4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2015 Veterans:7KH\QHHGPRUHWKDQKRXVLQJWROHDGDIXO¿OOLQJOLIH Continued from Page 1A The program can af- ford to spend about $600 a month on a single veteran’s housing needs, yet few landlords in the communi- ty rent apartments and housing units for that amount, he said. Coy has housed several veterans in the region, and has worked with cases involving single veterans, to veterans with a family of four living out of a car. Three veterans are scheduled to be housed soon, he said, but 11 addition- al veterans who qualify for the program must wait for hous- ing to become available. “It’s a national problem,” Coy added. Bottom-line barrier The Northwest Oregon Housing Authority runs a program, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, called the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing. The program’s primary tool to support veterans is a “VASH” voucher, a relatively new asset for Clatsop, Colum- bia and Tillamook counties that helps veterans rent from a private landlord. Right now, 41 vouchers have been allo- cated to the service area. “We’re excited and hope we can get more VASH vouchers on board,” said Todd Johnston, executive director of the housing authority. But the scarce housing op- tions can prevent the vouch- ers from doing much good. “That’s the biggest issue we’ve seen right now, is a lack of available housing — just units in general, whether it’s low-income affordable, or just market-rate units,” he said. “Even people with a voucher that can rent a market-rate unit, there’s just nothing available right now in all the three counties that we serve.” Herzig said housing YRXFKHUV DPRXQW WR D ³¿VK- ing license”: They allow peo- ple to hunt but do not guar- antee a catch — and veterans with vouchers in hand often remain homeless simply be- cause homes are in short sup- ply. Local landlords some- times evict veterans and other tenants because the landlords can make more money during the summer with a weekly or weekend rental than with a monthly rental, Coy said. And the money to be made on short-term vacation rentals dissuades develop- ers from building affordable housing, Herzig said, adding that he’s heard developers say the bottom-line is better served by building boutique housing. Fighting for home Photos by Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian ABOVE: The crowd listens during the Lower Columbia Diversity Project’s Helping Our Heroes: Addressing Veteran Homelessness in Clatsop County panel discussion Sunday. BELOW: Hannah Silverman, with the U.S. Coast Guard, gives a presentation Sunday about homeless veterans during the Lower Columbia Diversity Project’s panel. abuse care and aftercare. Without these services, many veterans risk sliding into homelessness. Dan Brown, a U.S. Army veteran living in Restoration House in Seaside, shared his story of post-traumatic stress and personal tragedy that led him to drugs and alcohol and, from there, to committing a robbery that landed him in prison for 10 years. Though he’s been sober for 11 years and is working to put his past behind him, Brown’s felony charge makes him, in most circumstances, unemploy- able and unhouseable. Patrick Preston, a disabled veterans employment repre- sentative for the Oregon Em- ployment Department who served in the U.S. Army, said post-traumatic stress, borne of experiencing emotional intensity day after week af- ter month after year, is inde- scribable. “It just doesn’t come down overnight, sometimes never,” he said, adding that veterans must often be housed in a sta- ble environment before case- workers can effectively begin to address veterans’ personal development. Decent housing — a safe space for people to work, play, raise families and live their lives — is a main factor that determines the health of individuals and communities. “Housing actually has a whole lot more to do with health than a lot of people re- alize,” Brian Mahoney, direc- tor of Clatsop County Public Health, said. Johnston said he once heard a landlord, after dis- covering the challenges many YHWHUDQV ² VSHFL¿FDOO\ IRU- mer felons — confront just to get a roof over their head, re- mark: “These veterans fought for our home. Now it’s time IRUXVWR¿JKWIRUWKHLUV´ CO M IN G IN FEBRUARY! 2016 ED ITIO N of th e a w a rd-w in n in g publica tion from th e publish ers of Coa st W eeken d A LL and Current M ilit ar y P er s o n n el ea t fo r Veterans need more than KRXVLQJ WR OHDG D IXO¿OOLQJ life after serving their coun- try, according to Hannah Silverman, an emergency response specialist and ac- tive duty member of the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Colum- bia River who opened the presentation. They need access to healthcare, nutritious meals, psychological counseling and, sometimes, substance ⁄ 2 P R IC E 1 Veterans day w ed, Nov 11th C h ec k o u t o u r D aily S o u p & Lu n c h S p ec ials Monday - Fri day • Open dai ly at 11am 1 BLOCK OFF BROADWAY • 1 BLOCK FROM BEACH 20 N. COLUMBIA, SEASIDE • 503-738-4331 NormasSeaside.com I Am Thankful T h e on ly region a l m a ga zin e focused on just th e Colum bia - P a cific region This is the time of year when we reflect on our lives and our blessings There are many that list something they are thankful for each day in November on social media. On Thanksgiving Day, The Daily Astorian will dedicate a full page in our classified section to the community, allowing a time to share something you are thankful for. T here is a 20 w ord m axim u m for each su b m ission . T his allow s m ore p eop le to p articip ate. How to p articip ate: em a il you r “ I a m tha n k fu l” to- hla rk in s @ d a ilya s toria n .com or m a il to- The Da ily A s toria n , P.O . Box 210, A s toria , O R 97103, A ttn : Holly La rk in s Dea d lin e: N o vem b er 2 0th a t 5pm . RES ERVE YO UR S PACE TO DAY! Advertisin g dea dlin e: D ecem ber 18th , 2015