Former Army chaplain helps homeless veterans in Pasco
By Mindy Rubenstein, Times Correspondent
In Print: Saturday, September 19, 2009
The Rev. Morson Livingston, center, founder of St. Jude’s Homeless Veterans Resource Center, stops Thursday at the Salvation Army Center of Hope in Port Richey. Livingston, a former U.S. Army chaplain, left the military in 2001.
NEW PORT RICHEY — The Rev. Morson Livingston was stopped at a red light at State Road 54 and Little Road last year when he saw a couple of homeless men standing on the side of the road, wearing parts of their military uniforms. Livingston, who served as a U.S. Army chaplain in Bosnia before leaving the priesthood a few years ago, stopped and asked where they had served.
Vietnam, the men responded.
"I just imagined them in their uniforms, how strong and macho they were, and how desperate they are now in contrast," Livingston recalled.
He felt the need to help.
Livingston, 50, now combs the woods in the remote areas of Pasco County, identifying homeless veterans, delicately reaching out to them and offering help. He also visits campsites and local homeless shelters.
"A lot more of them are still in the woods," he said. "They do not want to be found."
He gives them rides to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and the VA hospital in Tampa. He explains their military benefits, such as health care and possible pensions, and puts them in touch with VA officials who can process them. He has brought a couple of veterans to Holy Ground and the ROPE Center, both homeless shelters in Hudson.
But he said it's a slow process of trying to build relationships with them so they'll trust him.
"Some areas, unless they invite you, you're not allowed to go there," he said.
According to Pasco County statistics, there are 4,527 homeless people locally, of which 815 are veterans. "My strong gut feeling is it is much higher," Livingston said.
Livingston's faith journey began on the other side of the world. Born in Kerala, India, where the vast majority of people are Hindu, he grew up in the Catholic Church as an altar boy and was ordained as a priest in 1985.
He moved to the United States a decade later and became a pastor at a Louisiana church. He also served as a chaplain for the Federal Bureau of Prison Systems in Springfield, Mo., but it was his service as a U.S. Army chaplain in Bosnia that helped chart his mission.
He said he became more in touch with soldiers and their lives during his 1999-2000 stint in the peacekeeping mission.
"I became part of them…I became patriotic during my life's journey as an Army chaplain. I know the sacrifices," he said.
Livingston left the military in 2001 after suffering a neck and back injury in Bosnia. He came to the Tampa area in 2005 in the hopes of getting an aggressive spinal treatment program offered at the James Haley Veterans Hospital.
Then life threw another curveball: Livingston fell in love. He left the priesthood and married Sema, a stockbroker. They bought a home in Land O'Lakes, and Livingston runs his St. Jude's Veterans Center and church from the garage. He still goes by the title of reverend or chaplain.
"It's about helping the veterans," said Livingston, who holds a non-denominational Saturday service in his living room for about 30 people. "I believe in God, I believe in Christ my ultimate savior. He keeps me moving."
Working with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Livingston organized the Stand Down Homeless Health Fair for Pasco County, which coordinates between various organizations in the community to provide services for homeless veterans such as food, shelter, health screenings, health benefit counseling, housing, employment and substance abuse counseling.
More than 70 homeless, including about 17 veterans, showed up at the event Friday at First United Church of Hudson, where they received bedrolls, hygiene kits and some basic medical care.
"We're very pleased with Rev. Livingston," said Wendy Hellickson, supervisor for health care for homeless veterans at the Tampa VA Hospital. "He's a very good community partner."
Livingston has found other helping hands in the community. A few months ago he met John Carland, 72, at a tai chi seminar, and they got to talking about what they were doing with their lives. It was a two-minute conversation, said Carland, but he immediately knew, "I'm interested in helping." Carland, a retired Coast Guard captain, now helps Livingston find the veterans and connect them with programs.
"We're a neophyte institution at this point," said Carland. "We're just now getting to the point where we're crawling."
Mike Glass, community outreach pastor for Impact Family Church near downtown New Port Richey, also helps. Glass, whose son is a wounded veteran, said for the most part the homeless in Pasco are "under the radar screen."
Of Livingston he said, "I've seen him reach out. If he can help, he will, whether veteran or not."
There are about seven other volunteers who currently help on a part-time basis, but Livingston said he needs more. He said he needs a building to someday house a one-stop center where veterans could get meals and other assistance. And he needs people to help with driving and other needs.
"When I was a young priest I didn't do this much work," Livingston said, laughing. But the mission is worth it: "It's a blessing."
"Faith in Motion" is a weekly feature about an individual or group doing something inspiring in the course of a spiritual journey. Story ideas are welcomed, via e-mail. Send them to Mindy.Rubenstein@me.com.
Fast facts
How to get help
For information on St. Jude's Homeless Veterans Resource Center, call (813) 951-2288, e-mail stjudesveteranscenter@gmail.com or visit www.stjudesveterans center.org.
The next Stand Down health fair event for homeless veterans will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 11 at the Rotary Concourse Pavilion, 15323 State Road 52 (near Safety Town).
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