Senator Brown toured the Cleveland VA’s Domiciliary. It’s a housing and program facility that provides veterans with a place to live and look for work.
Susan Fuehrer, Director of the Medical Center was peppered by the Senator with questions about the operation….such as how many beds are being used.
“We have 122 beds, and it’s just about always full. We got one vacant bed,” replies Fuehrer.
“How long is the average stay?” asks Brown.
“The average stay is about 60 days.”
“Of the 120, how many of them typically would be getting some sort of mental health counseling, or treatment of some sort?”
“75 percent.”
“75 percent….” repeats Brown.
The Ohio Democrat has introduced proposals that include letting the VA develop public-private partnerships in order to help vets with legal issues, boost transitional housing programs, and expand existing programs that help former soldiers find jobs. Veterans who’ve served since 9/11 have a 10 percent unemployment rate.
“We owe it to them, with mental health counseling and job training and helping them in their job search and housing them during that period when they’re struggling.”
Brown’s proposals also include expanding services and support for women veterans. He says as most homeless vets are men, many existing facilities can’t serve women and their kids.