MIAMI — As we recognize those who have served in the military, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs said there were about 35,000 veterans experiencing homelessness in the country last year — a 7.4% increase since the beginning of 2022.
And though South Florida is not exempt from that issue, a new kind of program hopes to provide housing to local unhoused veterans.
Ernest Johnson said he can’t walk for more than 20 minutes due to pain in his lower body.
“I go through a lot of pain at night because I’m still in the healing process,” Johnson said.
And that isn’t from his five years as a U.S. Marine during the Vietnam War. He had a 35-year career as a painter after leaving the service and he tore a disc in his vertebrae while on the job last year that needed three surgeries.
“Five screws on each side. And a rod there to accommodate those screws,” Johnson said as he showed CBS News Miami his scars.
He was in the hospital for five months and couldn’t work, so he lost the apartment he lived in. Someone at his church got him in touch with the On Your 6 Foundation, which provides housing and services for veterans in need.
Within an hour before leaving the hospital, Johnson was able to find a new home here at the Modern Towers Apartments in Homestead through the Safe Haven Program.
The Safe Haven Program helps homeless veterans by placing them in these units for 90 days to help get them back on their feet.
Program manager Y.G. Nyghtstorm said this is a vital service since there’s now a new state law in effect banning people from sleeping in public.
“When you have nowhere to go and you have served this country and there’s nothing in your bank account and you can get arrested for sleeping on the street, then we have a problem,” Nyghtstorm said.
Johnson said the program is why he didn’t end up homeless. The program helped him get a HUD voucher and he now lives in the building full time. Five decades after his service, his country hasn’t forgotten about him.
“You can’t put a price on this kind of help,” Johnson said. “Instead of looking down on you, they’re willing to pick you up.”
The On Your 6 Foundation said they have 190 units available, and they can house up to 800 veterans in total. They’ve successfully placed 77 veterans in permanent housing.
