CHESAPEAKE HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAM
AIR LAND AND SEA NEWSLETTER
May 2015
Vol. 1
DCVETS Spearheads HUD’s
Census Count of Area Homeless
Armed with donated sleeping bags, blankets, hats, gloves and ready-to-eat meals, and
joined by a power-packed array of veteran service providers, community leaders
and DCVETS residents, Program Manager Michael Strong, Team E leader, drove
the rural roads and side streets of Prince George’s County, Maryland in an annual
national one-day count of the country’s homeless population.
Taking place over the course of one day and night every January, the HUDsponsored Point-in-Time count depends on volunteers to help count the number of
homeless in emergency shelters, transitional housing programs and living unsheltered
on the streets. “This year,” said Strong, “nearly 100 unsheltered persons were counted.” Among the areas covered by the DCVETS van and two accompanying vehicles
on January 28 were a shopping mall in Temple Hills; a rural former open-air drug
market in Upper Marlboro now consisting of condemned housing and a homeless
population sleeping in the surrounding woods; a Camp Springs motel where regular
evictions place people in homeless situations; and a community nonprofit in Brandywine grateful for the hats, gloves and blankets DCVETS was able to donate.
Brian in Upper Marlboro and Grace in Brandywine were among those who did not
know help was on the way from Team E. Strong approached Brian at a mall with the
question, “How you doing today, brother?” Brian replied, “Fine, how are you?” And
a conversation was born. Within seconds, Brian, thinly clad for the snappy, cold wintry day, soon admitted his homeless state. With a signal, Strong had Dexter Phillip,
VA caseworker and Julian Wright, a VA program analyst, with necessary forms in
hand, approach Brian and question him immediately regarding his vital information
and advised him about available services.
Despite the cold day, Brian left with a spring in his step. A similar experience was
shared by Grace, a single mother who had run out of funds to pay her rent at the
ValuePlace Hotel/Motel. Alerted by a homeless person of the motel’s existence, three
members of the DCVETS entourage, which included Debra Truchon from U.S. Vets
and Pastor Victor Coleman of Temple Hills Church of God, were invited into Grace’s
apartment where they interviewed her and found out her immediate needs and longrange goals.
Also along for the count were DCVETS residents
who were, said Strong, shown the contrast between what is happening around them and their
own situation in transitional housing
Team E PIT Crew
In This Issue

