Page 2 - TVTimes.10.21.18

2D — EL DORADO NEWS-TIMES Sunday, November 11, 2018
Farming resources for veterans going unused
By Michael Shine
Staff Writer
As veterans make the transition from active duty to civilian life, some can find it challenging to make the change. Part of the struggle can be finding a job that works with their skill set.
For Dwayne Long, who served in the U.S. Navy and now co-runs Long’s Natural Farm with his wife, had something to return to after he left the military. His family owned a business and land in Union County. However, when he and his wife decided to start an organic farm, they reached out looking for resources to help and found several geared toward helping veterans.
“For people who get out of the military, who are used to working 24/7, I think farming is great for them,” Long said. “When I came back, I took over running the business. I was very hard on my employees because I was used to the structure of the military. I ran the business like the military.”
The Natural Resources
Conservation Service
The NRCS will give preference to veteran farmers and ranchers applying for financial assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program. Between these two programs, the NRCS can provide
veterans with financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers who address natural resource concerns and deliver environmental benefits. Additionally, it can help producers maintain or improve existing conservation system.
Homegrown by Heroes
The Homegrown by Heroes program works to help provide resources to veterans who are looking to get into farming. Homegrown by Heroes works with the Farmer Veteran Coalition with financing, training programs, incubator farms and building a network with other local veteran farmers.
Homegrown by Heroes was developed by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture in 2013, but has since spread to include more than 1,100 members between all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
Farmers who work with Homegrown by Heroes are given labels to help consumers identify them. Part of the benefit, the website says, is that the label helps inform consumers that they’re actively supporting veterans by purchasing products from a farm baring the label.
The Arkansas State Department of Agriculture partnered with Homegrown by Heroes starting in 2015. Veterans who are part of the program receive an Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department-approved sign for
their property to mark them as part of Arkansas’ Homegrown by Heroes program.
Armed to Farm
Armed to Farm provides sustainable agriculture training for military veterans by offering opportunities, particularly through technical assistance and online tutorials. It is put together by the National Center for Appropriate Technology, or NCAT.
Part of the goal of the program is to train veterans and their partners to operate sustainable crop and livestock enterprises, help create a network of veterans and their families who are starting agricultural careers, and provide technical assistant to participants as they start and improve their farming operations.
“There’s lots of resources out there, but a lot of it goes untapped,” Long said. “I’ve gotten scholarships for conferences both years, they (the NCAT) had training in Fayetteville recently that they would send husbands and wives to. There’s a mountain up there that’s got some kind of camp. They have services across the county that they’ll send husbands and wives to, or partners, you don’t have to be married. But they go untapped. But there’s incredible money that goes unused.”
Long also said he benefited in his endeavor by attending conferences. In
particular, a conference he attended about a year after starting to call what had started as gardening a farm. He said the conference was open to anybody interested in starting a local farm, but there was specific sessions for veterans.
“I was at one of the conferences two years ago, everybody broke away into different groups,” Long said. “It was amazing, 1,200 people there. The most diverse group of people. Any ethnicity, any group of people you could think of and they were there. But we had a common goal so there was no racism, no arguing. Some other time we may have been arguing, but not there.
“We had a veterans group one night. It was mostly combat vets. It got very emotional there. It was good for me to see. They were real serious about the number of friends who were committing suicide. Some of these guys had full time camps where they took in veterans and put them to work to keep their mind off of what they’d seen. I didn’t see all that stuff, but I was able sit in and hear just because I was a veteran.”
Long was stationed in the states while he was on active duty.
Michael Shine may be reached at 870- 862-6611 or mshine@eldoradonews. com. Follow him on Twitter and like him on Facebook @MichaelAZShine for updates on Union County school news.
Officials: US veteran homelessness declines 5 percent
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The number of homeless veterans across the U.S. declined more than 5 percent over the past year after a slight rise in 2017, the departments of Housing and Urban Development and Veterans Affairs announced earlier this month.
The decrease shows the federal government is making progress in its nearly decade- long efforts, but the problem poses a challenge in areas such as California where the cost of housing is high, officials said.
The number of homeless vets dropped to about 38,000 — about half of those counted in 2010, according to an overall count of the homeless taken in January.
As many as 64 communities and three states — Virginia, Delaware and Connecticut — effectively ended veteran homelessness. That means all homeless veterans in those areas had been offered homes, even if some didn’t accept them.
Homelessness among female veterans fell by 10 percent from just a year ago.
“Our nation’s approach to veterans’ homelessness is working,” Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson said.
The Obama administration in 2010 set a goal of ending
veteran homelessness by 2015, but Carson said the Trump administration will not set a specific date to reach that goal.
“The date would be as soon as possible, I don’t think I could be more specific than that,” he told reporters.
Officials largely credit the progress to an approach started under the Obama administration. It centered on a program called the HUD-VA Supporting Housing Program, which Congress boosted funds for in 2008.
It gives homeless veterans permanent housing while also providing them a case manager and clinical care services. The old way required treatment for mental health issues and drug and alcohol addiction before being able to qualify for a home.
Officials attributed the small uptick in 2017 largely to the high cost of housing in Los Angeles, which has the second-largest homeless population in the U.S. and the largest homeless veteran population.
HUD said veteran homelessness decreased from 2017 to 2018 in California.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie said he plans to visit Los Angeles this week to meet with local officials and charities to discuss what
further support is needed in their efforts. He would like to see an even bigger drop in the numbers.
“It’s not good enough, but it is better,” Wilkie said of 2018 numbers.
Veterans Affairs is working to identify vets who may have lost contact with the agency after years of living on the streets, Wilkie said.
Marine veteran Shaun Tullar, 33, said many vets do not realize what the VA can do for them. Tullar was experiencing post-traumatic stress from his time in combat in Afghanistan when he began using drugs after his brother, a fellow Marine, was killed in that country in 2012.
Tullar became homeless and cycled in and out of jail on drug charges until finding help through a program behind bars that connected him with the VA. He now lives at Veterans Village of San Diego, is sober and working toward finishing a college degree. He hopes to one day own a farm.
“A person cannot address fully any emotional needs if their basic needs of safety, food, water and shelter are not met,” he said, adding that thanks to the support he’s been given, “I have a very bright future.”
Assistance for Homeless Veterans
The VA offers the following benefits to assist eligible homeless veterans:
• Disability benefits
• Education benefits
• Health care benefits
• Housing assistance
• Rehabilitation services
• Employment assistance
• Residential care
• Compensated work therapy For more services and
information, visit https://www. benefits.va.gov/persona/ veteran- homeless.asp.
Benefits and Services Available for Homeless
Veterans can receive care at VA medical centers and community-based outreach clinics. Vet centers and special homeless programs visit community shelters, agencies and outside areas. This outreach helps thousands of homeless Veterans each year.
In Union County, the VA clinic is located at 1702 N. West Ave. in El Dorado. It can be reached at 870-875-5900.
Health Care for Homeless Veterans
Program
This program operates at more than 135 sites. It provides outreach, exams, treatment and referrals to veterans who are homeless. VA specialists also provide case management to veterans dealing with mental health issues, including substance abuse. The tools and support the program provides can help homeless veterans get their lives on a better track.
Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans
Program
This program provides medical care and rehabilitation. Care occurs in a residential setting on VA medical center grounds. Eligible ambulatory veterans are those disabled by medical or psychiatric disorders, injury or age. However, these veterans must not need hospitalization or nursing home care to be eligible.
See ASSISTANCE, Page 4D
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United States Air Force
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