Connecting veterans to food assistance

Going from the structure of military service to the lack of structure in civilian life was hard, the 34-year-old said. Cooper also suffered from anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Homelessness among veterans is an “epidemic,” Cooper said.

“There should not be one American hero on the streets,” said Cooper, who volunteered for the Veterans of Foreign Wars at the Chicago Standdown at the Northwest Armory in Humboldt Park in June.

The Chicago Standdown is a biannual gathering of government and nonprofit organizations that provides military veterans with food, clothing, haircuts and various other resources. The Greater Chicago Food Depository’s staff and volunteers distributed bags of canned goods and fresh produce to more than 200 veterans at this Standdown.

Food Depository staff also connected veterans to needed assistance, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and Medicaid. Separately, staff with Chicago’s Community Kitchens, the Food Depository’s culinary job training program, recruited prospective students.

About 18 percent of the households served by the Food Depository have at least one military veteran or active duty service member.

The Food Depository has in recent years ramped up efforts to help Cook County veterans, including distribution to food pantries at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center and the Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital.

In recent years, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness has declined, but many still need our help. Nationally, there are more than 37,800 veterans experiencing homelessness, according to the January 2018 “point-in-time” count administered every year by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

More than 800 of those veterans live in Illinois, according to the data. Both the state and national figures have declined in recent years, a positive trend that reflects the success of some housing efforts. But, as Cooper said, even one is too many.

More generally, many veterans face food insecurity, which means they lack consistent access to affordable and nutritious food.

Henry Montgomery, 68, served in the Navy from 1969 to 1974. After military service, Montgomery was a truck driver for more than 30 years. Upon quitting his job, he became homeless. And in 2014, as his health deteriorated, he visited the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center for help. There, the staff connected Montgomery with housing and SNAP benefits.

“Sometimes as a veteran you can be afraid to ask for help,” Montgomery said. “But when I started asking for help and going to events like this, my life got way better.”