On October 28th my social justice group went to the New York VA Hospital on East 23rd Street. When we first walked in we met with the Executive Chief of Staff, Claudia Benjamin. She guided us around the facility and talked to us about our schedule for the day.

       Next, we met with Dr. Tenner who talked to us about the veterans. He spoke to us about how his father that was a dentist who worked with less fortunate people in a poor community which inspired him to help others. He told us how hard it must be to be a homeless veteran, because after fighting in a war for our country they could come home either sick, injured or homeless and not enough has been done about homelessness. He suggested that the government fund a shelter for veterans after they get home for a month so they will have time to get back on their feet and go on with their lives. He advised us to always go with what we believe because one can make a difference.

       After that we met with Isaac Gonzalez a former veteran that worked in the office. He shared with us his story of being a veteran and how many of his bunk mates ended up being homeless. Before we left we asked the Isaac, “If the world could stop and be silent for 5 minutes and listen only to you, what’s one thing that you would say about this topic.” He said he would want people to look around and notice how many veterans are living on the street after they fought for our country. He added that there should be no veterans living on the street. Right from the beginning we were surprised by how many people were there for help. We also noticed it seemed dark and sad. There were a lot of staff working at the hospital which showed that a lot of people were getting the help they deserve.