Rent vouchers in hand, homeless Idaho veterans still struggle to find housing

Rising landpricesandashortageof

available lots are stuntingValleyhome-

building,ZachKyle reports inBI’s resi-

dential real estate issue.Meanwhile, the

headof the IdahoHousingandFinance

Associationsaysmoderate-income

homebuyersare returning to themarket.

Inother stories, localbusiness leaders

takeon theminimumwage, andBoise’s

TSheetsmoves into theblack.

BUSINESS INSIDER

PRICES HURT NEW-HOME SALESBusiness

InsIderInsIder2015APRIL

An Idaho Statesmanmagazine

QUARTERLY SURVEY: Time to

boost the minimum wage? Page 10

SMALL BUSINESS: TSheets

makes money at last. Page 12

SPEC IAL COVERAGE : RES IDENT IAL REAL ESTATE

Plus: Themoderate-income

homebuyer is back. Pages 26-39

HIGHERPRICES

SLOWNEW-HOMEDEMAND

Idaho Statesman

IDAHOSTATESMAN:AMcClatchyNewspaper,1200N.Curtis Road, Boise, ID • P.O. Box40, Boise, ID83707 • (208)377-6200•©2015 IdahoStatesman,Vol. 150No. 2642 sections, 24pages

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Havingahousingvoucherisnoguaranteeforveteranstryingtofindaplacetolive.Highrentsand

low vacancy rates are factors, along with some homeless veterans’ own challenges, such as bad

credit, criminal history andmental illness. Veterans advocates are reaching out to landlords and

propertymanagers,makingthecasethathousingisabasicright,especiallyforthemenandwomen

whohaveservedourcountry.OurAnnaWebbreports.DEPTH,D1

HOMELESS VETERANS

SEEKING THE KEY TO SAFE,AFFORDABLE HOUSING

‘We feel like our hands are tied right now. It feels like running full speed at a brick wall when wedon’t have places to refer veterans to.’ — Amanda Walund, caseworker in Boise

KATHERINE JONES / kjones@idahostatesman.com

Crystal Dunkin, a Desert Storm veteran who has been homeless several times, has been using a housing voucher without problems for five years.But now her landlord isn’t renewing her lease and she has to move. “This is my sanctuary,” said Dunkin. “I sit here with (dogs Halo, shown, andAngel) and l listen for my goldfinch. That’s my morning song, with my cup of coffee and my dogs. ... I’m going to miss that so much.”

ANEWS&SPORTSCatchingUpA2-3 | Local newsA4 | BusinessA6 | Nation/WorldA5-9 | SportsA10-13 |WeatherA14 | StocksA14

DDEPTH EditorialD1 |OpinionsD2 | Letters to the EditorD3 | Guest opinionD2 | Editorial CartoonD2 | LegalAdsD5-6EEXPLORE Recipes E1 | CarolynHax E1 | Comics E2-3 | Horoscopes E3 | Puzzles E3 | TVE2 |Obituaries E5| Classifieds E6-8

WHAT RETIREMENT?

Boise’s Kristin Armstrongreturns to pro cycling

SPORTS, A10

STEELHEADS READY

FOR POSTSEASONTHEY FACE UTAH IN ECHL PLAYOFFS; ALSO,

STANLEY CUP CHASE BEGINS TODAY • A10

EDITORIAL

Gov. Otter muststep in on childsupport issue

DEPTH, D1

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Producing radical Muslims

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DepthInside:

GUEST OPINION: STANDING UP TO THE FEDS D2

ANOTHER VIEW: HOW LINCOLN BECAME AMERICAN SAINT D2

SAN FRANCISCO — A fightnext year over whether to allowrecreationalmarijuanause inCali-forniamay serve as a tipping pointas legalization proponents presstheircampaigninotherU.S. states.