Point In Time Count

The Loop

Veterans Spotlight
It is my pleasure to present this first edition of the CHEP/ DCVETS Newsletter. This
project represents the true essence of our program. DCVETS is a community of veterans
working together to heal together. Our feature
writer (Bill Alexander) and photographer
(John Marine) are both current residents of
the program.
Cutz and Cheer volunteers (Pictured left to right) Tamika , Brian and WOW Program Director Tara Lewis.
Barbers Snip Their Way
Into Residents' Hearts
Tamika Hoffler loaded her vehicle with barber chair, clippers, brushes and toiletries, drove many miles on icy roads, and launched her one-woman “Giving Back to
the Community” effort in the DCVETS administrative office.
Within minutes, her humanity, giving personality and dazzling tonsorial talents
served as a magnet for DCVETS residents who crammed the office to share gossip,
trade information and, in all ways, turn the office into a true neighborhood barber
shop.
“Will we see you next month?” asked satisfied resident Mark Washington.
Ms. Hoffler was too gracious to reply that after working a six-day week, she
wants to expand her “Giving Back” radius to include more vets, as well as youngsters in low-income neighborhoods. She was joined on this March 1 Sunday afternoon by her longtime friend, Tara Lewis, who taped the entire event for her Internet
radio and video production company.
Brian Walker, a retired law enforcement officer turned barber from Upper Marlboro, joined Hoffler to trim and cut the heads of appreciative residents. His infectious
bonhomie infused the room with good cheer and easy exchanges .
Residents who cheerily joined Washington in volunteering their heads included
David Hines, Reginald Carter, Rodney Thaxton, and Bill Alexander. DCVETS Resident Manager Michael Conyers, a professional barber in Detroit for 16 years, graded
both barbers as “excellent.”
A beaming Hoffler proclaimed that she would “definitely return” to DCVETS
because of the good vibrations that greeted her visit.
Program Manager Michael Strong was alerted to Hoffler and her desire to make
a contribution to the community by a stalwart friend of DCVETS, nonprofit dynamo
Kathryn Hammond Weaver.
The military structured program was established by CHEP in 2012 and represents the
culmination of a collaborative effort to provide
safe and positive housing resources for formerly homeless veterans who want to move
permanently into the larger community. Based
on CHEP’s prior experience, DCVETS represents a realistic and positive first step toward
that end.
In 2013, the second year of operation for the
DCVETS Transitional Housing Program, 26
veterans were served. Ten veterans successfully exited the program, including eight who
moved into permanent housing. The placement rate for veterans who left and entered
permanent housing was 80 percent. This feat
alone is quite remarkable for a relatively new
program.
In 2014, the program was awarded a VA
Grant and Mile One’s Wheels for Change
contributed the remaining funding towards
the purchase of a van to transport our veterans. Rolling Thunder (veteran motorcycle
club) sponsored summer events and assisted
veterans transitioning into permanent housing.
DCVETS is well on the way to setting the
standard for transitional housing in Washington, DC. Due to strong partnerships with the
following agencies: Veterans Affairs,
USVETS, Friendship Place, Easter Seals,
Phoenix Computers, A Wider Circle, Martha’s
Table, and Housing Counseling Services;
DCVETS is living proof that “It Takes An
Entire Community to Help a Veteran Heal”.
We look forward to working with you in 2015!
Sincerely,
Cathy Bennett, CEO
Cathy Bennett
Chesapeake Health Education Program
Veterans Spotlight
This Program Saved My Life,
Says Departing Resident
Dave Hines states it flatly: “Coming here to DCVETS literally saved my life.”
He backs up and remembers: “It was a lifestyle of bad decision-making, bad diets, bad girlfriends, bad environments, bad neighborhoods and a lot of bad attitudes that made me the wreck that I was.”
Hines, a boyish-looking 56 and a former Marine, is accustomed to being candid.
But not in a gruff way. His way summons up introspection, a willingness to learn
from past mistakes, and an inner determination to move his life forward through
self-improvement and focused efforts.
Suffering from obesity and Diabetes, Hines began making lifestyle coursecorrections before coming to DCVETS. Smoking stopped. Drinking stopped. But
chronic depression lingered.
“That's when I discovered that when you sit still, worry and do nothing, you die,”
says Hines. He enrolled in the VA's MOVE and LIVe programs and benefited
from their rehab and therapy components. Designed by the VA's National Center
for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, MOVE is a weight management
program that relies on physical therapy (including the use of pools), dieticians
and support groups to encourage “eat right” principles. The LIVe program features a holistic approach to treating diabetes that includes exercise, diet, art and
music therapy, stress management and
spiritual support.
“You have to keep moving. I'm always striving to learn.”
A high school grad and a Strayer University student, he, early on, developed an
interest in computer technology. In the 80's, Hines became a Wang Labs field
service worker who repaired Wang computers under government contract. He
did this for five years. As the years passed, he decided to stop punching clocks
and become an entrepreneur – but he never lost his love for computers.
After several high-flying years as owner of a network of vendor tables placed in
high-tourist areas, money dried up and Hines couldn't make his rent.
“I began sputtering out,” he recalls. A savvy VA placement specialist sized him
up precisely and sent him to DCVETS. While there
Hines faced a health crisis that ironically changed his life for the better because
he was in the right place at the right time.
While in residence at DCVETS, Hines was hit with a health issue tsunami! First,
arthritis in his knees became so painful and his legs so sapped of strength, braces
were required for both legs (he still wears them). His next crisis involved a serious bout with pneumonia and a prescribed CAT scan that, to his horror, revealed
a malignant tumor on his kidney. Hines went under the knife and lost a diseaseravaged kidney.
“Without this program, I'd be dead,” declares Hines, “because out there in the
streets my life-threatening health issues would never have been diagnosed and
dealt with. For the first time in my life I was not only allowed, but encouraged, to
take the time to focus on my health issues.”
During his stay at DCVETS, Hines also found time to return to computer school,
teach a computer class for seniors, clean up his bad credit rating and nail down a
full-time IT tech job refurbishing computers at Phoenix Computers in Rockville,
MD.
“I've saved money and I stay perpetually busy because this environment allows
your mind to soar in discovering ways to help yourself. The people here plug you
in to contacts and programs that show you how to make it on your own,” says
Hines. In pulling up stakes and moving out to his new apartment, Hines makes a
military parallel: “DCVETS teaches us to fight...fight for our life.”
MAKE A GIFT
SMALL GIFTS MAKE A
BIG CHEP
DIFFERENCE
Make a difference in the lives of our veterans. Send your
contribution to:
Chesapeake Health Education Program
CHEP Inc. 11(E)
Bldg. 82H, 1st Floor
Perry Point, Maryland, 21902
Contact Us
Give us a call for more information
about our services and products
(410) 642-1195
[email protected]
Visit us on the web at
www.chepinc.org
Catherine Bennett
CHEP CEO
[email protected]
Michael Strong
Wish List
Gift cards, lawn furniture, towels, wash cloths, volunteers,
bed linen, laundry detergent and TVs.
Chesapeake Health Education Program, Inc., established in 1990, is an organization of experienced staff offering a full spectrum of services to meet the training needs of audiences of any size. We guarantee a professionally developed
and successful event by providing continuing education for over 15 professional
disciplines, event management and program content development.
Provide identified resources and growth opportunities to military veterans who
are at risk due to disability and/or homelessness.
These are accomplished through collaboration and community partnerships that
reduce costs and transcend diminishing resources.
The Chesapeake Health Education Program, Inc. is tax exempt under section
501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations to nonprofits with 501(c)
(3) tax exempt status are tax deductible as charitable contributions.
A copy of our current financial statement is upon request by contacting our office. Documents and information submitted under the Maryland Charitable solicitations are also available, for the cost of postage and copies from
the Maryland Office of the Secretary of State, State House, Annapolis, MD
DCVETS Program Manager
(202) 803-2570
[email protected]