Enlisting Hope
SE Center Offers Homeless Veterans Housing and a Second Chance

By Daniel LeDuc
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 17, 2008; DZ01


Calvin Williams left the Marine Corps in 1976. He had served in Southeast Asia and survived a helicopter crash in which his best friend died.

Williams returned to Northern Virginia to try his hand at barbering. "Things spiraled out of control: drugs, trouble with the law, in and out of jail, in and out of prison," he said.

He had stayed with his mother but soon her patience ran out: "I was on the streets."

Now Williams, 52, has a roof over his head, a bed for the night, warm meals, drug counseling and job training. "I've been given a second chance at life," he said.

That chance came through Access Housing, operator of the Southeast Veterans Service Center, which accommodates about 50 homeless veterans. The transitional housing center is slated to nearly double in size this week when a new building next door, the Chesapeake Veterans Center, opens with housing for male and female veterans.

The facilities on Chesapeake Avenue, on the Prince George's County line, are the main transitional housing for vets in the District. The first facility was established in 1999 by former council member H.R. Edwards, an Air Force veteran. During his time on the D.C. Council, Edwards was shocked by the number of homeless people he came across who had served in the military. Edwards vowed to help.

"They shouldn't have to beg for food or a place to sleep," he said. "We don't call it a shelter; it's their home. The intent is to make it as pleasant as possible."

The center has been home to 700 veterans over the years, and success there begat the new building, which was renovated in autumn.

Both buildings are airy and sparkling clean. They are decorated with murals about the Marines, posters from the Army and bright, colorful paintings.

The older facility has space for 30 men, who may stay for a year. There are an additional 20 rooms for permanent Section 8 housing for impoverished veterans. There's also a Department of Veterans Affairs clinic that treats veterans throughout the region.

The $3.4 million facility, across a parking lot from Southeast Veterans Service Center, will accommodate 33 men and 15 women. It's intended for veterans diagnosed with more serious mental illness or substance abuse problems and will provide intensive counseling and therapy but not permanent housing.

Once plagued by violence and drug use, the neighborhood has stabilized in part because of the facilities, Crawford said. The former dilapidated row houses are now refurbished brick, three-story buildings that are freshly painted and neatly landscaped.

"The first time I got here I was relieved and thankful. It was like I was in a safe harbor," said Vincent Atkinson, a helicopter mechanic in the Marines from 1977 to 1984. "I'd either be dead or in jail for the rest of my life. Now I've got a new outlook. It's optimistic."

Atkinson, 49, tried jobs in what he calls "civil society" but found himself abusing drugs and alcohol. He began acting belligerently at work and was fired. Eventually, he said, he was diagnosed as bipolar and schizophrenic.

Atkinson lived on the streets near Union Station until his family was able to have him assessed by the VA, which eventually got him to the center on Chesapeake Avenue.

After nine months in a transitional unit, he was able to move into one of the permanent rooms on the third floor. It has a sink, and Atkinson shares a bath down the hall and a communal kitchen, where he can cook on his own. His room is dominated by a large U.S. flag next to his single bed. He has a small television, DVD player and CDs.

Being with other veterans makes the facility especially comfortable, he and many residents said.

"I have a camaraderie with other veterans," Atkinson said. "We have a bond. They're disciplined men even though they're having difficulties."

In November, the National Alliance to End Homelessness released a survey showing that on any given night, nearly 200,000 veterans are homeless. The problem is especially severe in the District, where about 7.5 percent of its 32,000 veterans are on the streets or in shelters.

There is a long waiting list for space in facilities such as those on Chesapeake Avenue, said Teresa S. Pittman, who works in the VA's homeless program.

Most of the veterans are from the Vietnam era and are 45 or older. Pittman said often they have gotten out of the service and managed on their own before illnesses, drug or alcohol abuse or financial straits put them on the street.

Winthrop Robbins, who served as an Army medic in Vietnam, fits that pattern. He got by on low-paying jobs and lived with his mother after leaving the military in 1970. Robbins, 58, said he has been diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia. His mother died, and, he said, "I was 49 and had nowhere to go."

He was referred to the facility on Chesapeake Avenue by the VA and has lived in its permanent housing unit for five years. Robbins proudly showed off his room, its walls lined with photos of him fishing and his poles hanging above the closet door.

"I feel like it's just like living at home," he said. "It's comfortable for me, and I hope to stay here."

His disability checks allow that comfort. The center charges $160 a month for its rooms. It also receives grants from the federal government and the District.

Atkinson receives disability, too, and although he is in permanent housing, hopes he can eventually move on. He'd like to find an apartment and a job and maybe even get married.

Just, he said, "live a modest life."

Ellie