630 local veterans are no longer homeless thanks to Bay Pines, the VA’s nationwide efforts

By JJ Burton

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    PINELLAS COUNTY, Florida (WFTS) — Michael Feaster is walking through the door of his new home with a smile on his face.

“The feeling now is great,” he said. “It’s overwhelming.”

This is huge for him.

“It’s really a blessing.”

He’s 60 years old, a St. Petersburg native, he has a full-time job, and he’s an American marine veteran. But, up until two months ago, he was homeless. He said he was sleeping in his car.

“It was a very bad place for me,” he said, looking back at his car.

The main issue for Feaster, he couldn’t afford the rent, even with his full-time job. Rent, he said, is too high.

“It’s kind of a rough topic for me to talk about.”

Even though he didn’t want to, He turned to Bay Pines VA Healthcare System.

“If it wasn’t for the VA, my therapist.” He said, trying not to get too emotional. He looked back at his house and said, “ I really don’t know if I’d even be standing here because it was a rough place I was in.”

Feaster is one of 630 local veterans Bay Pines was able to find housing for over the last year. It’s all part of the VA’s nationwide effort to find permanent housing for 38,000 veterans.

“We want to end homelessness for our veterans,” said Yvonne Morales.

“We have a lot of people dealing with homelessness,” she said. “It’s sad. It’s not shocking.”

Morales and Lori Iraheta-Yen both work at Bay Pines, helping veterans find homes. Thanks to them and their team Bay Pines exceeded its’ goal, helping 104.3% of local veterans. Nationwide the VA decreased the number of homeless veterans by 55.3%.

“It’s a motivator when we get someone housed, and we help them throughout the process,” Iraheta-Yen said. “It motivates us to keep going forward.”

It also motivates veterans like Feaster.

“My thanks go out to the VA,” he said. “They really helped me. I Thank them, especially my caseworker. “

The VA is now working to reduce veteran homelessness by 25% by 2025.

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