McCain on Homelessness: Just Ask Arizona Veterans

At the end of the September 26th presidential debate, John McCain stared into the cameras and made a powerful, emotional statement. He said:

I know the veterans and I know them well. And I know that they know that I'll take care of them. And I've been proud of their support and of their recognition of my service to the veterans. And I love them, and I'll take care of them. And they know that I'll take care of them.

But he has not taken care of veterans, according to an article in the Phoenix New Times. In fact, homeless vets in McCain's home state feel betrayed by McCain, a fellow serviceman and perhaps the country's most famous injured war veteran.

The Justa Center is a day program for homeless seniors in downtown Phoenix. Seven days a week this "decrepit little building near the Arizona Capitol" has been a "godsend" for about 100 homeless seniors who spend their nights at a homeless shelter down the road. 

On any given day, half of the participants at the Justa Center are veterans.

There's a special unit reserved for veterans at the shelter, but the waiting list is long, so many vets sleep in a parking lot euphemistically called "the overflow." Justa gives them a mailing address, a place to shower, access to the Internet and phone, lockers to store their belongings.

Many of the seniors who spend their days at the Justa Center do not qualify for veteran's housing programs. Some are too afflicted with mental illness, such as depression, or PTSD. Others can't meet the requirement of proving they're employed ("I'm 82," said one veteran).

Others, have simply fallen down on their luck and are having difficulty finding the help and services they need:

Bobby Collins, 59, is a homeless Vietnam vet who shows up at Justa from time to time. He's been waiting for a benefits check from the VA for eight months. Collins was shot in the throat in Vietnam, and his leg is full of shrapnel. He's got two Purple Hearts, but he didn't claim his medical benefits for years — he didn't need to; he had steady jobs as a welder and a carpenter. Then, last Thanksgiving, he came to Phoenix and couldn't find work, and quickly found himself homeless. Now he needs the money.

The people at the VA are very nice, Collins says, but the bureaucracy is impossible. They've told him he'll get his money. He doesn't understand why it's taking so long.

Collins says he's working hard to not be bitter, but when he arrived in Phoenix and saw what few services there were for him as a veteran, he was mad at John McCain.

"I have a lot of respect for Senator McCain as a war hero," he says, but "I would never vote for a veteran who lets veterans in his state be treated this way."

To be fair, the lack of support for veterans in Arizona is not unique. Shelter officials interviewed in this story point out that the VA has been over-stretched, understaffed, and grossly underfunded. And it's not that McCain has never supported legislation in support of veteran's services or helped veterans in need.

Rather, it's the difference between what he says on the campaign trail, and his record in Arizona. Nobody questions McCain's patriotism or dedication to his country, but homeless Arizona veterans are rightfully skeptical of his claim to be a "champion of veterans."

Take Ralph Holland, a 61 year-old Navy veteran who served two tours of duty in Vietnam. His daughter is currently a Marine. Holland has fallen on rough times and is looking to the VA for assistance, but he doesn't expect much from the country he served.

"Their way is to put you off until you either die or go away. That's the consensus of just about every vet I've talked to," Holland said.

If McCain can't "take care" of our country's homeless military men and women, with backgrounds similar to his own, how can we rely on him to solve the homeless crisis for the millions of families, children, men, women, and veterans who are homeless across the country?