve the physical and emotional pain he was feeling from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
“Vets are overly medicated and there has been a lot of problems with that inside the VA so we are trying to transition vets to alternative medical care,” Pughe said.
Pughe and his team of volunteer medical students offered free ear acupuncture treatment to veterans and pinpointed certain areas on their ears to ease shoulder pain, leg pain and even release stress.
LA Mayor Eric Garcetti and his staff spoke to veterans and pledged to keep working till all vets were housed and off the streets.
“We’ve accepted homelessness as a way of life truly believing there’s nothing that can be done,” Garcetti said. “We’re changing that in LA.”
Garcetti said for every few veterans that manage to get housing another 5-10 veterans end up on the streets every single day.
“This land was given to vets for vets and it needs to continue that mission,” Garcetti stated. “We are going to make sure every person in this city who has served has a place to call home.”
A few veterans were not impressed by the services the stand down had to offer or the promises being made.
James Kiemp is a homeless veteran who said the VA has denied him medical services for years.
“The treatment at the VA is terrible and I have been refused treatment for PTSD for 20 years,” Kiemp told the Post.
Krishna Flores, a combat veteran who served in the Marines from 2004-2008, was underwhelmed by the lack of support for female veterans.
“The stand down has nothing for women, no special sections, no toiletries, no clothes or undergarments, nothing,” said Flores, who is a Program Manager at Volunteers of America. “It’s really sad how little of an effort they make when it comes to women who serve.”
Vince Kane, Special Assistant to VA Secretary Robert McDonald, said permanent change would only come if everyone works together.
“If we’re to be successful we need this type of partnership everyday, not just at a stand down,” Kane stated. “We have to stay together till all of our vets are home and get all the services they need.”
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