Dr. Jennifer Grigoriou is a clinical psychologist who works as a case manager at the U.S. Vets site in Long Beach’s Villages at Cabrillo.

Nick Diamantides
Staff Writer

According to the most recent U.S. Veterans Administration (V.A.) statistics, on any given night in 2009, more than 75,000 U.S. veterans were homeless. In that same year, more than 136,000 veterans experienced homelessness at least temporarily.

“Approximately five percent of the homeless veterans are women,” said Dr. Jennifer Grigoriou, a clinical psychologist who works as a clinical case manager at the U.S. Vets site in Long Beach’s Villages at Cabrillo.

According to Grigoriou, there are about 166,000 female veterans nationwide, and most of them live in California. She explained that U.S. Vets is on the cutting edge of the development of programs specifically designed for female veterans. “In 2007, when they began developing the women’s programs, no one else had thought to do so,” she said, adding that only the Long Beach U.S. Vets site offers services and programs tailored for female veterans.

“Out of the 550 vets that we house here, only 50 of them are females,” Grigoriou said, adding that the female veterans’ transitional-housing program was started in Long Beach in 2007. She also explained that in the early years of the program, the main emphasis was on helping the female veterans overcome drug and alcohol habits and addictions. As the program continued, however, U.S. Vets staff discovered that many female veterans were having a harder time overcoming obstacles than their male counterparts.

“There are a lot of factors that contribute to a female veteran becoming homeless,” Grigoriou said. “Things like little or no social support, no family to depend on, substance abuse, domestic violence, and depending on someone else for the basic necessities of life are all things that impact women very strongly.” She added that women who have experienced military sexual trauma (MST) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have an even more difficult time coping with civilian life.

“We discovered that many female veterans need more than just a few months in our transitional housing to recuperate,” Grigoriou said. “That’s why we now house the women here for up to two years.”

Read More at the Signal Tribune

This is a part of the Signal Tribune series on U.S.VETS- Long Beach

See flyer below for details:

ABC13
Tom Abrahams

HOUSTON (KTRK) — It’s a place to call home for men and women who have proudly served this country. A new housing development here in Houston will serve veterans in need.

John Sandel can’t wait to get his own place, like this a small efficiency in midtown that’s housing otherwise homeless veterans like him.

“I’m think this is a program that’s really needed. Some times, a lot of people don’t know about it and I think it needs to be said,” the US Marine veteran said.

Right now, Sandel has a roommate and is one of 300 veterans living in the Midtown Terrace, a place for vets needing a home, job placement, and counseling. But it is busting at the seams because of need most don’t even realize exists.

“They’re proud of our veterans. They like to wave the flags when they come back. But they don’t understand, I think, the long term commitment after somebody serves in the military the difficulties they have adjusting to civilian life,” said Tom Mitchell, state director of the U.S.Vets.

But now, there is more help.

“This is a milestone and it is an important step,” Houston Mayor Annise Parker said.

Parker was at the Thursday groundbreaking for an additional 192-unit apartment building for veterans. The Terrace Street Plaza Apartments will give more than just a home to those in need.

Continue reading at ABC13
(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

(From left) Jaclyn Paxton serves as jobs developer, and La Trice McBride is a career counselor at the Women Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program.

Nick Diamantides
Staff Writer

A woman re-entering civilian life after years of military service often has to deal with issues that make it difficult to cope with life. The Long Beach U.S. Veterans Initiative center located at Villages at Cabrillo now has a program specifically designed to address those issues. It’s called the Women Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (WHVRP), and its purpose is to reach out to female veterans with the comprehensive services that they need in order to be able to maintain a healthy lifestyle and have stable housing.

“We are finding that the needs and issues of female veterans are different than the needs and issues of male veterans,” said Jaclyn Paxton, WHVRP jobs developer. “The Veterans Administration has realized this and has established women’s clinics and other programs specifically designed to address the needs of female veterans.”

Paxton, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1999 to 2007, noted that in recent years the awareness of military sexual trauma (MST) has greatly increased, and often that is a part of the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experienced by many combat veterans. Paxton defined sexual trauma as unwanted physical contact, sexual assault, and rape. “The PTSD and MST can lay dormant for a long while until something triggers it,” Paxton said. She explained that when either or both of those conditions surfaces in a woman’s emotions, she may have an extremely difficult time dealing with even the minor everyday challenges of life.

