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Mount Vernon Gazette Page 9 Mount Vernon’s Hometown Newspaper • A Connection Newspaper January 22, 2015 Ending Veteran Homelessness in 2015? County is joining the over 200 mayors and elected Chairman Bulova, Fairfax officials nationwide to take on that challenge. County take on national “COULD WE HAVE ALL VETERANS IN A HOUSE by end of 2015? Yes,” said Mary Keeser, a Mayors Challenge. governance board member for the Office to Prevent and End Homelessness, and founder of volunteer By Tim Peterson organization America’s Adopt A Soldier. The Gazette “Would that prevent them from becoming home- less again? No. We didn’t solve the root problems. he transition from serving in the armed They need to go back and get training, jobs. Can we forces to civilian life is often not simple. work on our preventative measures? Absolutely.” T While in Fairfax County there are more For any case of homelessness, there’s no magic than 12,000 veteran-owned businesses, bullet. indicating a significant measure of success, for oth- “That’s sort of the end of the spiral,” said Bulova, ers the path is far more difficult. “when someone has had difficulty during their daily For a small number of veterans, unemployment, life, trying to cope with things that they’ve experi- alcoholism, drug abuse or mental or physical disabil- enced when they were serving their country. It may ity causes them wind up at rock-bottom: homeless. be marital differences, drinking, drug abuse, finan- In Fairfax County’s 2014 “Point-in-Time” count of cial difficulties. And trying to look at some of those homeless individuals living in the Fairfax-Falls Church root causes, where this all began, is important to community, veterans made up 8 percent of the total ending homelessness.” of Nardos King courtesy Photo number of 1,225 people. The next Point-in-Time For “Jones,” a mid-30s veteran of the war in Iraq, snapshot study will take place on Wednesday, Jan. the downward spiral was a result of his Post-trau- 28, in coordination with the Metropolitan Washing- matic stress disorder. “He could not sleep, could not ton Council of Governments. live with what he saw,” said Keeser. Dean Klein, director of the county’s Office to Pre- Jones ended up walking out on his wife and chil- vent and End Homelessness, said it’s difficult to main- dren, his life, to live in the woods south of Fort tain an exact head count because of the transient Belvoir. One day he was approached by a commu- nature of the group and, he believes, many veterans nity member who also happened to be a veteran. who are homeless choose to not identify themselves That person earned Jones’ trust and convinced him as veterans. He estimates that there are about 150 to seek help from a Veterans Affairs caseworker. homeless veterans in Fairfax County. Over the next six months, Jones received counsel- That population is the focus of First Lady Michelle ing services through the VA and a HUD-Veterans Af- Mount Vernon High School students and members of the Obama’s Mayors Challenge to End Veterans fairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) rental voucher Mount Vernon Community help America’s Adopt A Soldier Homelessness in 2015. Board of Supervisors Chair- fill care packages for deployed soldiers. The “care pack- man Sharon Bulova announced recently that Fairfax See End Veteran Homelessness, Page 4 ing” was held at Mount Vernon High School Jan. 19. Colleagues Praise Puller Political Jockeying agement and support of my fam- With Puller’s retirement, State senator to retire at ily and friends I ran for and won a seat in the House of Del- the race is on. end of current session. egates.” She served in the House of Delegates for 8 years. She By Gerald A. Fill nation for the 36th Senate District By Gerald A. Fill then ran for the State Senate. “In The Gazette seat; Mayor of Dumfries Jerry The Gazette 1999 , with the encouragement Foreman had already declared in and support of the late Senator oon after state Sen. Toddy December 2014 that he is seeking alling State Senator Linda T. “Toddy” Puller’s Joe Gartlan and family and Puller’s retirement an- the Republican nomination for the th S Cannouncement to retire “bittersweet,” Del. friends I ran for the 36 Senate nouncement, candidates for seat. So far the only other declared Mark Sickles explained that it is “bitter be- Puller District and won. My colleagues the vacated seat are already candidate for the anticipated open cause her absence will leave a gaping void here in in the Senate entrusted me with emerging. seat is Paul Krizek who announced Richmond; sweet because nobody has done more in the chairman’s gavel of the Joint Commission on Del. Scott Surovell (D-44) said one life to deserve less hectic years at home with Health Care, and the Senate Committee on Reha- he will seek the Democratic nomi- See Race, Page 3 friends and family.” bilitation and Social Services, and a place on the On the opening day of the Virginia General As- Board of Veterans Services ... where