Enlisting Hope

SE Center Offers Homeless Veterans Housing and a Second Chance

Calvin Williams left the Marine Corps in 1976. He had served in Southeast Asia and survived a helicopter crash in which his best friend died.

Williams returned to Northern Virginia to try his hand at barbering. "Things spiraled out of control: drugs, trouble with the law, in and out of jail, in and out of prison," he said.

He had stayed with his mother but soon her patience ran out: "I was on the streets."

Now Williams, 52, has a roof over his head, a bed for the night, warm meals, drug counseling and job training. "I've been given a second chance at life," he said.

That chance came through Access Housing, operator of the Southeast Veterans Service Center, which accommodates about 50 homeless veterans. The transitional housing center is slated to nearly double in size this week when a new building next door, the Chesapeake Veterans Center, opens with housing for male and female veterans.

The facilities on Chesapeake Avenue, on the Prince George's County line, are the main transitional housing for vets in the District. The first facility was established in 1999 by former council member H.R. Edwards, an Air Force veteran. During his time on the D.C. Council, Edwards was shocked by the number of homeless people he came across who had served in the military. Edwards vowed to help.

"They shouldn't have to beg for food or a place to sleep," he said. "We don't call it a shelter; it's their home. The intent is to make it as pleasant as possible."

The center has been home to 700 veterans over the years, and success there begat the new building, which was renovated in autumn.

Both buildings are airy and sparkling clean. They are decorated with murals about the Marines, posters from the Army and bright, colorful paintings.

The older facility has space for 30 men, who may stay for a year. There are an additional 20 rooms for permanent Section 8 housing for impoverished veterans. There's also a Department of Veterans Affairs clinic that treats veterans throughout the region.

The $3.4 million facility, across a parking lot from Southeast Veterans Service Center, will accommodate 33 men and 15 women. It's intended for veterans diagnosed with more serious mental illness or substance abuse problems and will provide intensive counseling and therapy but not permanent housing.

Once plagued by violence and drug use, the neighborhood has stabilized in part because of the facilities, Crawford said. The former dilapidated row houses are now refurbished brick, three-story buildings that are freshly painted and neatly landscaped.