This is one of the greatest moments on The West Wing as Toby organizes a military honor guard and burial at Arlington National Cemetery for a homeless Korean War veteran.
“In Excelsis Deo” originally aired on NBC December 15, 1999, and is the 10th episode of the first season of The West Wing.
According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans,
[T]he U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that 57,849 veterans are homeless on any given night. Over the course of a year, approximately twice that many experience homelessness. Only 7% of the general population can claim veteran status, but nearly 13% of the homeless adult population are veterans.
According to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education and Networking Groups for Veterans Program (CHALENG)
In 1994, the VA launched Project CHALENG (Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education and Networking Groups) for Veterans, an innovative program designed to enhance the continuum of care for homeless Veterans provided by the local VA and its surrounding community service agencies. The guiding principle behind Project CHALENG is that no single agency can provide the full spectrum of services required to help homeless Veterans become productive members of society. Project CHALENG enhances coordinated services by bringing the VA together with community agencies and other federal, state, and local governments who provide services to the homeless to raise awareness of homeless Veterans’ needs and to plan to meet those needs.
As noted in the executive summary for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education and Networking Groups for Veterans (CHALENG) Report:
President Obama’s Administration has called for the elimination of homelessness among Veterans. On March 26, 2009, the President said, “We will provide new help for homeless Veterans because those heroes have a home – it’s the country they served, the United States of America. And until we reach a day when not a single Veteran sleeps on the street our business is unfinished.” To achieve this goal, Secretary Shinseki announced the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) goal of ending homelessness among Veterans in 2015. This charge required significant enhancement of VA’s efforts to address the complex challenges surrounding homelessness. It also required greater coordination with the community, national, and local service providers, and other Federal and state partners, to develop and implement new services focused on outreach, treatment, intervention, supportive services, transitional and permanent housing, and the prevention of homelessness.
You can watch a video presented by the Department of Veterans Affairs, followed by an the Excelsis Deo episode from The West Wing.
VA Homeless Veterans “Success Stories” Public Service Announcement
Learn how a simple call to 1-877-4AID-VET helps homeless and at-risk Veterans connect with VA services to ensure that the words homeless and Veteran are never used together.
The West Wing – In Excelsis Deo
http://youtu.be/qqLIH2UiPXg
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