'Walk the walk': Encampments raise awareness, funds for homeless veterans in Lebanon County

Residents traveling in their vehicles at the corner of 9th and Cumberland Streets on a chilly Friday morning last week were greeted by volunteers with American flags and familiar bright orange buckets.

Volunteers were part of the 11th annual Homeless Veterans Awareness Campaign, which started Friday morning and lasted until 2 p.m. Saturday. The event is hosted by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 23 in Lebanon.

"There was a need our community for us to take some action to help homeless vets," Bill Meiser, campaign chairperson, said. "So we created the Homeless Veterans Awareness Campaign, and we basically wanted to walk the walk and ensure that we are doing what we can to help area veterans that are in distress."

Participants, including veterans, family members, friends and other supporters, become temporarily homeless for 32 hours, relying on the kindness of strangers for meals, donations and support. Meiser said that as of Friday Morning almost 30 people were out at both the Lebanon Farmer's Market and Fisher Veterans' Memorial Park locations, collecting donations for the campaign.

"This 32 hours is definitely just an uncomfortable thing," he said. "You took a vacation day to be uncomfortable, because it also reminds you of the plight of our comrades. Those who are in this situation and can't get out."

Each campaign participant has only the clothing on their back, a rucksack, sleeping bag, bottled water and a small ration of food, according to organizers. Volunteers can raise on average about $1,000 an hour during peak traffic hours.

Volunteer Athena Gjerde got involved six years ago with the campaign and was out Friday getting donations with other volunteers. Gjerde said that gaining donations is a small service she can do to give back to veterans in need.

"I've been working with the military for the last 25 years," she said. "I've seen a lot of service members come back, and they just may not always quite fit back into civilian life."

In January 2022. there were an estimated 32,129 homeless veterans, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. About 59% of them were staying in emergency shelters or transitional housing.

U.S. military veterans are estimated to make up 11% of homeless adults, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

"Back when we started this campaign, veteran homelessness was at an ungodly rate of almost 24%," Meiser said. "So almost a quarter of the homeless population was veterans."

The number of veterans experiencing homelessness in the United States has declined by 11%, or 4,123 people, between 2020 and 2022, according to HUD.

While he credits the work volunteers have done to help in that decrease, Meiser said the campaign also helps people recognize the plight many homeless veterans are experiencing as winter draws near.

"Every night, I get to go home to a warm house and I can relax," Meiser said. "What this does for us is remind everybody out here how much it sucks to not have a home and take for granted all you do have."

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Monetary donations may be sent to VFW Post 23, 718 Chestnut St., Lebanon, PA 17042. Checks should be made out to VFW Post 23, noting HVAC in the memo. More information can be found on the campaign's Facebook page.

If you are a veteran who is experiencing homelessness or at risk for homelessness, you can call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-424-3838.

Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on Twitter at @DAMattToth.

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Lebanon PA encampments raise awareness about homeless vets