A tiny shelter was just one stop on a successful journey.<\/p>\n
When Army Veteran LaVerne Jackson came to Los Angeles from North Carolina, she didn\u2019t intend to stay. The trip was a mission of altruism, an effort to help a battle buddy who was struggling with addiction issues.<\/p>\n
Despite doing her best to assist him, Jackson\u2019s friend relapsed and by the time she was ready to leave, airline ticket prices had increased beyond her means. She was stuck.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew if I could get to VA I would be able to get some help,\u201d she recalled. She asked a passer-by if he knew the way to West LA VA<\/a> and miraculously he was headed there for an appointment and offered to bring her along.<\/p>\n Once she arrived, VA staff immediately got her into a drop-in shelter at Care, Treatment and Rehabilitative Services (CTRS), a first-of-its-kind emergency shelter program where roughly 135 homeless Veterans live in individual, climate-controlled shelters as they begin their journeys to permanent housing.<\/p>\n It was there that Jackson got the help she needed to take control of her health and her life. \u201cYou have to strive for better. You have to be determined to get what you want,\u201d she shared.<\/p>\n In addition to the 135 primary shelters at CTRS, there are 12 drop-in units intended for Veterans in need of emergency shelter on any given evening. In the mornings, when it was time to leave the unit, Jackson would sit in the nearby rose garden and meditate. \u201cI was praying for direction,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n A staff member told her one of the main shelters was available and it was hers if she wanted it. She moved in. During her time there, Jackson worked with staff to implement a plan for permanent housing.\u00a0<\/p>\n For social worker Ryan Wines, Jackson was one of his first clients. Since then, he\u2019s seen a transformation in her. \u201cShe was able to overcome several challenges she faced at CTRS and develop her assertiveness and self-advocacy skills,\u201d Wines said.<\/p>\n Jackson also has nothing but positive things to say about Wines. \u201cHe has been awesome. He\u2019s stayed on it.\u201d She also credited Brandon Hendrix, food service contractor, for assisting her in obtaining meals aligned with her vegan lifestyle.<\/p>\n Addressing her health issues was another critical component of the time Jackson spent at CTRS. Being in close proximity to all medical facilities on campus, she was able to solve some ongoing health concerns. \u201cThe health care is phenomenal. I\u2019ve gotten so much accomplished,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Another key figure in Jackson\u2019s housing journey has been Kimberly Broughton, Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF<\/a>) lead case manager. Broughton is with SSVF community grantee Village for Vets. SSVF grantees offer rapid rehousing assistance among a variety of other supportive services for Veterans.\u00a0<\/p>\n Broughton helped her see what housing options were available. \u201cI didn\u2019t know anything about LA. She took it upon herself to look at places and she would send them to me,\u201d Jackson said of Broughton.<\/p>\n Broughton says Jackson was very shy when the two first met. \u201cNow she\u2019s very vocal and very confident. She\u2019s very honest with me and I\u2019m very honest with her. I treat Ms. Jackson how I would treat any of my family members. That\u2019s my motto,\u201d Broughton said.<\/p>\n With the help of Broughton and Wines, along with HUD-VASH Social Worker Atif Muhammed and Peer Support Specialist Ethel Butler,\u00a0Jackson was able to find an apartment in Mar Vista, a peaceful neighborhood in West LA. \u201cI thought it was going to take days to get approved, but it only took 30 minutes,\u201d Jackson said.<\/p>\n\u201cHe has been awesome. He\u2019s stayed on it.\u201d<\/h2>\n
\u201cTreat her like my own family.\u201d <\/h2>\n
![<\/a>Army Veteran LaVerne Jackson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nDespite doing her best to assist him, Jackson\u2019s friend relapsed and by the time she was ready to leave, airline ticket prices had increased beyond her means. She was stuck.<\/p>\n\u201cI knew if I could get to VA I would be able to get some help,\u201d she recalled. She asked a passer-by if he knew the way to West LA VA<\/a> and miraculously he was headed there for an appointment and offered to bring her along.<\/p>\nOnce she arrived, VA staff immediately got her into a drop-in shelter at Care, Treatment and Rehabilitative Services (CTRS), a first-of-its-kind emergency shelter program where roughly 135 homeless Veterans live in individual, climate-controlled shelters as they begin their journeys to permanent housing.<\/p>\nIt was there that Jackson got the help she needed to take control of her health and her life. \u201cYou have to strive for better. You have to be determined to get what you want,\u201d she shared.