Danny Abbetiello has never been "one of those homeless vets on the street with a sign."
Mostly he has worn suits, nice ones, bought and paid for with good jobs since his two-year stint in Vietnam. Still, Abbetiello admits he's been close to being on the streets a few times the past 30 years. But he no longer even considers that an option as he heads to college and the hope of a degree in social work.
Abbetiello, 53, says his attitude these days is not just his natural supply of self-confidence as a native New Yorker showing through but having his future revved up the past month as a resident of a unique transitional house for homeless veterans.
The Valor House, a wing of which opened officially Wednesday at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Salt Lake, is the first of its kind in the country that provides housing at a discount rate for veterans who are homeless or on the verge of becoming homeless.
Social service agencies estimate that veterans make up approximately 22 percent of the homeless population in Utah, with about 70 in emergency shelters and about the same number literally on the street each night.
Most veterans Abbetiello knows who are struggling financially "are not into the gimme. There are some poor guys on the street, but most are working and trying to do better. For whatever reason, they find themselves off the tracks and just need some help to get back on again."
That was the motivating factor of a special public and private partnership that started putting The Valor House deal together two years ago. The Housing Authority of Salt Lake City and the VA acquired federal, state, local and private funds totaling $744,000 to renovate the space the VA had used as an inpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation center.
The housing authority will manage the residential portion of The Valor House. Counseling and medical care will be provided by the VA.
The program is exactly what U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Tony Principi has in mind when he talks about coming up with real-world ways to support veterans, said his senior advisor, Rudi Gresham.
"Sometime getting back into society after military service is the toughest battle a veteran has," Gresham told an open house audience Tuesday, noting that helping homeless veterans is second on the list of the new secretary's priorities.
"Veterans in this situation are an asset, they've just had a little bit of a tough time," Gresham said.
At The Valor House, veterans paying at least $330 per month have as long as two years to resolve their problems and move into the larger community. The VA supplies a $19 daily per diem for each resident to help pay for the two daily meals and other services. The first wing unveiled Tuesday has 15 rooms with 34 beds. The second wing will be ready for occupancy by March. It will have 24 private rooms with private or shared baths.
The house makes sense for Salt Lake City, which has long been a crossroads for veterans, both because of where it lies geographically and because it has a large VA hospital, said Barry Bassett, director of the clinical side of the program.
There are a lot of reasons vets can become homeless, "not the least of which is social isolation," Bassett said. "This facility brings them together, offers stability and then helps them branch out into society again."
E-MAIL: jthalman@desnews.com