MIAMI — As we recognize those who have served in the military, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs said there were about 35,000 veterans experiencing homelessness in the country last year — a 7.4% increase since the beginning of 2022.
And though South Florida is not exempt from that issue, a new kind of program hopes to provide housing to local unhoused veterans.
Ernest Johnson said he can’t walk for more than 20 minutes due to pain in his lower body.
“I go through a lot of pain at night because I’m still in the healing process,” Johnson said.
And that isn’t from his five years as a U.S. Marine during the Vietnam War. He had a 35-year career as a painter after leaving the service and he tore a disc in his vertebrae while on the job last year that needed three surgeries.
“Five screws on each side. And a rod there to accommodate those screws,” Johnson said as he showed CBS News Miami his scars.
He was in the hospital for five months and couldn’t work, so he lost the apartment he lived in. Someone at his church got him in touch with the On Your 6 Foundation , which provides housing and services for veterans in need.