La Trice McBride, WHVRP career counselor, elaborated. “Many women veterans don’t even realize that they are suffering with PTSD and/or MST,” she said. “They are in denial. As women, we tend to stuff traumatic experiences inside of us and just hope that they will go away, but eventually the pain just boils over.”

Read More at the Signal Tribune

This is a part of the Signal Tribune series on U.S.VETS- Long Beach
Read Part 1 at the Signal Tribune

Life is not without its challenges, and no one knows this better than Nathaniel Simmons. Nathaniel, 56, has traveled a rocky road on becoming the person he is today. The Prescott resident, who grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, has learned to define his challenges, not let them define him.

Adversity came early in Nathaniel’s life. During his childhood, he was severely abused. “I held this in for many years, keeping it to myself, building up baggage in my life. Events early in my life led to my falling into drug addiction, and spending time in prison,” says Nathaniel. Addressing his past was a liberating experience for Nathaniel. “When I was able to name it, claim it, and let it go, I became free of it,” he says.

Drug addiction caused many trials in Nathaniel’s life. The hardships it created permeated Nathaniel’s marriage. He and his wife separated for a period due to his drug use. “We were, by the grace of God, eventually able to come back together and continue our marriage,” says Nathaniel. This past November, they celebrated 35 years of marriage.

Nathaniel served in the U.S. Air Force, where his first tour of duty was in Misawa, Japan. He was assigned top-secret work, which included translating the Morse code. “I am proud and honored to have had such an important job,” says Nathaniel. He served 7 years in the Air Force.

While still in his addiction, Nathaniel lost both his mother and son. In 1989, he lost his mother to lung cancer. “She was a God-loving woman and wonderful mother,” says Nathaniel. Ten years later, his son was shot and killed. Nathaniel said the losses motivated him to fight his drug addiction.

In August 2012, Nathaniel will celebrate 5 years of being drug-free. He, however, acknowledges that even being drug-free, life still has its challenges. He was saddened by the loss of his father a couple years ago, but says he found consolation in realizing his dad went home knowing that Nathaniel had 3 years drug-free.

Nathaniel came to U.S. VETS-Prescott in 2008, and spent a year in the program. He says U.S.VETS played a significant role in his recovery and growth. His time in the program has helped him realize that no matter what obstacles and trials come his way, he can muster the fortitude to overcome them. “I am grateful that U.S.VETS believed in me and gave me a chance to make the best of my life,” says Nathaniel.

“We do recover,” says Nathaniel. “I’m a living testimony of that. I could have been dead a long time ago, but by God’s grace, I’m still here. Everyone has a purpose in life. My purpose is to share my strengths, hopes, and dreams. I hope to show others that we can change our lives and have a positive impact on society.”

Nathaniel works as a health care tech and peer support specialist for the Veterans Administration in Prescott. “My responsibilities include giving lectures and conducting classes on topics such as overcoming addiction, mitigating stress and facilitating a successful rehabilitation,” says Nathaniel. He says that empathizing with veterans encountering addiction challenges comes natural for him as he too has faced those same challenges.

What Nathaniel says he is most grateful for is having today: “I am grateful that God woke me up in my right mind, that I am clean and sober, and in a position to help others.”

In his spare time, Nathaniel enjoys listening to old school and gospel music, and singing in the choir at his church.

In 2011 – 38 years after graduating from high school – Nathaniel received his Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services from Old Dominion University in Prescott, Arizona. Nathaniel says that he is really proud of this accomplishment because it took him so many years to obtain. He complete his last semester making the Dean’s List. Nathaniel’s message to the young and old alike is “Never give up on your dreams. No matter what age you are, you can obtain your education endeavors.”

Nathaniel will start his Master of Social Work program this spring at Arizona State University. “I ultimately would like to pursue a doctorate degree,” says Nathaniel. But he said that he realizes the importance of taking things in life one step at a time. It is this focus and certitude that has allowed him to garner the confidence to overcome life’s challenges.

