VA partners with Boise Public Library to locate, help homeless veterans | Idaho Statesman

Instead of waiting for homeless veterans to walk through the doors of the Veterans Affairs offices on River Street, Bryan Bumgarner, an outreach specialist for the homeless veteran program, is bringing services to them.

Bumgarner is part of a new partnership that began March 7 between Veterans Affairs and the Boise Public Library. Every Monday morning, Bumgarner will be available to meet with homeless veterans in a private room at the library’s main branch Downtown.

Bumgarner’s goal is to connect as many homeless veterans as possible to much-needed services, including medical care and housing assistance through the VA. On his first morning, he met with three homeless veterans. It was a quiet start, but a hopeful one.

In many cases, homeless veterans are not aware that help is available. Sometimes, said Bumgarner, veterans’ pride keeps them from asking for help. The new low-key, informal outreach at the library is meant to “lower the bar for accessibility,” he said.

“Veterans have misconceptions. That they have to be combat vets, or have to have served for 20 years to be eligible for benefits,” he said.

He tells the story of one Boise veteran he helped who was living in his car and paying $400 a month for prescription medication. The veterans didn’t realize he was eligible for medical care through the VA.

“We’ve definitely been able to make improvements for folks,” said Bumgarner, son of a Vietnam veteran who was wounded in combat.

Even if Bumgarner finds veterans who are not eligible for VA benefits, he can help get them and their families connected to other services such as the Supportive Services for Veterans Families, a program at El-Ada Community Action Partnership,

FIRST STEP IS FINDING THEM

The new program seeks to build on similar outreach efforts to a population that can be difficult to reach. Homeless veterans might not have phones or regular schedules. Bumgarner frequently visited Cooper Court, the camp near Interfaith Sanctuary that was broken up in December. He often visits Corpus Christi Day Shelter to find veterans as well as River of Life, the Boise Rescue Mission shelter across the street from his office.

“I think this kind of outreach is a great idea. Anything the VA can do to make contact and help veterans take advantage of the benefits they’ve earned,” said Bill Roscoe, president and CEO of the Boise Rescue Mission.

The low-key library approach is a good one for veterans who frequently have a hard time asking for help, or who may have negative ideas about the VA, said Roscoe. That’s often an issue for veterans from the Vietnam era.

“Anyone who knows about VA programs in the 1970s knows that they were not user-friendly. Veterans had a lot of mistrust. They didn’t want anything to do with the VA or the government,” Roscoe said.

A Vietnam veteran himself, Roscoe said he’s glad the Rescue Mission, the VA and other local programs — such as a specialty court focused on treatment and alternative sentencing — are working well together. Boise Rescue Mission’s program for veterans now has 25 formerly homeless veterans enrolled and another 30 on the waiting list, he said.

Bumgarner often stopped by the library, a common place for homeless people to spend the day. Partnering with the library was a natural next step.

“The VA reached out to us and said they thought they could potentially meet at the library and establish some new connections. Basically, if the VA calls and says there’s an opportunity to help veterans, we’re happy to do what we can,” said William Nation, manager at the Boise Public Library’s main branch.

This step into social services is in line with other programs that stretch the library’s mission beyond books, including workshops that offer legal advice for walk-in clients and help for people filling out their tax forms, Nation said.

“The through line is that libraries have a tradition of providing tax forms, public documents, other government information,” he said. “Now, the idea that we can take it a step further and actually help someone from the VA connect directly to a client builds on that tradition.”

Bumgarner said the new library program will allow him to start keeping formal count of the numbers of homeless veterans he’s able to connect to services. The process up until this point has been more informal.

“I do want to make sure that it’s a good use of our time,” he said.

In any case, it’s a personal mission for him.

“My dad was drafted and wounded in 1968 in Vietnam. That still affects him to this day. It affects the whole family,” Bumgarner said. “I keep that in mind whenever I interact with veterans now. When I see my dad getting good care through the VA, I want to make sure that others who served like him get the same kind of care.”