Portland observer., November 11, 2015, VETERAN'S DAY SPECIAL EDITION, Image 1

Black Girl in
Suburbia
VETERAN’S DAY
Special Edition
Screening with
local filmmaker to
spark a dialogue
QR code for
Portland Observer
Online
See Metro, page 11
‘City of Roses’
Volume XLIV
Number 48
Established in 1970
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • November 11, 2015
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Photo by o livia o livia /t he P ortland o bserver
Jerry Phillips (left) receives housing services as the Transition Projects in Old Town Portland with the help of fellow veteran turned mentor Kepha Israel.
Veterans
Helping
Veterans
Gains made in finding homes for those on the out
by o livia o livia
t he P ortland o bserver
A push to get all veterans in the Portland area housed
by the end of the year is being felt across the city. With
less than 50 days to reach the city’s goal of getting every
homeless veteran off the street and into housing, men
and woman at the Transition Projects are spending this
Veteran’s Day following up with clients and counting
heads.
Kepha Israel, a veteran who was once a Transition Proj-
ects client, is now a mentor for the non-profit organiza-
tion. He spends a decent amount of time at the homeless
provider’s Old Town location, near the Bud Clark Com-
mons apartments, where he leads support groups for many
returning soldiers and other people trying to rehabilitate
and stabilize their lives.
Right now, a walk-in veteran can expect a 2 to 3 week
wait for a bed at most. Alex Glover, the Transition Proj-
ects’ director of veteran services and a 2009 Navy veteran
himself, says the waits have gotten better and there are
times where clients can get in more quickly.
There are certainly obstacles, however, to keeping vet-
erans permanently housed, with the many health and eco-
nomic issues that can face homeless veterans, like post
traumatic stress disorders, physical disabilities, anxiety,
depression, and gaps in employment history.
“They’ve got these challenges, it’s true, but we’ve got
to focus on how to resolve or deal with those challeng-
es,” says Israel of the long-term goals in keeping veterans
housed. “We teach them how to make reasonable accom-
modation requests, we give them renter’s classes, we give
them a chance to talk to each other about their feelings and
experiences.”
Glover and Israel explained how anyone can walk
and make use of Transition Projects’ Rent Well classes,
which go for six weeks and give graduates a certificate
that shows landlords they have spent time learning about
the renting process. The program can guarantee a rental
payment in case of an unexpected struggle during the ear-
ly stages of tenancy.
C ontinued on P age 8