Military veterans dealing with joblessness, hunger, substance abuse and even homelessness have a place to which they can turn in Long Beach. It’s the U.S. Vets center, which is located at the Villages at Cabrillo Housing.
“Our mission is to provide assistance to any struggling veterans. We are here to help them in any way we can,” said Greg McCormack, site director for the U.S. Vets facility in Long Beach. He explained that the help comes in the form of housing, employment assistance, case management and counseling that helps the men and women deal with issues that are plaguing them.
U.S. Vets, a nonprofit organization, was founded 18 years ago in Inglewood, and it has operated the facility in Villages at Cabrillo for about 12 years. The organization maintains 12 similar centers across the United States.
“We provide programs to veterans who are homeless or who are at risk of homelessness,” McCormack noted. “The programs are at no cost to them and fully supported by our organization.”

Read More at the Signal Tribune

AZCEH provides limited fiduciary services for the Arizona Veterans StandDown Coalition, an unincorporated association of 30+ member agencies.

For more information about the Arizona Coalition to End Homelessness, visit www.azceh.org. AZCEH is a 501(c)(3), Non-Profit Tax ID #: 86-0909029

For more information about Arizona StandDown, please the AZCEH website at www.arizonastanddown.org.

For information or inquiry, email Jennifer Grigoriou (jgrigoriou@usvetsinc.org) or La Trice McBride (lmcbride@usvetsinc.org).

In 2011, U.S.VETS hosted the first National Women’s Stand Down at the Rainbow Lagoon Park in Long Beach in collaboration with the Department of Labor Women’s Bureau. It was a very successful event, with incredible support from the community, and the 95 Veteran Service agencies who provided free mental health, medical, financial, legal, housing, benefits, clothing, beauty, massage, and employment services. Overall attendance for the event was 498.

2011 Women Veterans Stand Down in Long Beach, CA

News coverage from 2011 Women’s Stand Down:

• LA Times: Stand Down begins tailoring services for female veterans
• Long Beach Post: State’s First-ever Homeless Female Vets Stand Down Being Hosted in Long Beach

Crowds of parade-goers stretched a mile through the center of the city on a crisp winter’s day, many waving American flags, with the metallic Gateway Arch glistening in the background in an event reminiscent of parades following World War One and World War Two.

“I’m just loving it,” said Staff Sergeant Chris Green, 35, who volunteered for the Missouri National Guard two months after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington and was part of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

“When I heard this was happening I was choked up to say the least,” Green said. “With the president cutting back (on the military), for Missouri to pull this together despite everything is just outstanding, absolutely outstanding.”

While the invasion of Iraq quickly toppled Saddam Hussein, the country descended into sectarian violence and an occupation that dragged on for nearly nine years before the last U.S. forces pulled out in December.

For President Barack Obama, the military pullout fulfilled an election promise to bring troops home from a conflict he inherited from his predecessor that evolved into the most unpopular U.S. war since Vietnam.

There have been no major pomp-and-circumstance homecoming events for the returning veterans save for scattered small events since the last U.S. troops left Iraq, including a speech by Obama at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, thanking veterans for their service.

Read the full article.

Video of the Parade from Huffington Post:

Mr. Czyzyk has visited nearly 100 nations and has established business operations in more than 45 countries during his career, which started in the airline industry. He joined Mercury Air Group, Inc. in 1984 and established the company’s cargo division. Later, as Chairman of the Board, he privatized the company in 2006, after nearly three decades on the American Stock Exchange.

Civic activism is a cornerstone of Mr. Czyzyk’s career. Prior to joining the Board of Directors at U.S.VETS, he served as Chairman of the Board of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce—the oldest and most prestigious business association in the City of Angels.

He is a past president of the City of Los Angeles Board of Taxicab Commissioners, having served on the Commission since its inception in 1998 until his retirement in 2008. Mr. Czyzyk has the distinction of having served as a City Commissioner under the last three consecutive Mayors of Los Angeles.

He also serves as Treasurer of the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC), and as a member of the Board of Governors of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) and sits on the Board of Visitors, Graduate School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University.

Mr. Czyzyk is a decorated U.S. Veteran, having volunteered for two tours of duty (1966-1969) with U.S. Navy Mobile Construction Battalions (Seabees), in the U.S. and the Republic of Vietnam. He is a proud Board Member of the CEC/Seabee Historical Foundation, helping to carry on the Seabees’ “can do” tradition.

Mr. Czyzyk is a graduate of California State University at Los Angeles. He and his wife, Faye, are Los Angeles residents and are the parents of four adult children and have one grandson.