Camden homeless shelter opens 30-bed wing for veterans
CAMDEN — At 8:15 Wednesday morning, Brigadier Gen. James J. Grant made a call to commanders on the ground in Afghanistan. He spoke with two officers from the New Jersey National Guard’s 117th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion: Lt. Col. Paul Rumberger and Major Gen. Ed Dowgin.
The conversation among the three lasted only a few minutes — just long enough for Grant to explain that he would attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony that day for a new homeless shelter for veterans in the Delaware Valley.
There was silence on the line. Then came the response from overseas:
“Thank you.”
According to the Delaware Valley chapter of Volunteers of America, which opened the new, 20,000-square-foot wing of its Camden homeless shelter specifically designed for veterans, 20 percent of all homeless people in Camden County are veterans.
Nationally, the chapter says, there are 100,000 homeless veterans on the streets on any given night. Nearly half of them are Vietnam War veterans, and 18 percent have what Volunteers of America describes as “serious mental health issues.” In addition, homeless veterans are more likely to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
“I am speaking to you now from what used to be just a parking lot,” said Gina Adams, chief operating officer of Volunteers of America in the Delaware Valley and director of the new homeless veterans’ shelter on Atlantic Avenue. She stood among local military and legislative officials applauding the new facility.
She added: “We started this many years ago with just a grant application — and a wing and a prayer.”
Volunteers of America has been operating the Aletha R. Wright Vision of Hope Center for homeless, single men since 1991. However, according to Volunteers of America Delaware Valley CEO Dan Lombardo, officials at the nonprofit noticed an increasing number of U.S. military veterans among the men they were assisting.
“Absolutely, there were a lot of veterans coming through here, and we were helping them, getting them to the [Department of Veterans Affairs], and we decided to have this new facility for them, so they can have more privacy and so we can better serve their needs,” he said.
Officials broke ground on the new wing, called “Home of the Brave,” on March 27. Funded through a “patchwork” of state and federal grants, contributions from local banks and private donations, the project cost $2.4 million, according to Lombardo.
The veterans’ wing houses 30 beds — two in each dormitory-sized room — as well as multiple common areas and interview rooms.
There is already a waiting list of about 30 homeless veterans, many of whom are residents of various “tent cities” in Camden County, ready to move in, the CEO said.
“We have several from the tent cities on the way,” Lombardo said. “We hope to have the shelter filled by the end of the month.”
Grant, the Joint Staff director at the New Jersey National Guard Joint Force headquarters at Fort Dix, said it was “absolutely unacceptable” that so many veterans find themselves homeless after returning from serving their country abroad.
He applauded officials who championed the expansion, stating they understand the problem of homeless veterans that’s facing this country.
“You not only get it, but you get it right,” he said.
Later, he added: “When I was speaking to the commanders on the ground in Afghanistan, I told them what I was going to be doing today, and they said ‘Thank you,’ because they know the soldiers are going to come home after serving — and they know that some are going to have issues, and some could become homeless.”
Volunteers Of America
- 676 Fairview St Camden NJ 08104
- (856) 757-9102