HUNTER ARMY AIRFIELD, Ga. - Though only about eight percent of all Americans are veterans, nearly 20 percent of all homeless Americans are veterans and about 1.5 million more are on the verge of becoming homeless because of poverty, lack of support networks and dismal living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing, according to a joint study by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Soldiers from Hunter Army Airfield and Fort Stewart teamed with a local nonprofit organization to assist these homeless veterans at the 8th Annual Veterans Stand Down for Homelessness at the Savannah Civic Center, Sept. 13.
"We're here on a joint venture to feed our veterans, the ones who led the way here -- without them, we wouldn't be where we are today," said Sgt. Frank Carson, Stewart-Hunter Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers president. "Some of the veterans behind me, they're going through hard times right now. And we're showing the support we need to show them and we're giving back to them."
The BOSS Soldiers, along with Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade and the 3rd Military Police Group, handed out bags filled with toiletries to the veterans and assisted Savannah Feed the Hungry, with their food distribution to the hundreds of homeless citizens who walked through the Civic Center doors.
The BOSS Soldiers volunteer regularly at Savannah Feed the Hungry, a nonprofit organization, located in Garden City that offers free produce -- donated by local suppliers -- to the needy at least twice a week. The charity was founded two years ago by Reverend Carl Gilliard, who said that each year they have 11 community dinners, 96 food giveaways and 46 outreach opportunities. Volunteers go out to areas where they know the homeless gather to bring them food. At their Life Center, they also offer after school programs, Spanish programs and cooking and dietary classes.
"We're here because of the veterans who have paid so much for our freedom," said Gilliard. "We know that [a large percentage] of the homeless population are veterans, so we're here to stand down with them, give them some treats, vegetables, some fruit and serve them because they spent so much time serving us."
Gilliard can empathize with the homeless veterans; he said he lost a good-paying job and he and his Family of six lost everything.
"When you've worked very hard, made a very good income and one day you go into the office and they say, 'we no longer need your services' and your Family doesn't have a meal …" Gilliard trailed off. "My Family was down to two pieces of bread and a piece of bologna -- a wife and four kids. We had nowhere to go, nowhere to turn. So out of this I made a pledge that no one would go through what we went through, going from this hotel to that hotel -- borderline homeless, with children who didn't have anything to eat."
Once he got back on his feet Gilliard, whose son Pfc. Christopher Wayne Scott Gilliard is currently deployed to Afghanistan, began to build Savannah Feed the Hungry to help Families like his own and veterans in the area.
On any given night, 107,000 veterans are homeless, according to VA estimates. In Chatham County, 419 veterans experienced homelessness in 2010, according to data from the Chatham-Savannah Authority for the Homeless.
At the Stand Down, more than 40 agencies provided information and outreach on services, including housing, employment assistance, substance abuse treatment, accesses to VA services, even showers, haircuts and clothes to the veterans.
Also taking part in the Stand Down was the U.S. Coast Guard Savannah, who passed out clothing, and the Hunter Spouses Club, who served lunch to the veterans. An ensemble from the 3rd Infantry Division Band and a color guard from the 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd CAB, took part in the opening ceremonies and Lt. Col. Ed Kovaleski, the Hunter garrison commander, gave opening remarks.
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