Dec 14, 2013 7 min read

Frank Paterra, former mayor of Charleroi, is known for asking elected officials challenging questions. In 2008 at a gathering at Washington & Jefferson College, he queried then-Sen. Barack Obama about how he intended to solve the problem of illegal drugs, an issue Paterra also raised at the time with the Washington County commissioners.

“I’m a maverick,” said Paterra, a Vietnam War veteran. After learning of a homeless veteran squatting in an abandoned house in Charleroi a few months ago, Paterra drove to Washington and signed in for the public comment segment at a commissioners meeting.

“We had nowhere to put him,” Paterra explained later. The veteran, who had a medical condition, went first to a hospital, then stayed for a while at a hotel.

So Paterra told the commissioners he’d like to see a shelter dedicated to homeless veterans of Washington and Greene counties.

“All I was trying to do is explore the issue,” Paterra said of his remarks at the public meeting. “Instead, I got a $25 lecture from commission chairman) Larry Maggi.”

Maggi, a former member of the U.S. Marine Corps whose resume lists 10 memberships in veterans organizations, pointed out Washington County’s proximity to Pittsburgh and the services that are available to veterans through the federal Department of Veterans Affairs in Pittsburgh.

He, like Paterra, is a member of the Pennsylvania American Legion, which maintains housing for homeless veterans in four locations across the state: Moon Township, Allegheny County; Ephrata, Lancaster County; Philadelphia, and Harrisburg.

Maggi’s recollection of an American Legion District 25 meeting is that Paterra was told to form a committee and do a feasibility study on founding a Washington-Greene shelter for homeless veterans.

“Are you asking us for money?” Maggi asked Paterra. “Did you talk to the Greene County commissioners?”

Paterra wore his American Legion hat while addressing the Washington County commissioners, which begged the question about whether he was authorized to speak on behalf of the veterans organization.

Harry Wilson, a commissioners appointee when he was Washington County director of veterans services for six years, said after Paterra’s appearance that the North Charleroi resident was not permitted to speak for the American Legion on the homelessness issue.

Wilson, finance officer and legislative chairman for American Legion District 25, added after a commissioners meeting in early October, “I’m not here to censure or chastise Mr. Paterra. I’m here to promote housing for homeless veterans, just to say there are systems in place if a homeless veteran would choose to take advantage of it. It’s in place. We’ve been doing this since 1988 through the Department of Pennsylvania when it (the Cypress Street townhouses) was first founded.”

Paterra, nor any other advocate for sheltering homeless veterans, haven’t been back to the commissioners’ public comment segment since.

“The district commander told me to back off,” Paterra later said. “It’s politics. So I’ll drop the issue. It’s a shame. Maybe I’ll a put a suit on and approach the issue of a home as a taxpayer.”

Paterra, who was drafted and was stationed at Pleiku in the former South Vietnam, said Maggi does not share his wartime experience. “No one understands the Vietnam veteran. Shame on us who try to kind of muffle a voice in the wilderness who’s calling out for help. I proposed an issue to Washington-Greene District. I got a lecture about the logistics. The American Legion does have homes. I just wondered if we could get one in Washington County.”

Paterra said he’s run into many people who claim to be “military-friendly” but wonders how deep the sentiment goes. “There are veterans who have lost faith in themselves,” he said.

“We cannot lose faith in them.”

Paterra said he wasn’t raising the issue as a reflection on the Washington City Mission, which he praised as “wonderful.”

Commissioner Harlan Shober told Paterra, “The mission has stepped up to that. I believe it’s a good approach that they’re taking. This is something we’re all caring about, but for us to step up and say, ‘We’re ready to start a home now,’ is basically not in our plans.”

Shober enlisted halfway through college in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard 110th Infantry, Division 28, Canonsburg. He was discharged after six years with the rank of E-7 sergeant, also known as a sergeant first class.

“It was during Vietnam, but we were not called up,” he said recently.

“American Legions and VFWs, they have a good network out there,” Shober said. “I think all of us need to work this together. We have to find these people. You can’t drag ’em in if they don’t want to come. It’s not an easy issue.

“I don’t think enough demand has been coming. Building a building? I don’t know. Funding a program is not a cheap thing. We’re talking about millions of dollars over time.”

It’s a political reality that the loudest clamor comes from those who want smaller government, not additional services, and that Washington County has seen its budget for existing social services increase markedly over the years.

Brian Natali, spokesman for the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, did not return voicemail inquiries about whether any county government in Pennsylvania actually runs a shelter for homeless veterans.

Both Shober and Maggi said they’ve received feedback about veterans arriving at homeless shelters but not staying because they disagree with prohibitions on drug or alcohol use.

Commission Vice Chairman Diana Irey Vaughan, the wife of a U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who has served multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, said, “I can assure you that this county and this board of commissioners have not given up on our veterans and will not stop when we see there is an unmet need that we can fulfill. We will be there to support them.”

Paterra’s questions drew both the current and former veterans director for Washington County into a discussion.

Wilson said, “If you’re housed in the Washington City Mission and if you’re a veteran, you must see the veterans’ director. I can tell you, out of all the homeless veterans that I’ve had come into my office, I’d give them a list of what I needed to further their case. I’ve never had one come back for a followup visit. Not one in six years. Why they don’t follow up, I can’t speculate on that.”

Barry Grimm, Wilson’s successor who’s been Washington County’s veterans director for the past three years, said four homeless veterans have come into his office during his tenure and that “they turned down what was available.”

That may make one wonder what is available for homeless veterans through Washington County.

Tim Kimmel, human services director, wrote in an email that the county has funding set aside to rent seven, one-bedroom apartments for veterans in its homeless assistance programs. Five of the apartments are in the MH/Veterans program and two apartments are part of the Permanent Housing Expansion program. At present, three units are occupied by veterans.

It’s not as if the county is paying for vacant apartments. There have been no requests to lease more than three.

“As with all of our programs, if a veteran meets the eligibility guidelines for the program, he or she will be placed in an apartment if there is an opening,” Kimmel wrote. “There is a Supported Services for Veterans’ Families Program in our area. Although Washington County is not a direct recipient of these funds, it is a regional program that assists homeless veterans and their families, including Washington County veterans.”

There is also a program from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development known as HUD-VASH for Veterans Affairs Section 8 Housing administered through the VA and public housing authorities. Although the Washington County Housing Authority does not have any of these vouchers, if a Washington County veteran has a voucher acquired through the VA, it has “portability,” meaning it can be used in Washington County.