As we marked our country’s 250th anniversary this year, it is a time to reflect on our history and those whose sacrifices made America.
Veterans gave up everything: their comfort, their health, their safety. Even, in many cases, their lives. We, as a country, have long revered our veterans. We hold parades for them. This country established the Veterans Administration. And, at one point, in recognizing how many of our veterans struggled to afford basic necessities, made it simpler for them to apply for and stay on food stamps.
But as H.R. 1‘s toll continues to ring throughout this country, the very veterans who gave everything to protect our freedoms are no longer exempt from CalFresh work requirements.
These are the very veterans whom our elected leaders honor in their speeches and the very elected officials who chose to pass H.R. 1, President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
Now, along with migrants and people unable to find work, veterans are left vulnerable to poor health and hunger.
Veterans are already more susceptible to risk factors that are more likely to drive them into homelessness and make it far more difficult for them to escape it at all, whether that be lower-on-average incomes, behavioral health challenges, trauma or substance-use disorders. All of these barriers can also interfere with a person’s efforts to find and keep a job and meet H.R. 1’s new work requirements.
Of the 9,803 people who are experiencing homelessness in San Diego County today, this year’s Point-in-Time Count reported that 648 of them were veterans and of those individuals, 359 were unsheltered. Though this is an improvement over last year, when 408 veterans were unsheltered, this still means that, today, 6.6% of those who experience homelessness are veterans, the highest proportion of people experiencing homelessness behind adults over the age of 55.
As more veterans struggle to access services that could support themselves and their families as they work on ending their homelessness, we could very well see the progress we have made in our region stagnate or, worse, reverse. Food stamps are a crucial part of preventing homelessness. What we know is that even $200 a month can mean the difference between someone facing eviction or being able to pay their rent. This is just as true for civilians as it is for veterans.
Veterans additionally may require additional support to help them navigate into a permanent home. Individuals do not experience homelessness in the same way and supporting veterans means recognizing their unique circumstances. It is something we have always striven to achieve at Father Joe’s Villages.
Along with the services that are made available to everyone who is experiencing homelessness, whether that be behavioral health care, detox or Employment & Education services, we ensure that there are specific services reserved for our veterans.
This includes 80 units of housing set aside for veterans at our affordable housing community, Saint Teresa of Calcutta Village, and a multidisciplinary case management team specifically trained to help veterans work towards ending their homelessness.
As with other groups impacted by H.R. 1, we will continue to work with veterans to ensure that they are able to retain their CalFresh benefits. But we, and other frontline providers, can only do so much as hunger grows throughout our community.
What San Diego cannot afford is to allow more people, whether they are veterans or not, to fall through the cracks. This moment demands urgency: our elected officials must identify funding to ensure that all who are currently impacted by cuts to H.R. 1 do not continue to lose the services that they depend upon for their survival and, eventually, see their CalFresh benefits restored.
Just as our veterans fought for our freedoms, we have an obligation to care for them. As we reflect on what the future holds for America, let these next 250 years lead us into a future where all experience true liberty: where no one, veteran or civilian, knows hunger, ill health or homelessness.
Deacon Jim Vargas is president and CEO of Father Joe’s Villages.
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