By Michael Hill
Correspondent
What got 65-year-old Vietnam veteran and recovering alcoholic and crack addict Clinton Geddis off the streets?
“I had nowhere else to go,” he said. “I turned to God, and he helped me.”
Geddis was among the homeless veterans in Trenton and Mercer County who turned to drugs and alcohol to cope and the streets to live. Among his resting spots is the train station under a flag he risked life and limb to protect.
“I slept door to door, abandoned porches. I ate scraps, whatever I could find,” Geddis said. “It was a pride thing. I didn’t know how to ask for help.”
The retired first Lieutenant Marine says he spent three months on Trenton’s streets and owes his living in a house now to an outpatient healthcare company.
“We agree that one homeless veteran is one too many,” said Trenton Mayor Eric Jackson.
The city, the county and advocates for the homeless here tout Geddis as one of the many success stories in meeting First Lady Michelle Obama’s challenge of housing homeless veterans by the end of this year.
Not that long ago Trenton and Mercer County had 79 homeless veterans. Now, it’s down to 15 and officials say they’re confident they’ll house all of them by the end of the year.
Frank Cirillo of the Mercer Alliance to End Homelessness says it takes partnerships and commitment.
“We will never, never take the individuals we serve for granted. Especially our veterans at this time. Who no matter how difficult the challenges they face certainly deserve our gratitude and deserve our attention,” said Cirillo.
The state and the League of Municipalities have just named Trenton, and its one-stop help center for homelessness, the winner of their innovation in governance award. The mayor also announced veterans will be first in line for city-funded new housing.
“Our commitment to veterans needs to be more than a one day observation,” Jackson said.
That’s a stark contrast to what the U.S. Labor Department has found; New Jersey veterans have the second highest jobless rate of all 50 states.
Nationally, a new PublicMind poll of 1,026 adults found that 48 percent think the U.S. does a poor job of caring for veterans; 42 percent blame Congress and 29 percent blame the Department of Veterans Affairs.
But, Geddis doesn’t blame anyone. He credits advocates for getting him off the streets and on the right path
“It’s been a long time for me to get to where I’m at. And I just want to say I’m finally here, thank God,” he said.
Geddis, now a state-licensed counselor, is trying to help others get there, too.