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Lack Of Identification Remains An Issue For Homeless Veterans

Alex Brown, a 36-year-old army veteran, sits on the Plaza of the Americas on Jan. 14, 2015. Brown lived on the streets of Gainesville and in motels for a month while he waited for his photo ID to be sent from Michigan
Alex Brown, a 36-year-old army veteran, sits on the Plaza of the Americas on Jan. 14, 2015. Brown lived on the streets of Gainesville and in motels for a month while he waited for his photo ID to be sent from Michigan

 

After living in an abandoned house in Valdosta, Ga., for two weeks, Alex Brown hopped on a Greyhound bus bound for Gainesville, Fla., on Jan. 13. A Facebook friend bought him the ticket.

His only possessions were his backpack, a sleeping bag, his Social Security card, an honorable discharge form and a temporary commercial driver's license from Michigan. The temporary Michigan license was a paper copy without a photograph—that missing photograph was proving to be a problem.

Brown is among the population of homeless veterans who exist in the Department of Veterans Affairs system but cannot benefit from its services due to not having legal photo identification. 

Brown said he lost his veteran and his state-issued IDs, both of which contained photos, before he arrived in Gainesville. He traveled across the country as a truck driver and was in Michigan when he applied and paid for his new commercial driver's license. He left Michigan before the ID was issued to avoid the cold winter. 

After the U.S. Army veteran stepped off the Greyhound bus, he was stuck sleeping on the streets of Gainesville. 

“I’ve never done that," Brown said. "I’ve always been in some kind of shelter.”

Brown said St. Francis House was his first stop after another homeless man on the bus recommended it to him. He said he was denied food and aid because he didn’t have a police clearance card. William Deitendeck, a case worker at St. Francis House, said that is the policy.

“That’s just for the protection for all the other people that come here,” he said.

Ben Tobias, spokesman for the Gainesville Police Department, said the department cannot give a homeless person a security clearance without a valid photo ID. Paper printed IDs are not a recognized format.

Brown said he then went to the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, which connected him to a VA center in Jacksonville. A caseworker booked a two-night stay at a Days Inn in Gainesville for him. After checking out, he said he slept at Bo Diddley Community Plaza, in the woods and in makeshift shelters between buildings for two and a half weeks.

Brown said he wanted to apply for housing through the VA, but without proper identification, he couldn’t.

Theresa Lowe, executive director at the Alachua County Coalition for the Homeless and Hungry, said Gainesville Community Ministry works with Holy Trinity Episcopal Church to provide funding to help the homeless and working poor obtain documentation. She said Holy Trinity has volunteers at its downtown location who help people apply for birth certificates and identification cards every Tuesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Not having a permanent address is one obstacle the homeless face when applying for an ID. Lowe said residents of Grace Marketplace could use it as a permanent address.

Brown said he wanted to stay within the VA system, so he went to the HONOR Center, a facility that houses homeless veterans for three to six months at a time.

He said he explained his situation to the receptionist: He wanted to apply for veterans housing, but before he could do that, he needed an address so the commercial driver's license he paid for in Michigan could be sent to Gainesville. Brown said he was given permission to use the center's address.

“It was a big blessing,” he said.

Vianne Marchese, chief of community care services at the HONOR Center, said the center often connects veterans to community resources for help with lost or stolen IDs.

“Photo ID is a necessity in our world," she said. "We almost don’t do anything without having some form of identification. Losing your ID is something that is a pretty common occurrence for people who don’t have a permanent home.”

She said a common barrier for most veterans is the cost of IDs — a commercial driver’s license costs $75. Disabled veterans can usually get an ID free of charge, she said.

Brown eventually reached out to the Operation Iraqi Freedom program at the VA, a program specifically for those who served in Iraq. A case manager connected him to the Wounded Warrior Project and booked him a room at the Howard Johnson Express Inn in Gainesville for two weeks.

Brown said he has never been denied help from the Operation Iraqi Freedom program.

“When I need help, I reach out to them,” he said.

Brown’s stay in Gainesville was short. After his two weeks at the hotel, his family learned he would be back on the streets, he said. His 18-year-old niece sent him a bus ticket to Wilmington, North Carolina. 

He arranged for the HONOR Center to send his ID to his sister’s address. With his new photo ID, he said he will finally be able to get more permanent help from a VA in North Carolina.

“I’ll be with my sister," he said. "I’ll have a very stable residence. I won't be roaming the streets and trying to figure out where I’m going to live or anything. That’s a very big deal for me.”

Andrea is a reporter for WUFT News and can be contacted by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news@wuft.org.