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Secretary Eric Shinseki resigned from the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs today after learning about systemic issues throughout the largest hospital system in the country.  Hospital administrators lied about wait times to meet their performance goals and earn a bonus.  He called the breach of integrity “irresponsible, indefensible and unacceptable” and took responsibility for the problems. I happened to be there when Secretary Shinseki gave his final speech in front of an appreciative audience at the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.  Five times we stood and cheered a man who has led the charge to end veteran homelessness, whatever his challenges as the head of the country’s largest hospital system.

I served with General Shinseki in Bosnia.  That is to say, as a 20-something lieutenant, General Shinseki was my four star commander.   And yet even from far away, I recognized what a compassionate leader he was. He is a man who speaks truth to power.  He insisted hundreds of thousands of troops were necessary to invade Iraq back in 2003.  And he was right.  He is also a man whose humility pervades his work.  Under his tenure veteran homelessness decreased 24% during a recession which saw homelessness overall increase.  Thanks to the work of Secretary Shinseki and hundreds of organizations nationwide, we can actually look forward to a future when there is no such thing as veteran homelessness.

As Secretary Shinseki leaves and we wait for another secretary to be nominated and confirmed, let’s not forget the good that he accomplished.  When he started in 2009, we didn’t even know the scale of veteran homelessness.  Today, we not only know the scale, we have proven solutions and resources to get veterans off the street and into stable housing.  We have the HUD (U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development)-VASH (Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing), a unique collaboration between the VA and HUD  that offers housing vouchers to homeless veterans.  We have veterans courts that seek treatment alternatives to incarceration, a challenge homeless veterans often face.  And we have new pain treatment protocols that reduce opiate dependency that leads to substance abuse, another challenge faced by homeless veterans.  It was Secretary Shinseki who sought the root causes of veteran homelessness and led the way in bringing new and expanded resources to bear.

The Veterans Forward program at National Able Network works with over 100 homeless and at-risk veterans.  We use the resources Secretary Shinseki built and expanded, on top of our own career training programs to get them employed and into stable housing.  For me, this is Eric Shinseki’s legacy.

Thank you sir.