Homeless Vets

[rigo-ordaz]

Ran across this link to a short film that deals with a homeless vet. In this short film I play the part of the veteran.
The film got several awards to include aSocial Awareness , and got me a Best Actor in one of the festivals. It was an
oficial entry at the Cambridge England Fest.
In the USA there are thousands of our brothers who for one reason or another are homeless.

This is the short film. If you like it just click on vote
http://www.shortsnonstop.com/videos/watch/claudia/
My Imdb page
http://www.imdb.me/filmmakerordaz

[pt9243]

Outstanding video, Rigo. Unfortunately there are many veterans out there that for one reason or another just could not readjust to what one would consider a normal lifestyle after having experienced the horrors of war. For others there seemed to be a delayed reaction. Young men, many in their teens, were one day be-bopping down the streets of East LA or fishing at their favorite spot in rural America then finding themselves in a war zone only months later. Then released back into society and expected to resume life as if nothing had happened. Looks like there may be an off year reunion in San Antonio next year. Hope to see you there.

Pete Tovar

[rigo-ordaz]

Thanks Pete. You ar right. there are many homeless vets. Not only were we taken to a war when very young, but we came back to find
that we were not liked or appreciated for being in that war. We all remember those times of the Hippies. The Veterans Administration and other groups
are trying to help the homeless vet, There is much more work to do. They can help the Vet with a physical home but some of them believe
they have lost their homeland and those veterans can never come home. Some of them don,t want a home, they want the freedom of the Woods or streets.
It is a much more complex problema. Some can be helped, others are beyond help because when they try to help them they just move and vanish to
other places. It is a big problem since there are younger vets now, but since the nation has other problems they seem to forget the homeless.

[bbontemps]

Here in central Illinois, the latest homeless veteran population was at 550. Not many compared to Chicago or the warm states of California, Texas, and Florida, but still too many. I am priveleged to be work with homeless veterans on a daily basis. Here in Peoria, we just opened our new Goodwill Commons. For those of you who just think of Goodwill as a place to drop off unwanted clothes and household items or to purchase inexpensive items in our stores, you only know a small part. While each of the 143 Goodwill's in the county has its own mission, our mission is to support individuals and families who are working to better their lives. We opened our General Wayne A. Downing Home for Veterans in 2005 and have been growing our service to veterans ever since. Last month we opened our new vocational and training center, and since this time, we've seen 48 veterans come through our doors, some homeless, others just looking for work or needing help. We work closely with the VA and all other service providers in the area, so if can't provide a service, we give a veteran a place to go and a bus pass to get there.

Five years ago we saw many older veterans who were homeless. Today, we are seeing veterans in their early 20's and homeless, and as we know, many horrors of the wars may not affect the younger veterans for years to come, so our mission will continue to grow.

Here is a current list of our Veterans' Services:

Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP): A program designed to expedite the reintegration of homeless veterans into the workforce, reduce barriers to employment through assessment and training, provide access to resources and job opportunities, and create a cohesive community network to offer veterans secure and stable employment.

Goodwill Veterans Employment Program (GW-VEP): Similar to HVRP, this program is open to any veteran who is unemployed or underemployed and looking to advance his or her career.

Benefits Center: A veterans’ benefits specialist or veterans’ service officer (VSO) is available on scheduled days to meet individually with any veteran to answer benefits questions and discuss what services are available. Scheduled group presentations and workshops will also be offered.

Veterans Resource Center: Our center is available to any veteran to stop in and learn about benefits, talk with our staff about services for veterans, search through our library of materials, and have computer access to search the internet for job openings and other resources.

Seminars and Workshops: Each month we provide events covering topics that are of interest to veterans of all ages. This schedule is posted on www.Goodwillpeo.org.

Home for Veterans: The General Wayne A. Downing Home for Veterans, located at 403 S. Olive Street in Peoria, opened in 2005 to provide an intensive and holistic environment for the rehabilitation of honorably discharged male veterans who have been homeless and are dealing with a diagnosed disability. Our goal is to assist veterans by assessing their needs and creating customized programs of services and support to help them reach their goals and achieve self sufficiency.

As part of our HVRP program, each year we host a Stand-Down for homeless veterans. We put together a short video two years ago. If you want to watch it, go to this link,
http://www.goodwillpeo.org/veterans-ser ... down-event
and click on the video to the right of the page. This year's Stand-Down is on Saturday, October 12, at Dozer Park here in Peoria.

If any of you make it to Peoria, stop by our Goodwill Commons, and I'll be glad to show you around.

Have a great Monday.

Bill Bontemps
"C" Company, 106 Minehune, Mortar Platoon, Battalion Photographer
Feb. '68 - April '69

[rigo-ordaz]

You are doing a great job Bill lending out a hand to our vets who are down and out and desperate. Keep up the
good work. Thanks ' Rigo Ordaz