Group seeks to help homeless veterans

County has a disproportionately high number

Ginger Miller pauses and tries to hold back tears when asked about what it was like being a homeless military veteran.

Miller, who served four years in the Navy until 1992, said she spent six months homeless in 1994 with her husband, a former Marine who served for four years until 1993, and her then-1-year-old son.

In May, after she lost her job, Miller decided to start John 14:2 Inc., a nonprofit group advocating for homeless and at-risk veterans.

"When we got out of the military and lived with family, we had no place to go," said Miller, 39, who now has a home in Accokeek with her family.

She is joining other advocates to raise awareness about homeless veterans in Prince George's County, which has the highest population of veterans in the state and a high number of homeless veterans, according to the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs.

The department, which doesn't keep exact statistics on homeless veterans statewide, estimates that more than 2,500 homeless veterans live in Prince George's. A 2006 study by the National Coalition of Homeless Veterans found 3,300 in Maryland and 2,500 in the District.

The state veterans department estimates the county has nearly 70,000 veterans among 476,000 statewide. The only nearby housing shelters or transitional homes for veterans are outside the county, in the District and Baltimore, and are run by nonprofit organizations that have received grants from the federal Department of Veterans Affairs.

Miller is applying for federal Veterans Affairs grants through the Health Care for Homeless Veterans program to allow her to open a homeless shelter near Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs. The name of her group, John 14:2, is from a Bible passage she interprets to reflect the diverse needs of veterans.

Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D), who served in the Army during the 1970s, said needs for veterans have increased as the county has had to cut social services.

"Many veterans are now falling through the cracks," he said. "We have promised them things through their service, and in a sense we are not living up to these promises."

County Council member Tony Knotts (D-Temple Hills), who served as a Marine in the 1970s, said government and nonprofit organizations need to discuss ways to assist homeless veterans.

"We all have to come to the table to have some kind of responsibility so that we won't be duplicating efforts," he said. "Once we have a strategic plan, we can determine what can be done."