<\/p>\n\u201cHe has been awesome. He\u2019s stayed on it.\u201d<\/h2>\nIn addition to the 135 primary shelters at CTRS, there are 12 drop-in units intended for Veterans in need of emergency shelter on any given evening. In the mornings, when it was time to leave the unit, Jackson would sit in the nearby rose garden and meditate. \u201cI was praying for direction,\u201d she said.<\/p>\nA staff member told her one of the main shelters was available and it was hers if she wanted it. She moved in. During her time there, Jackson worked with staff to implement a plan for permanent housing.\u00a0<\/p>\nFor social worker Ryan Wines, Jackson was one of his first clients. Since then, he\u2019s seen a transformation in her. \u201cShe was able to overcome several challenges she faced at CTRS and develop her assertiveness and self-advocacy skills,\u201d Wines said.<\/p>\nJackson also has nothing but positive things to say about Wines. \u201cHe has been awesome. He\u2019s stayed on it.\u201d She also credited Brandon Hendrix, food service contractor, for assisting her in obtaining meals aligned with her vegan lifestyle.<\/p>\nAddressing her health issues was another critical component of the time Jackson spent at CTRS. Being in close proximity to all medical facilities on campus, she was able to solve some ongoing health concerns. \u201cThe health care is phenomenal. I\u2019ve gotten so much accomplished,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\u201cTreat her like my own family.\u201d <\/h2>\nAnother key figure in Jackson\u2019s housing journey has been Kimberly Broughton, Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF<\/a>) lead case manager. Broughton is with SSVF community grantee Village for Vets. SSVF grantees offer rapid rehousing assistance among a variety of other supportive services for Veterans.\u00a0<\/p>\nBroughton helped her see what housing options were available. \u201cI didn\u2019t know anything about LA. She took it upon herself to look at places and she would send them to me,\u201d Jackson said of Broughton.<\/p>\nBroughton says Jackson was very shy when the two first met. \u201cNow she\u2019s very vocal and very confident. She\u2019s very honest with me and I\u2019m very honest with her. I treat Ms. Jackson how I would treat any of my family members. That\u2019s my motto,\u201d Broughton said.<\/p>\nWith the help of Broughton and Wines, along with HUD-VASH Social Worker Atif Muhammed and Peer Support Specialist Ethel Butler,\u00a0Jackson was able to find an apartment in Mar Vista, a peaceful neighborhood in West LA. \u201cI thought it was going to take days to get approved, but it only took 30 minutes,\u201d Jackson said.<\/p>\nJackson\u2019s housing is subsidized through a partnership between the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and VA Supportive Housing (VASH), known as the\u00a0HUD-VASH program<\/a>. HUD-VASH combines federal housing vouchers with services from VA to assist Veterans in accessing permanent housing. SSVF has even helped her furnish her new place.<\/p>\n\u201cThe best thing that could have happened.\u201d<\/h2>\nJackson\u2019s advice to fellow Veterans is simple. \u201cStay focused and take advantage of available resources. You have to use the tools that are offered in order to overcome whatever challenges you have. Actively working with staff is also a key part of getting help.\u201d<\/p>\nJackson is working on finishing a degree in holistic medicine and looks forward to what the future has in store. \u201cThis experience made me see some things that I never would have even imagined. I think it was the best thing that could have happened.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A tiny shelter was just one stop on a successful journey. When Army Veteran LaVerne Jackson came to Los Angeles from North Carolina, she didn\u2019t intend to stay. The trip was a mission of altruism, an effort to help a battle buddy who was struggling with addiction issues. Army Veteran LaVerne Jackson Despite doing her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":252842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,170,64],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-252840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-homeless-veterans","category-inside-veterans-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=252840"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":252843,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252840\/revisions\/252843"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/252842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=252840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=252840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=252840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/news.va.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/08\/Laverne-Jackson_r1.jpg\"){kind=link}