“Alot of eyes are onCalifornia,”GavinNewsom, thestate’s lieuten-

ant governor and a legalizationproponent, said. “It’sverydifferentthan almost any other state be-cause of the scale and the magni-tude of the change andwhat itwillrepresentacross thecountry.”

Themost populous U.S. state isamongat least five, includingMas-sachusetts andMaine, inwhich le-galization measures are likely toappear on ballots in November2016. Both advocates and oppo-nentssaysuccessor failure inCali-forniaislikelytodeterminewheth-ermost of the country decriminal-

izes thedrugforrecreationaluse.“Astatewith somuch influence

and size is very important,” saidKevin Sabet, co-founder of SmartApproaches to Marijuana, a SanDiego-based nonprofit group thatopposes legalization. “Weexpect along,drawn-outbattleinCalifornia—andanexpensiveone.”

At stake isamarketof 39millionCalifornia residents, more thandouble the combined size of Col-orado, Washington, Alaska and

MARIJUANA

DAVID PAUL MORRIS / Bloomberg News

Douglas Chioupek, co-founder and chief executive officer of MedMarHealing Center, checks out the root structure of a young marijuana plantin San Jose, Calif., in 2013.

Pot legalization across U.S. mayhinge on 2016 California vote

Both sides of the debate seeit as the key battlegrounddue to its size and influence.

BY ALISON VEKSHIN

BLOOMBERG NEWS

See MARIJUANA, D5

The Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Housing andUrbanDevelopment’ssupplementalhousingprogramforhomelessveter-ans, commonly known as HUD-VASH, is the largest homeless veteranhousing program in the country. It provides 190 housing vouchers acrossSouthernIdaho—25inTwinFalls,12inCanyonCountyandtheremainderin theBoise area.Thenumberof vouchers given to communities is basedonHUD’sannualPoint-in-Timehomelesscount.

Veterans are using 138 of the 190 vouchers. Twenty-four veterans inBoise have vouchers but can’t find apartments. The veterans are living inshelters, are on the streets or are “couch surfing”— staying with friendsuntilsomethingopensup—saidAnnaJohnson-Whitehead,healthcareforhomelessveteransprogrammanagerattheBoiseVeteransAdministrationMedicalCenter.Twenty-eightmore“open”vouchersareavailableforvet-eranstouse.

TheVAhassetagoalofendingveteranhomelessnessbytheendof2015.Johnson-Whiteheaddoesn’t thinkBoisewillmake it.Nationally, thecom-munitiesusingHUD-VASHvouchershavehoused78percentof theirvet-erans.Boise isbelowthenationalaverageat73percent.

Johnson-Whitehead and others want to get the word out to potentiallandlordsabout thisurgentneedinthecommunity.

ALANDLORD’SMARKETSafe,affordablehousingistoughforanyonetofind,letaloneforveterans

with vouchers. Many reasons are to blame, said Deanna Watson at theBoiseCityAdaCountyHousingAuthority, the localhousingagencypart-neringwiththeVA.

Apartmentvacancyratesarerelativelylowinthearea,around3percent.It’salandlord’smarket.WatsonisoptimisticthatthecurrentbuildingboominBoisewilleventuallymeanmoreaffordableapartments,butthat’sawaysoff, shesaid.

“HUD-VASHlooks reallygoodwhenvacancyratesarehigh,butnot sogoodwhenthey’renot,”saidWatson.

In addition, the program requires landlords to take certain steps to be

HOMELESS VETERANS

Even with vouchers,housing struggles persist

KATHERINE JONES / kjones@idahostatesman.com

Desert Storm veteran Crystal Dunkin has been using a housing voucher without problems for five years. But now her landlord isn’t renewingher lease and she has to move. She’s looked everywhere, she said, but can’t find anything for herself and her two dogs, Angel, left, “and herdog, Halo,” said Dunkin. All of them love being outside, and there’s a creek by the current apartment where the dogs can play.

