Despite the dreariest of dreary days, there is always plenty for which we can be thankful. Although Thanksgiving Day is a reservedly annual holiday to highlight our gratitude (after which we blitzkrieg stores on Black Friday), our homeless veterans population festers. Like others, my area has stalwart stewards of kindness and selflessness who go out of their way to serve the homeless veterans as best possible.
Some of these servants are veterans themselves. Others are law enforcement officers. Some are a combination of both. No matter which walks of life they derive, tirelessly they work to freshly-cloth, unsparingly feed, and socially enable the downtrodden veterans population in the Tampa Bay region. Doing the right thing, a former soldier and retired law enforcement officer friend of mine epitomizes a servant’s heart and dedicates his calendar to pulling veterans from the edge of despair.
Tampa Homeless Outreach
Honorably discharged as a US Army staff sergeant, Thomas “T-man” Brown is a tall figure who is often astride a motorcycle among others in the Patriot Guard riders realm. Chronically up before the sun, T-man is out and about until service to veterans is accomplished and bunk-time beckons.
Indeed, in life and in death T-man escorts veterans home as well as homes in on veterans doing without much, if any, sustenance. Although he does not don a cape, he responds when assistance is summoned. Operating within a 501 (c)(3) non-profit, T-Man is a veteran outreach coordinator for the Tampa Homeless Outreach, the credo of which is “Completing the mission for those who served.”
Sometimes the mission doesn’t go according to plan, such as the following graphic illustration I located researching this piece:
https://twitter.com/MilitaryEarth/status/932341692392284160
Like any facet in life among a free-to-roam society like ours, some individuals fall through the cracks and/or do not wish to be found. In January 2014, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the US Interagency Council on Homelessness estimated 49,933 veterans were categorically homeless. The homeless veteran demographic has gone down since.
According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, “[In 2016], communities across America identified 39,471 homeless veterans during point-in-time counts. This represents a substantial decrease (56 percent) in the number of homeless veterans counted in 2010. Though veterans continue to remain over represented in the homeless population in America, these recent decreases demonstrate the marked progress that has been made in ending veteran homelessness.”
The NAEH analyzed, “Homeless veterans tend to be male (91 percent), single (98 percent), live in a city (76 percent), and have a mental and/or physical disability (54 percent). Black veterans [and Hispanics] are substantially overrepresented among homeless veterans, comprising 39 percent of the total homeless veteran population but only 11 percent of the total veteran population.” The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans claims African Americans and Hispanics comprise 40 percent of homeless veterans.
Law Enforcement Roles
Synonymous and working in-tandem with T-man and Tampa Homeless Outreach are Tampa Bay-area law enforcement agencies whose assigned duties are to locate, ascertain the welfare of, and facilitate resources for the county’s homeless population. The Homeless Initiative Team (HIT) contingents with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the Tampa Police Department patrol and address homeless-based responsibilities within their respective jurisdictions.
Members of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Homeless Initiative Team (HIT) span the entire county and aid homeless individuals they come upon. (Credit: Facebook/HCSO Homeless Initiative Team)
The Temple Terrace Police Department, a small suburban force in Hillsborough County, partakes when extra arms/legs and vehicles are needed to lift and transport donated furniture as well as serve at food-sharing events. TTPD’s cop who participates, Gregory Stevanus, is a military veteran whose service with the US Army included redeployment to the Middle East while his cop career was made safe via the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.
Traditionally, military service and law enforcement duty overlap to a great degree. So it makes sense that both service-oriented professions rely on each other out in the field. As a midnight-shift cop some years ago, I came across several veteran and non-veteran homeless folks. As T-man would say it, “It feels great to help someone else out!” I attest to his words.
When any law enforcement officer contacts a homeless veteran, T-man is notified and assumes information-gathering, resource allocation and, when applicable, arranges for temporary shelter and/or permanent housing.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister and Thomas “T-man” Brown. (Credit: Tampa Homeless Outreach)
The close-weaved community in Tampa Bay is an exponential one: military veterans, cops, and merchants fuse together to aggregate goods and services for Tampa’s homeless demographic. T-man and law enforcement officials often use their own vehicles on their own time to round-up donated food and merchandise for distribution to homeless individuals and/or shelters who take them in for a duration.
