An extraordinary thing happened during our November 10, 2021, Veterans Housing Fair. One veteran, with no prior knowledge of the event, walked in off the street, and went from being unsheltered to housed.
The Dallas Public Library, a longstanding partner of MDHA, and a great friend of those experiencing homelessness, hosted us, and generously lent us the 7th floor of the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library for the entire day. Working through a list of veterans that we worked to engage and invite prior to the event, we set the goal of getting as many of our unhoused veterans as possible on a path to permanent housing.
Marcus Carter, a 63-year-old veteran, was not on that list. He was visiting the library that morning because he had been robbed and needed to use a computer to write a complaint letter to the Dallas Police Department. Persons experiencing homelessness are often at much greater risk of being victimized, and Marcus had been sleeping under a bridge since September 3, 2021.
In Marcus’ words, “out of nowhere”, a library team member asked him if he was a veteran, and he acknowledged that, yes, he had served in the U.S. Air Force in the Post-Vietnam Era. The library team member told him about the Veterans Housing Fair and urged him to go to the 7th floor.
When he arrived at the housing fair, MDHA connected him to the team at Endeavors, one of our two providers of Supportive Services for Veteran Families, a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) program. The Endeavors team immediately interviewed him and conducted a thorough case management session.
Marsha Jackson, MDHA Housing Locator (seated facing the camera)
The Endeavors team then walked him a few feet over to Marsha Jackson, MDHA’s Housing Locator, who found him some promising housing leads. One of those leads was the La Madera Apartments, whose representatives were seated just a few feet away from Marsha. Marcus applied and was approved for an apartment on the spot.
The Endeavors team, cognizant of Marcus’ age and health conditions. decided to immediately provide him with emergency housing in a hotel, until his apartment was ready. They would, in fact, take him from the Veterans Housing Fair directly to the hotel.
We often speak of how the only way to end homelessness is through collective impact, many organizations working together towards a set of common goals, and how the only way collective impact can work is with a strong backbone organization, like MDHA, leading the collective impact effort. That day, we got to see that play out for over a dozen veterans, Marcus among them.
Thank you to all our collective impact partners, who that day and every day do the tireless work behind the scenes to make such an incredible impact in the lives of our unhoused neighbors, both veterans and non-veterans alike. And thank you, Marcus, and all of our other veterans for your service. It is a great honor to, in turn, serve you.
