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I have been thinking on this for a while, and today I felt like I just needed to put out some information for those who claim that they "really want to help" the "Homeless Veteran" problem in this country.
Now first of all, let me show you all a real picture of a "Homeless Veteran" I took with my cell phone about 2 weeks ago. Looks legit, right?
Well, few problems here.
Now having actually been a homeless veteran and caring about real Veterans in trouble, I thought I would spend a couple of minutes talking with him before I blew up on him. And in talking with him for less then 2 minutes, I knew he was a complete phony and fraud.
To begin with, no Marine will ever call themselves an "Ex-Marine". Period. Does not happen, once a Marine, always a Marine. So that was his first strike.
Asked him his MOS, had to explain that was his job code. He then said he was a "Logistics Specialist", so I asked him if he was an 0411 or 0431, he just said "Logistics Specialist". So he did not even know what his MOS code was, strike 2.
I asked him who he was with (military shorthand for unit), he said Marine Corps. I then specifically asked him for his unit, he said "Kilo Company". I looked at him for about 10 seconds, and no more information came forward. I prompted him again for his unit, he once again said somply "Kilo Company". No Battalion, no Regiment, nothing else. Strike 3.
I know from first hand experience that "Logistic Specialists" are not in a Company level TO&E, that is at a minimum a Battalion level position, strike 4.
He then told me he had been deployed and was a wounded veteran. He was apparently wounded in Iraq in 2002. We did not go into Iraq until 2003, strike 5.
Whenever I see somebody claiming to be a "Homeless Vet", I always stop to talk with them. When I still lived in LA I always had cards for US Vets, which I would hand to them. US Vets was a private non-profit which helped real homeless veterans. But amazingly, I almost never gave any out. This is because after talking with them for a few minutes, most showed themselves to be phonies.
I had a guy a year or so back that identified himself to me as a "19 Delta Cav Scout" to me when he came up to panhandle (was wearing my Marine Corps jacket), but had no idea what I was talking about when I said in the Marines I was the equivelent to an 11B (Infantry), or that now I was a 25B (IT, but any 18D would recognize the 25 series as being Commo). And his unit was 3rd ACR, Fort Irwin. To bad I know the 3rd ACR is in Fort Hood.
I have met guys from imaginary units (Second Battalion, Zero Marine Regiment was my favorite), guys with super-secret paperwork that shows they were spooks and their entire military career was ultra-top-secret-burn-before-reading, paperwork lost between transfer so was homeless until they straightened it out and he could go back on base, all kinds of crap. In short, most are liars and fakes, and are trying to scam money out of well-meaning people with a made up sob story.
Now for those who really want to help "Homeless Veterans", there are legitimate organizations out there that could use your money. US Vets is one I know of, and they only help real veterans. They provide transitional living, job training and placement services, and all of the assistance a real Veteran needs to get off of the streets. The biggest problems they have is in finding real vetterans who are ready to accept the help offered. Their only requirement is that the individual have a General Discharge or higher (no bad conduct or dishonerable discharges), and that the individual be drug and alcohol free for 30 days before being admitted, and stay drug and alcohol free during their entire stay with the facility.
For those that want to really help real vets, look at an organization like US Vets. You can also check your local VFW-American Legion for local organizations in your area. But do not give individuals who claim to be vets money, even if they are not liars they will likely only buy drugs or alcohol with it.
Home | U.S.VETS | United States Veterans Initiative
Piss on that guy! I belong to the American Legion Riders. We do a lot of rides and raise a lot of money for various Veterans organizations. Homes for Vets, Fisher House, Pets for Vets, etc. I've had the honor of meeting and talking to a few of these Vets who came back from war less than whole. They're humble and feel as if they've done nothing special (all the ones I've spoken to or heard speak). That POS in the photo above could never be a Marine. He's evidently lacking the dignity required to wear the uniform....of any branch.
Yeah, the "ex" jumped out at me before I finished reading the sign.
I also prefer to give money straight to organizations. Sometimes if it is a really old homeless person I'll say screw it and give the money straight to him.
I have spent a few years living in and around the DC area and there is a large homeless population. The ones that have the toughest time are the ones who are obviously mentally ill. I don't blame them for not using the resources available as they just don't function well enough to track them down. Many of them are veterans but they don't advertise it, because once again, they aren't "with it" enough mentally to realize it might help them. I don't give them money directly because I am not confident they will use it wisely. I often give them food, though.
I have also noticed another kind of "homeless" person. Let me use an example. I have been driving to work the same way the past year and every day at rush hour the same guy is standing out at a traffic light with a sign that says, "Homeless. Will work for food".
Not once have I ever stopped at that light in which some person DIDN'T give the guy money. He is a scruffy white white guy probably around 25. He is fit enough to have worn a path out walking back and forth along the median all day. By my number crunching the guy is making well more than minimum wage at that stop light.
While I am not certain, I THINK the guy is a professional panhandler. I'm not saying the guy is living the good life but perhaps he has realized he makes more money that way than getting some minimum wage job. I don't give money to professional panhandlers unless the play an instrument well or make me laugh, like the guy with a sign that said, "Ninjas killed my family. Need money for Kung-Fu lessons."