The all-encompassing resource allocations T-man, community volunteers, and Tampa Bay law enforcement have garnered is truly industrious and applicable to its intended benefactors. Dental care, barbers, tow-truck services, lawn-care, bus passes, bicycles, identification replacement, Veterans Forgiveness Court, and a host of other resources are engendered.
Coinciding with writing this article is a piece published by the Media Resource Center, “Giving Thanks: 10 Companies That Give Back to Vets, Teens and More” which exposes the good of corporate America and contributions to hard-hit segments of society.
Similar, independent hearts reach-out and save souls from the streets. On November 10, 2017 Bordentown, NJ resident Kate McClure started a GoFundMe page titled “Paying it Forward.” Ms. McClure was an empty-pocketed and out-of-fuel young lady aided by a homeless veteran who provided her his last $20 to refill her car with fuel. Touched by his grace and humility as she was stranded in a not-so-good part of Philly, the young woman launched a heavily-trending GoFundMe campaign and raised $337,000. for her savior to redirect his life in a different direction. A proverbial win-win.
Kate McClure and “Johnny,” a homeless veteran who aided her with his last $20. to buy a gas can/fuel when she was stranded in an unsafe part of Philly. (Credit: Kate McClure/GoFundMe page)
Modesty of Man
Every time T-man is given kudos and gratitude by his legion of fans, his unwavering response is “I’m just a dude!” Being one of them, I can tell you that countless individuals consider that dude housing a servant’s heart has a battalion behind him, modesty aside. And during this seasonal holiday of extending gratitude, T-man finds every day a blessing.
Rhetoric aside, every day is a day to be thankful. Similar, every day is Veteran’s Day, since each of the nation-serving soldiers assured us the privilege to exude patriotism…and patronage when and where we can on the daily.
One of many Tampa Homeless Outreach tables comprising Thanksgiving Dinner bags for homeless veterans. (Credit: Thomas “T-man” Brown)
We are thankful to veterans who, despite the sometimes inexplicable post-military existence, stand in another’s corner…akin to a ringside trainer. I suspect each veteran huddled under a tree or splayed on a bus bench or foxholed in a public park counts on people like T-man. I know I do, and that dude doesn’t disappoint. He wears his oath on his sleeve.
The oath taken by freedom fighters in defense of liberty, and many a soldier harbor these words. Veterans know this inscription like they know their own name, a great deal for which to be thankful. (Credit: Wreaths Across America)
Even here at home, in Anytown USA…you can practically hear the heartfelt Oath, often spoken via tired eyes or shaken hands or prosthetic limbs.
A soldier. A veteran. A citizen. A human seeking an outstretched hand and anything resembling the glint of dog tags. Some want help. Others wish to be left alone in whatever battle they are warring. The commonality of PTSD in our veterans is a stark reality, and we often hear of disastrous but otherwise preventable conclusions. Too many variables brewing in anyone’s head requires patient listening and deep understanding pertaining to the mind-based bog propelled by PTSD.
Travesties of military service and wartime conflicts often equate to a warrior burdened by inexplicable circumstances. Many homeless veterans wander the streets racked with the weight of the world and battling the complexities of PTSD. (Credit: Facebook/Barber Shop Beard Club)
“Like the general homeless population, veterans are at a significantly increased risk of homelessness if they have low socioeconomic status, a mental health disorder, and/or a history of substance abuse. Yet, because of veterans’ military service, this population is at higher risk of experiencing traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), both of which have been found to be among the most substantial risk factors for homelessness,” reported the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
People who live the oath are always on or near the frontlines, readied to be a battle buddy and pull those from the brink of self-destruction. The reality is inexcusable. The stats are stark reminders of military veterans who wander, severely impacted, lacking a functional compass.
“In January 2015, New Orleans became the first major city to announce that it had ended veteran homelessness. Since then, a total of 2 states and 29 communities have effectively ended veteran homelessness, and many others are on track to join them,” the National Alliance to End Homelessness articulated. Knowing T-man and company, I’m confident Tampa Bay will be among the geographical success stories championing the end of homeless veterans living on streets and in parks.
We can do more, much more. We counted on them, now they count on us. Sometimes all they truly need is a helping hand from just…a dude.
As retired Staff Sergeant Thomas “T-man” Brown corresponded with me recently, his closing salutation followed: “Still Standing For Those Who Stood For Us – It’s not about us, it’s about the men and women that we honor.”