I hope along the sembly, Puller said she will retire from the Virginia way I have been able to improve opportunities for 1/23/15 Senate after the 2015 legislative session. all Virginians. Now, with the encouragement, love, home in Requested material. Puller was elected to four consecutive terms rep- and support of my family I have made the decision Time-sensitive resenting the 44th District, House of Delegates (1992- to step down and to not run in 2015.” Her district Postmaster: 2000), and four consecutive terms representing the includes portions of Fairfax county, Prince William Attention th #482 Permit 36 Senate District (2000 to the present). County, and Stafford County. VA Alexandria, PAID “Twenty-three years ago I began one of the great Postage U.S. adventures of my life,” she said. “With the encour- See Puller, Page 3 STD PRSRT www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ January 22-28, 2015 ❖ 1 2 ❖ Mount Vernon Gazette ❖ January 22-28, 2015 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com News Puller To Retire at End of Current Session From Page 1 ders causing death or serious mental disor- ment is a great loss to those she represented ders. in Fairfax County, Prince William, and Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, she gradu- ❖ A Constitutional Amendment to pro- Stafford County. She has been a strong sup- ated from Mary Washington college and is vide a tax exemption for disabled veterans porter for critical needs in transportation, a member of the Episcopal Church. She ❖ A leading sponsor of funding legisla- veterans benefits, and social justice issues.” taught fourth grade in Woodbridge. tion that secured $2 million for the U.S. In addition, “she sponsored legislation to Puller was married to Lewis B. Puller, Jr. Multimodal Transit Alternatives Study simplify absentee ballots for overseas mili- a decorated U.S. Marine , who was severely which recommended extending the yellow tary voters, improve benefits for the dis- wounded in Vietnam. He lost both his legs line to Hybla Valley and bus rapid transit to abled, and sponsored a Virginia constitu- and six fingers to a booby trap explosion Woodbridge. tional amendment to provide a property tax and was nearly killed. They had two chil- She recently introduced legislation in this exemption for disabled veterans.” dren and she now has two grandchildren. session of the General Assembly to assure State Sen. Adam Ebbin called her “a tire- On the eve of her first election in 1991 to that the $300 million Virginia Public Build- less fighter for veterans and all the citizens the House of Delegates her husband wrote ing Authority Bonds that were approved will of the Commonwealth. Her work will be a a novel about his experiences, “Fortunate not be used for any other purpose until an lasting legacy for the people of Mount Son”, which won a Pulitzer Prize. Not long appropriate state share of the funds will be Vernon and Prince William. She will be after that, Lewis Puller Jr. took his life. Sev- State Sen. Linda T. “Toddy” Puller allocated for the Northern Virginia Veter- greatly missed in Richmond.” eral years later Senator Puller suffered a with her grandsons, Ben and ans Care Center project and the Hampton Del. Scott Surovell said, “Senator Puller’s stroke that affected her physically but not Charles. Roads Veterans Center project. In addition, retirement is a significant loss for the Mount her ability as a legislator. Senate Minority she has been credited for being a consis- Vernon and Lee areas of Fairfax county, the leader Dick Saslaw commented on her re- Kaine said “her primary legacy will be the tent advocate for the disadvantaged in Vir- Occoquan, Woodbridge, and Montclair ar- tirement announcement: “In all the years I incredible work she has done to support ginia who need assistance for health care, eas of Prince William County, and North have known Toddy despite the personal Virginia veterans. Her tireless advocacy for shelter, and educational assistance. Stafford County. Her three decades of se- tragedies she suffered and her physical limi- initiatives such as property tax exemptions Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerald niority, and policy experience are an irre- tations she never once complained. Never for disabled veterans and Virginia’s Hyland said, “She has been a tireless ad- placeable asset for her 200,000 constitu- once. She was a very fine legislator who did wounded warrior program will aid veter- vocate for Mount Vernon residents. Her ents. There is not a member of the Virginia her homework, was always prepared, and ans for generations to come.” She has re- focus on veterans, education, families, and legislature who is more focused on moving could always be relied on to provide the ceived numerous awards for her work in transportation has made a difference for our state government to address the con- legislative leadership to carry out her many the General Assembly, including the 2011 the better.
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