Saturday, April 28, 2007
A home for homeless veterans in Volusia: If facility is successful, more housing could follow across county
He moved to Florida in 2000 for weather and opportunity.
Seven years later, Nicholas Broncato had lost his job, his wife and his home.
Friday, the Navy veteran got some good news.
Broncato is among the first to move into a new housing facility in DeLand for homeless veterans, who represent nearly a quarter of the county's transient population.
Officials opened the facility Friday, calling it a step toward dealing with one of the county's thorniest problems.
"It's a piece of the puzzle. It's not the solution to the puzzle," said Randy Croy, executive director of Serenity House of Volusia, which built the housing. "This prevents the victimization of the vulnerable homeless veteran."
He told a crowd at Friday's grand-opening ceremony that if the 16-bed Veterans Transitional Living Facility is successful, it could lead to more housing for the hundreds of military veterans still living on the street.
Friday's grand opening comes just one month after two 10-year-old boys and a 17-year-old boy were charged with taking part in beating a homeless man in Daytona Beach. The incident highlighted how vulnerable homeless people are to attacks, advocates for the homeless said.
For Broncato, who said he is a recovering alcoholic and cocaine addict, the housewarming was a sign of hope.
The 56-year-old former seaman had good jobs in New York but he and his wife moved to Florida in 2000 for better weather and to open an auto shop, he said.
Since then, Broncato said, he broke his neck, separated from his wife, faced mounting medical bills and lost his home in the Feb. 2 tornadoes, which sent him to the hospital with a head wound.
"I got hit in the head by a cinderblock. I thought I was dead," Broncato said. "It was devastating. I lost everything I had."
Broncato said he was treated at Florida Hospital DeLand and released with a nightgown, a bus ticket and his battered pair of Perry Ellis shoes. He joined the ranks of the homeless in Daytona Beach until Serenity House stepped in, got him in touch with the Department of Veterans Affairs and got him back on track, he said.
Now, he'll be one of the first residents in the first facility of its kind in the county, Croy said.
The $250,000 facility opens at a time when more veterans are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and Croy fears some of the them will end up homeless. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, who also was at the ceremony, agreed and called the facility a step in the right direction.
"If we've done anything else of late, we're creating a lot of veterans," Mica said. "We need a place like this where they can get the care they need."
The county estimates its homeless population at about 2,700, about 600 of whom are veterans, said County Council member Joie Alexander.
"This new facility is a step closer to meeting some of those needs," Alexander said at the ceremony. "We ask our men and women to sacrifice everything that we hold dear. . . . We have a duty and obligation to provide the services they need so they can be healed and restored."
The homeless are grateful for the soup kitchens that are around, but one man said Friday there still aren't enough services and facilities in Volusia.
"Out here, a veteran is treated just like what I consider dirt," said Marvin Howell, 47, who served in the Air Force for 15 years.
Everyone's just "shoveling people around," Howell said. "You can open up a facility for housing, but there's a difference between warehousing people and providing services."
Michael LeBlanc, 50, is a former Marine who lives in the woods in South Daytona. He said it was good that a new facility was opening up for veterans. It's just not for him.
"I don't need anything," he said. "I've got a carpeted tent. It's clean. It's got pine needles."
Broncato said he's proof that there's life after service, even for those down on their luck.
"There is help out there, if you look," Broncato said. "They gave me a new way of life."
By Tanya Caldwell puiblished in the Orlando Sentinel. She can be reached at tcaldwell@orlandosentinel.com or 386-851-7910.
He moved to Florida in 2000 for weather and opportunity.
Seven years later, Nicholas Broncato had lost his job, his wife and his home.
Friday, the Navy veteran got some good news.
Broncato is among the first to move into a new housing facility in DeLand for homeless veterans, who represent nearly a quarter of the county's transient population.
Officials opened the facility Friday, calling it a step toward dealing with one of the county's thorniest problems.
"It's a piece of the puzzle. It's not the solution to the puzzle," said Randy Croy, executive director of Serenity House of Volusia, which built the housing. "This prevents the victimization of the vulnerable homeless veteran."
He told a crowd at Friday's grand-opening ceremony that if the 16-bed Veterans Transitional Living Facility is successful, it could lead to more housing for the hundreds of military veterans still living on the street.
Friday's grand opening comes just one month after two 10-year-old boys and a 17-year-old boy were charged with taking part in beating a homeless man in Daytona Beach. The incident highlighted how vulnerable homeless people are to attacks, advocates for the homeless said.
For Broncato, who said he is a recovering alcoholic and cocaine addict, the housewarming was a sign of hope.
The 56-year-old former seaman had good jobs in New York but he and his wife moved to Florida in 2000 for better weather and to open an auto shop, he said.
Since then, Broncato said, he broke his neck, separated from his wife, faced mounting medical bills and lost his home in the Feb. 2 tornadoes, which sent him to the hospital with a head wound.
"I got hit in the head by a cinderblock. I thought I was dead," Broncato said. "It was devastating. I lost everything I had."
Broncato said he was treated at Florida Hospital DeLand and released with a nightgown, a bus ticket and his battered pair of Perry Ellis shoes. He joined the ranks of the homeless in Daytona Beach until Serenity House stepped in, got him in touch with the Department of Veterans Affairs and got him back on track, he said.
Now, he'll be one of the first residents in the first facility of its kind in the county, Croy said.
The $250,000 facility opens at a time when more veterans are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and Croy fears some of the them will end up homeless. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, who also was at the ceremony, agreed and called the facility a step in the right direction.
"If we've done anything else of late, we're creating a lot of veterans," Mica said. "We need a place like this where they can get the care they need."
The county estimates its homeless population at about 2,700, about 600 of whom are veterans, said County Council member Joie Alexander.
"This new facility is a step closer to meeting some of those needs," Alexander said at the ceremony. "We ask our men and women to sacrifice everything that we hold dear. . . . We have a duty and obligation to provide the services they need so they can be healed and restored."
The homeless are grateful for the soup kitchens that are around, but one man said Friday there still aren't enough services and facilities in Volusia.
"Out here, a veteran is treated just like what I consider dirt," said Marvin Howell, 47, who served in the Air Force for 15 years.
Everyone's just "shoveling people around," Howell said. "You can open up a facility for housing, but there's a difference between warehousing people and providing services."
Michael LeBlanc, 50, is a former Marine who lives in the woods in South Daytona. He said it was good that a new facility was opening up for veterans. It's just not for him.
"I don't need anything," he said. "I've got a carpeted tent. It's clean. It's got pine needles."
Broncato said he's proof that there's life after service, even for those down on their luck.
"There is help out there, if you look," Broncato said. "They gave me a new way of life."
By Tanya Caldwell puiblished in the Orlando Sentinel. She can be reached at tcaldwell@orlandosentinel.com or 386-851-7910.
