PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Timothy Pena, Founder of Veterans Justice Project, on Homeless Shelter Conditions for Veterans
2:59:00
·
137 sec
Timothy Pena, founder of Veterans Justice Project, testified about poor conditions at Borden Avenue, a federally funded shelter for veterans. He highlighted issues with food quality, budget constraints, and safety concerns, criticizing the Department of Homeless Services for mismanagement of veteran care.
- Described inadequate food provision at Borden Avenue, with a daily budget of $6.60 for meals
- Reported personal weight loss of 28 pounds in 5 months due to poor nutrition
- Raised concerns about veteran safety, mentioning a recent overdose death
- Criticized the lack of a women's GPD (Grant Per Diem) program for homeless female veterans in the city
Timothy Pena
2:59:00
Good afternoon.
2:59:00
My name is Timothy Pena.
2:59:02
I run an organization called Veterans Justice Project.
2:59:06
I'm also a veteran's advocate.
2:59:08
I spent, 5 months at Borden Avenue, which is a federally funded grant per diem program for honorably discharged veterans.
2:59:20
Going back to what she just said about the food, their budget is $6.60 a day for meals.
2:59:29
The kitchen's closed because they had Project Renewal running a culinary school out of there.
2:59:36
There's no food.
2:59:38
No food can come in.
2:59:41
And, the trays that they get, the flat trays, after being picked through to I assume to fill out the black trays that go out to the shelters are usually just cold rice and green beans.
2:59:57
I lost £28 in 5 months.
3:00:02
We had a veteran who overdosed and died again last week.
3:00:07
This is a violent shelter where DHS is bringing in 1,000,000 of dollars from the federal government to provide services to us who have served.
3:00:20
I'm a disabled veteran.
3:00:22
And, I'm not quite understanding how Department of Homeless Services can sit here and point the finger at the vendors when I met with ICL last week who told me that DHS are the ones who are keeping us in violent shelters.
3:00:43
If we object, we are transferred out of the GPD program without cause.
3:00:53
We are also then taken out of the HUD VASH program.
3:00:58
We are left on the streets literally with no place to go.
3:01:03
There is also there's no women's GPD program in this city.
3:01:09
So women veterans who are experiencing homelessness have only one place to go, and that's a shelter.
3:01:16
Thank you.
