Montgomery County leaders called it an “audacious goal,” and Monday they announced they had found a home for every homeless veteran in the county just in time for Christmas.
Ishmael Meredith is one of those vets. He said he just couldn’t recover mentally after returning home from Operation Iraqi Freedom.
"You're working, you're sleeping in a playground and going to work the next day," he explained. "Doing it every day, and when you have children, it makes it harder and sometimes you feel like no one's out there for you."
Desperate, he said he called the military’s suicide crisis line for help a few months ago, which connected him to the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless and Bethesda Cares, a non-profit that provides emergency housing for the homeless.
If you are a vet and need help with housing or any other issue, you can call 1-800-273-8255 toll free 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
"We are great in turning civilians into soldiers but less so in turning them back into civilians," Bethesda Cares Executive Director Susan Kirk said.
Montgomery County Council member George Leventhal choked up announcing the official "end" to veteran homelessness in the county.
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During the county’s news conference, Leventhal said, “We are an enlightened community and we believe in the power of government to solve problems, and there is no problem more compelling for government than the circumstances of those who have the least, those who literally don't have a roof over their heads. This is government that works, this is what it means to set an objective and meet it."
Leventhal said the county secured more than a half-million dollars to find homes for all 58 veterans before the end of this year.
Meredith was one of several vets who went to publicly thank the huge group of people who teamed up to find them permanent homes.
"You may think we're heroes,” he told the crowd, “but you all are the real heroes."
Soon after, the entire group spontaneously burst into a rendition of "Silent Night" while taking a group picture, hugging and grinning afterwards.
Because for Meredith, his family and the rest of the county’s homeless vets, they will finally be able to go home for Christmas.
