Legion members visit Baltimore veterans
MCVET Program Coordinator Ronald Hill shows Legionnaires the temporary housing center at the Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training (MCVET) during the 97th American Legion National Convention in Baltimore on Monday, Aug. 31. Photo by Lucas Carter

Legion members visit Baltimore veterans

Through the thin black iron gates that surround the compound of the Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training (MCVET), men and women sit on benches speckled around the compound.

The unassuming residents display happy confident demeanors. On the outside, they are no different from anyone else residing in Baltimore, but they are unique in their own individual ways. From different cities and towns across America, these men and women are mothers, brothers, fathers and loved ones. But most importantly they are veterans, in certain cases Legionnaires, who through unfortunate circumstances experienced homelessness and turned to the center for help battling the issues and addictions plaguing their lives.

“There was a point in time when I never equated homeless and veteran in the same sentence,” said Jeffery Kendrick, MCVET’s executive director.

When the agency was founded in 1993, the founders – two of whom are Legionnaires – built the organization around the principle that it takes the entire community to help a veteran heal.

On Aug. 31, during The American Legion’s 97th National Convention in Baltimore, the center opened its doors to members of the Legion's Veterans Employment and Education Commission. During their visit, the commission members met the residents and the staff.

“As I walked around the campus, I had the opportunity to talk to one of the veterans,” said Jim Fratolillo, chairman of the Legion’s Employment and Veterans Preference Committee. “He told me that the center saved his life.”

Through various services including a day drop-in program, transitional housing, single occupancy permanent housing and specialized job training, MCVET relies on the services of community partners to assist with providing a seamless continuum of care for its veterans. “Unfortunately, the solution is not as simple as taking a vet off the street – you have to address the underlying problems that led to the homelessness first,” Kendrick said.

When the veterans don't have a job or are not in educational training classes, they have opportunities to enjoy recreational activities. Due to the fact that the facility receives forms of government funding and grants, donations make entertainment options possible. The facility also relies on donated furniture and other goods to keep its programs up and running.

MCVET is also home to American Legion Post 127. The post moved to the MCVET facility last July and has been thriving since then thanks to help from the residents and other Legion members and posts.

“The local American Legion, Auxiliary and Sons of The American Legion posts are our biggest supporters,” Kendrick said. “Our doors would not be open without the support we get from them.”