THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 17, 1995 TAG: 9505170083
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Long : 104 lines
During the Vietnam War, American soldiers looked forward to the short periods when they could ``stand down,'' or take a much-needed break from front-line duty.
For three days this weekend, Hampton Roads homeless veterans and their families will have a similar opportunity at ``Stand Down '95.''
Participants will sleep in barracks-style tents, eat, visit doctors, dentists and psychiatrists as needed. Counselors will help veterans learn how to reverse the circumstances that led to their living circumstances.
The vets will get sleeping bags, blankets and clothes, and free bus transportation from several Southside shelters.
The rally will take place Friday through Sunday at the Virginia National Guard Armory in Hampton. It is modeled after other nationwide stand downs held since 1988 but marks the first of its kind in Virginia.
``It's not a hand out, it's a hand up,'' says Larry McCauley, executive director of Vetshouse, a Virginia Beach shelter, which also serves vets from Norfolk, Portsmouth and Chesapeake.
``We want independence, not interdependence'' for homeless vets, says Dennis Saylor, co-chair for Stand Down '95 and director of Vet's Inc., a Newport News veterans emergency transition shelter.
The two have spent months ironing out details for the event, aimed at helping the estimated 2,000 to 3,000 homeless veterans in Hampton Roads.
McCauley, 42, knows firsthand how a helping hand can change the direction of a life. Now retired from the Navy, he might not have gotten his life on track without the help of one concerned individual.
McCauley served in Vietnam while in the Army. Injured, he returned to the harsh reality of a nation that seemed to have turned its collective back on those who had served in a war the country had come to loathe.
McCauley says he will never forget the day he realized what he had come home to. He was still using crutches from the injury he had sustained when he boarded a bus and recognized a former high school classmate. He spoke to the woman, reminding her who he was, but got the cold shoulder.
``Finally she said that she knew who I was and she didn't want to talk to me - that I had taken part in the murder over there,'' he remembers, the hurt still evident in his voice nearly a quarter century later.
McCauley re-enlisted, this time in the Navy. He realized that it had been a mistake to leave the service. But the stint was a short one, and soon after leaving for the second time, McCauley hit bottom.
He was homeless in Denver, his savings were gone and he was sleeping in the back of his car. Then he ended up in the hospital with hypothermia. That was when his ex-father-in-law took the kind of personal interest that made a difference, urging McCauley to go back into the service and make a career of it.
Now, McCauley's goal is to reach out to other veterans who need that same kind of one-on-one encouragement.
Vets House, which McCauley runs, helps homeless veterans rebuild their lives. Opened in November 1993, the shelter serves 18 homeless veterans, including two with families.
Saylor, 51, also resents what he encountered when he returned from Vietnam. ``We got spit on,'' he recalls.
But it wasn't that reaction that drew Saylor into the effort to help homeless vets. It was the influence of his wife, LaDonna, state commander of Women Veterans of America and co-chair of Stand Down '95.
Vet's Inc., which Saylor directs, serves homeless veterans on the Peninsula and other communities as far north as Richmond. Currently eight men and two women are using the shelter.
Vets House and Vet's Inc. are two of only three shelters for homeless veterans in the state.
Saylor says there is ``no common thread'' leading to homelessness among veterans, but McCauley offers two frequent scenarios.
The typical homeless veteran, McCauley explains, joined the armed forces at age 17 or 18 and never learned the skills to cope with civilian life. After leaving the service, he or she ``went home to Mom and Dad for a couple of years, maybe, then got booted out. The ball just keeps rolling and rolling. Then we get them.''
Another large group of homeless vets are those who retired from the service and then took a job in a corporation that had to downsize. ``They lose their job, the spousal fights start because they can't afford the mortgage payment, and they end up on the street,'' says McCauley.
Both McCauley and Saylor know the stories all too well. They're hoping that this weekend's event will have a positive and immediate impact on the area's homeless problem.
``For 26 years the military was good to me, and but for a few lucky breaks I could be in a shelter,'' says Saylor. ``For me, it's payback.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
HOW TO HELP
About 130 volunteers will be part of the weekend-long effort to
help homeless veterans. Donations are needed to help pay for
veterans to call home, among other things. Call 468-8614 or
249-5304.
To participate:
The pick-up schedule Friday for veterans and their families is:
8 a.m. - The Oasis, 1020 High St., Portsmouth; and
Judeo-Christian Outreach, Virginia Beach Boulevard and Birdneck
Road, Virginia Beach.
8:30 a.m. - American Red Cross, 611 Brambleton Ave., Norfolk; and
Department of Social Services, 3432 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia
Beach.
Participants will be bused back to their pick-up point at noon
Sunday.
by CNB