But the guys using stolen valor are pieces of ****.
I have been thinking on this for a while, and today I felt like I just needed to put out some information for those who claim that they "really want to help" the "Homeless Veteran" problem in this country.
Now first of all, let me show you all a real picture of a "Homeless Veteran" I took with my cell phone about 2 weeks ago. Looks legit, right?
Well, few problems here.
Now having actually been a homeless veteran and caring about real Veterans in trouble, I thought I would spend a couple of minutes talking with him before I blew up on him. And in talking with him for less then 2 minutes, I knew he was a complete phony and fraud.
To begin with, no Marine will ever call themselves an "Ex-Marine". Period. Does not happen, once a Marine, always a Marine. So that was his first strike.
Asked him his MOS, had to explain that was his job code. He then said he was a "Logistics Specialist", so I asked him if he was an 0411 or 0431, he just said "Logistics Specialist". So he did not even know what his MOS code was, strike 2.
I asked him who he was with (military shorthand for unit), he said Marine Corps. I then specifically asked him for his unit, he said "Kilo Company". I looked at him for about 10 seconds, and no more information came forward. I prompted him again for his unit, he once again said somply "Kilo Company". No Battalion, no Regiment, nothing else. Strike 3.
I know from first hand experience that "Logistic Specialists" are not in a Company level TO&E, that is at a minimum a Battalion level position, strike 4.
He then told me he had been deployed and was a wounded veteran. He was apparently wounded in Iraq in 2002. We did not go into Iraq until 2003, strike 5.
Whenever I see somebody claiming to be a "Homeless Vet", I always stop to talk with them. When I still lived in LA I always had cards for US Vets, which I would hand to them. US Vets was a private non-profit which helped real homeless veterans. But amazingly, I almost never gave any out. This is because after talking with them for a few minutes, most showed themselves to be phonies.
I had a guy a year or so back that identified himself to me as a "19 Delta Cav Scout" to me when he came up to panhandle (was wearing my Marine Corps jacket), but had no idea what I was talking about when I said in the Marines I was the equivelent to an 11B (Infantry), or that now I was a 25B (IT, but any 18D would recognize the 25 series as being Commo). And his unit was 3rd ACR, Fort Irwin. To bad I know the 3rd ACR is in Fort Hood.
I have met guys from imaginary units (Second Battalion, Zero Marine Regiment was my favorite), guys with super-secret paperwork that shows they were spooks and their entire military career was ultra-top-secret-burn-before-reading, paperwork lost between transfer so was homeless until they straightened it out and he could go back on base, all kinds of crap. In short, most are liars and fakes, and are trying to scam money out of well-meaning people with a made up sob story.
Now for those who really want to help "Homeless Veterans", there are legitimate organizations out there that could use your money. US Vets is one I know of, and they only help real veterans. They provide transitional living, job training and placement services, and all of the assistance a real Veteran needs to get off of the streets. The biggest problems they have is in finding real vetterans who are ready to accept the help offered. Their only requirement is that the individual have a General Discharge or higher (no bad conduct or dishonerable discharges), and that the individual be drug and alcohol free for 30 days before being admitted, and stay drug and alcohol free during their entire stay with the facility.
For those that want to really help real vets, look at an organization like US Vets. You can also check your local VFW-American Legion for local organizations in your area. But do not give individuals who claim to be vets money, even if they are not liars they will likely only buy drugs or alcohol with it.
Home | U.S.VETS | United States Veterans Initiative
Almost every single one of those see on the street with signs are professionals if panhandling is considered a profession. I never give money to any panhandler.
Panhandler Shane Warren Speegle Says He Made $60,000 A Year Begging On StreetNo soup kitchen for this beggar. Shane Warren Speegle told Oklahoma City police he made $60,000 panhandling last year.
"Why would I go get a job?" he said to an officer who approached him earlier this month, according to KOCO.com.
Self-proclaimed professional panhandlers net $182 an hour | News - KCRA HomeMarian Hornea, 27, Elena Hornea, 25, and their two children collected about $366 in just two hours in Modesto. They also were given several gift cards to nearby restaurants.
Officers cited the couple for panhandling and released them.
The Horneas told officers they use an organized list of locations in various cities throughout the Central Valley to panhandle for the family's income.
"They have a log," said Heather Graves, a spokesperson for the Modesto Police Department. "It's kind of an organized log. It shows cities they visit. They even have times of days that work best."
They even use their 5- and 7-year-old kids to gain sympathy, officers said.
Check with your local VA. They are usually the lead organization for referring vets who need help to local organizations.
DO NOT simply hand cash over to someone claiming to be a homeless vet (or homeless anything else). Give to the organizations that help these people because, generally speaking, the reason they are homeless is because they are having difficulty helping themselves.
National Coalition for Homeless VeteransThe U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) states that the nation’s homeless veterans are predominantly male, with roughly 8% being female. The majority are single; live in urban areas; and suffer from mental illness, alcohol and/or substance abuse, or co-occurring disorders. About 12% of the adult homeless population are veterans.
And I bet most of the time the mental illness was brought on by the substance abuse. I have seen crack take a bright girl in pre-med and make her a strung out hooker with the IQ of a squirrel in less then 6 months.
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