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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Lewis Melendez, Timothy Pena, and Mount Lacey on Homeless Veterans' Experiences
1:50:38
·
153 sec
The testimony covers the experiences of homeless veterans and their advocates, highlighting issues within the shelter system and community engagement. It includes accounts of non-veterans in veteran-specific shelters and the challenges faced by veterans when interacting with city agencies.
- Lewis Melendez, a homeless individual, expresses frustration with the lack of freedom to speak in the homeless system.
- Timothy Pena, founder of Veterans Justice Project, shares his experiences working with homeless veterans and the community engagement in shelters.
- Mount Lacey, a disabled homeless veteran, is mentioned as receiving help from Lewis and Timothy.
- The testimony reveals concerns about non-veterans in veteran-specific shelters, including threats and extortion experienced by Timothy Pena.
Lewis Melendez
1:50:38
Hi.
1:50:39
My name is Lewis.
1:50:40
Could you hear me?
Robert F. Holden
1:50:41
Yeah.
1:50:42
I mean, just put just get a little closer.
Lewis Melendez
1:50:47
My name is Lewis.
1:50:49
Like, did you hear me from you?
1:50:54
And being in the homeless system, being in the homeless system, it's like, even if I try to speak or say anything, it's just like, No.
1:51:13
You can't speak.
1:51:14
You have to hold your tongue.
1:51:17
You have to, like, not talk when when there's, like, a law for, like, freedom of speech.
Mount Lacey
1:51:30
No.
1:51:31
No.
1:51:31
He's helping me.
1:51:32
He's he's he's my he's
Timothy Pena
1:51:36
working in in a child making it to the mind.
1:51:39
Working with doing outreach as as as long as now as I've done here in New York City.
1:51:46
One of the the issues because I'm you know, I was homeless.
1:51:51
I now one of the social civic engagements is, you know, I'm on the Veterans Task Force.
1:51:58
I was with the persons with living experience continuum of care.
1:52:03
I'm on on street every day.
1:52:05
I deal with veterans every day at board and avenue and other shelters.
1:52:09
I've been working with Mister Lacey here for a while.
1:52:12
Lewis here is one of those.
1:52:14
Those, you know, and those people in the community that
Robert F. Holden
1:52:16
Lewis is not Lewis is not in board.
Timothy Pena
1:52:19
He is very important.
1:52:20
No.
1:52:20
He's not important.
1:52:21
He's
Abdul Jamila
1:52:21
not important.
Robert F. Holden
1:52:21
He's not important.
1:52:23
He's not
Timothy Pena
1:52:23
important.
1:52:24
No.
1:52:24
Okay.
1:52:27
Mister Lacey is supposed to be an investor.
Robert F. Holden
1:52:29
I know.
1:52:29
I'm talking about But
Mount Lacey
1:52:30
he's not.
1:52:31
Lewis knows my whole story and is helping me directly.
Robert F. Holden
1:52:34
Okay.
1:52:35
Yeah.
Timothy Pena
1:52:36
So that's that that that community engagement, even even in the shelters, there's still community engagements.
1:52:42
There are people that look up to us as veterans.
1:52:45
But when we come into city agencies and city organizations, it's a different For
Robert F. Holden
1:52:50
a temp, you you nodded your head when you when he when Mount said that there are non veterans at boardings.
1:52:56
You said, yeah.
1:52:57
You were kind of doing Yeah.
1:52:58
We Did you experience that?
Timothy Pena
1:52:59
Saying that for 2 years.
Robert F. Holden
1:53:01
And you ran into non veterans at board.
Timothy Pena
1:53:04
I was I was threatened and extorted by non veterans.
Robert F. Holden
1:53:07
Okay.
1:53:07
Then we're gonna look into it.
1:53:08
Thank you so much.
1:53:09
Thank you, panel.
1:53:10
Thank you so much.