Stigma, tight market with rising rents maketransition tough for former service members

WHOARETHEHUD-VASHVOUCHER

USERS IN SOUTH IDAHO?

➤ Most users are veterans from theVietnamWarera.

➤ The average user is 58 years old.➤ 87percent of users aremen.➤ Some voucher users have been chronically

homeless and have never had a stable home. Someinitially resist joining the voucher programbecausethey’rewary of government programs. Some come tothe programwith complex histories of bad credit,criminal activity and substance abuse.

➤ Manyparticipants have physical health prob-lems, particularly foot problems caused by frostbite,thewear and tear fromwalking, and joint issues.Manyalso have dental problems fromyearswithout care.

AREYOUA LANDLORDORPROPERTY

MANAGERWITHROOMFOR

AVETERAN?

ContactAnna Johnson-Whitehead at the BoiseVAMedical CenterHealthCare forHomelessVeteransBoise office at 422-1000, ext. 7806.

Small-property owners aswell as owners andmanagers of large complexes are eligible for the pro-gram.

AREYOUAVETERANWHONEEDSHELP

WITHHOUSING?

Contact JohnRandall at theHealthCare forHome-lessVeterans Boise office at 422-1000, ext. 7425. Theoffice hosts theHUD-VASHHousing-UpGroup everyTuesday at 2 p.m. at theVAHomeless Programoffice,1276River St. (second floor) in Boise.

➤ To sign up for aHUD-VASHvoucher, veteransmust provide identification, Social Security card, docu-mentation showing income if they have jobs andmilitary discharge papers.

BY ANNAWEBB awebb@idahostatesman.com© 2015 Idaho Statesman

See HOUSING, D4

Someweeksagoweappliedthemaximthat“nothinggoodhappensaftermid-

night” inourIdahoLegislature,fearingsomelast-minutemaneu-veringmightproducearashorregrettableoutcome.Well, ithappened.

Inthewaninghoursof the2015sessionearlySaturdaymorning,theHouseJudiciary,RulesandAdministrationCommitteevoted9-8toreject federalchildsupportrules—whichhashadtheeffectofputtingthestatesysteminlimboandjeopardizing$46million indirect federalaidandmorethan$200million inchildsupportcollectionsthestateprocessesannually,accordingtoBillDentz-er’s report in theIdahoStatesmanonTuesday.

Weget therationaleof thosewhovotedagainst thesefederalmandates,butwedon’tbuyit.SomemembersonthecommitteefearedIdahowouldhavetoen-forcechildsupportdecisionsbyforeign jurisdictions—perhapsevenhavingtoacceptSharia law.

NotevenRep.RonaldNate,R-Rexburg—whohaswrittenaGuestOpiniontodaydefendinghisvotetorejectSB1067(PageD2)—believes thatpartaboutSharia law.Buthedoesbelievethat“ourham-handedfederalgovernment threatenedtopunishIdahochildrenandex-spouses forIdahonotsigningontoarestric-tiveandproblematicsetof in-ternationalstandardsforChildSupportEnforcement(CSE).”

LastSeptember,CongresspassedthePreventingSexTraf-fickingandStrengtheningFam-iliesAct,which includesthere-quirement forall states toenactthe2008amendments(provisionsof the2007HagueConventionareincluded)totheUniformIn-terstateFamilySupportActdur-ingtheirprospective2015 legisla-tivesessions.

Sofar20stateshaveenactedthemeasures,whichhaven’tbeenpopulareverywhere,andwegetthat.Buthere’sourproblem.Thoughtheremightbe60daystofigurethisoutandavoidconse-quences, theLegislaturearguablyset thischildsupportsystemonfireaftermidnightandthenwalkedaway.WeknowpeoplesuchasRep. JohnRusche,D-Lewiston,sawthemagnitudeoftheproblemandwarnedhiscol-leagues.

Itwas irresponsible for theLegislaturetotakethisactionwithoutmakingaprovisionforinterimfundingoradministration—something,anything,beforeassigningthematter to fate.

