Complicated Care: An Army Veteran Battles the VA’s Homeless Policy
Nathan Robertson’s biggest problem isn’t that he is homeless — it’s that he’s not an alcoholic or a junkie. Mike Miller, director of supportive housing placement for Unity of Greater New Orleans, found Robertson, 62, living under the Claiborne Avenue overpass in April.
He figured the easiest way to get the disabled military veteran help was to contact the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ homeless program.
Robertson, using Miller’s cell phone, told the VA that he served as an Army paratrooper from 1964-72 and suffered from a variety of physical disabilities, including spine and heart problems and a thick fungus, “hard as alligator hide,” that covers his feet and lower back.
Robertson said the operator explained how the VA homeless program worked. After she was done, he handed the phone to Miller and said, “You’re not going to believe what she just told me.”
Miller took the phone and listened in disbelief as the woman repeated what she told Robertson. She said that unless he had a substance abuse problem, there was little the VA could do to help him.
“I was blown away by it and I still can’t believe it,” Miller said. “They said they had nothing available for him in New Orleans. Apparently you can be disabled and homeless, but it doesn’t really matter unless you have a drug problem.”
Unity recently took Robertson off the streets and placed him in a hotel until more permanent housing can be found. But Robertson is still seething over what he sees as the disrespect shown to him by the VA.
“Veterans like me have slipped between the cracks,” he said. “Don’t you think I’ve suffered enough? I have no housing and I can’t work because of my disabilities. And I’m not alone. I’ve met hundreds of veterans on the streets.”
VA: Most are eligible for care
Ken Rocky, coordinator of VA Healthcare for Homeless Veterans in New Orleans, said even though the program is specifically designed to help people with substance abuse and mental health issues, Robertson still could have received assistance.
The majority of homeless people suffer from some form of mental illness, from schizophrenia to depression, Rocky said. But many either don’t realize it or don’t want to admit to it out of pride or embarrassment.
If Robertson agreed to a health screening, more than likely he would have been diagnosed with some form of depression and that would have been enough for him to be admitted into the program, Rocky said.
“If a person is living on the streets, he may not think he’s depressed but almost all of them are and that’s enough to be diagnosed with a mental health issue and get into our program,” Rocky said. “We have lowered the bar so much that even if you’ve only been homeless for one day we’re going to take you in.”
Before entering the program, however, veterans must submit to a full medical screen including a mental health exam and that often causes problems.
“We don’t turn veterans down but when we explain they have to go through a mental health screening they get paranoid and defensive and end up refusing help,” Rocky said.
Robertson, thinking he was ineligible for the program since he was not a drug addict, said he did not get far enough along in the process to learn about the medical screening.
In 1990, the VA conducted a study of 10,000 homeless veterans and found that 9,400 suffered from some form of chronic mental illness. Based on these results, its homeless program has been geared toward helping people with substance abuse and mental health issues.
The VA refers homeless veterans to one of five halfway houses it has contracts with in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Hammond. The New Orleans area site — Gateway Recovery System in Harvey — only accepts people with substance abuse problems. Homeless veterans with mental health issues are sent to Baton Rouge or Hammond.
No room at the inn
Capacity, however, is a problem. The VA has 121 available beds in New Orleans compared with 171 before Hurricane Katrina, a 29 percent decrease.
It is anticipated there will be an additional 67 beds in the New Orleans area by the end of the year. However, the number of homeless veterans in New Orleans is estimated to be 1,800 or 15 percent of the 12,000 homeless in the city, according to Unity.
“We never had this bad a problem with homeless veterans,” Miller said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Sitting on the balcony of his hotel, Robertson stared across the street at an apartment for rent but at $700 per month, it was out of his price range. The VA pays him $931 per month for disability and medical care. He has petitioned for an increase but has so far been turned down.
“Nobody can live on that type of money, especially with the cost of living like it is in New Orleans,” he said.
As the sun set, Robertson prepared to make the mile-long walk back to the Claiborne bridge underpass where he lived for nearly two years. He goes every day but can only venture out in the early morning or late evening because the mid-day heat aggravates and enflames the psoriasis on his back he contracted while trudging through the South American forests during his days in the military.
Robertson said he returns to the underpass because there are still veterans living there in tents and sleeping bags, searching for help that has yet to come.
“I feel sorry for these veterans,” he said. “They need to be honored and given their full benefits, but the VA hasn’t helped them. The reason I’m speaking out now is because those of us from the Vietnam era don’t want to see the same thing happen to the kids coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. And we see them every time we go to the hospital. Unfortunately, many of them will end up under some bridge as well, just like us.”•