Gov.ButchOtter isoncleanupdutyandneedstofix it—evenifthatmeanscallingaspecial ses-siontoget itdone.

Anti-federal ideologyandprinciplemaketheworldgo’roundwhenit isconvenient.ThisactiononSB1067stoppedit.

StatesmanEditorialsare theunsigned

opinionexpressing theconsensusof

theStatesman’seditorialboard.To

comment or suggest a topic, email

editorial@idahostatesman.com.

STATESMAN

EDITORIAL

Otter mustintervene onchild supportdecision

eligible. They include fillingout paperwork to becomeapproved, opening proper-ties up for inspection, mak-ing any necessary repairsandmore. Even if a landlordagrees toworkwith the pro-gram, the required inspec-tions can take time. That’stime that a landlord is notcollectingrent.

“We’ve lost landlords inthe last year because they’retiredofthebureaucraticpro-cess,”saidWatson.

The vouchers provide upto $619 for a one-bedroomapartment, including utili-ties. The HUD fair marketrent forsuchanapartment is$585. All of that is out of stepwiththerealitiesoftheBoisemarket. A local firm, Moun-tain States Appraisal andConsultingInc.,tracksrentalprices in Boise. A one-bed-room apartment in a typical30-year-old complex rentsfor between $560 and $635 amonth. Average prices forthesame-sizeapartment inanewer complex with moreamenities range between$725and$825.

The HUD-VASH pro-gram requires veteranswithjobs or other income to pay30percentoftheirrent(or40percentiftheyhaveotheras-sets). The HUD-VASHvouchermakesupthediffer-enceupto$619foraone-bed-roomapartment.

Veterans searching forapartments can take a finan-cial hit long before they getsettled, said Watson. A per-son transitioning out ofhomelessness with a spottycredit history might have toapplyformultiplepropertiesbefore getting approved.Rental application fees, typ-icallyaround$35,sometimesas high as $45, add up. Theydeplete meager resources,leaving nothing for first andlastmonth’s rent and securi-ty fees. Some local agencies,includingEl-AdaCommuni-ty Action Partnership, helpveterans with small grants,but thatmoneyis limited.

OUTOFTHEAIRFORCE,OUTOFANAPARTMENT

Crystal Dunkin thoughtthe Air Force would be hercareer. She enlisted at age 18and served in Desert Stormas a munitions systems spe-cialist.In2003,whenshewas33andstationedatMountainHomeAirForceBase,amed-ical condition forced her re-

tirement.“I wasn’t prepared to get

outoftheAirForce.Iwasjustso lost, blown away,” saidDunkin. “When I put thatuniform on, it was a hugesenseofpride.WhenIdidn’thave iton, Ididn’tknowwhoIwas.”

The Tennessee nativestruggled to findherplace incivilian life.She spentyearswork-ing a scoreof jobs,from wai-tressing tolandscap-ingtowork-ing withchildrenwith au-tism. Nothing fit. “I couldn’tfindmyniche,”saidDunkin.

She moved a lot, sleepingon friends’ couches onmorethan a few nights. Mentalhealth issues, including re-curring thoughts of suicide,landed her in the veteranshospital in Boise on numer-ous occasions. Dunkin start-ed abusing alcohol. She gottreatmentthroughtheVeter-ans Administration and ap-plied for the HUD-VASHprogram. In 2010, she foundanapartmentinacomplexinBoise’s North End. She haslivedthereeversince.

“Thisisthefirsttimeinmyentire lifewhere I’ve livedatone address for more thantwo years. It took that twoyears to pass before I everputone singledecorationonmywalls.Iwastooafraidofitbeingtakenaway,”saidDun-kin, who lives with her twodogs,AngelandHalo.

Today, three tapestriesfrom the Middle East hangonherwalls.They’rethesoleremnantsofhermilitaryser-vice.

In February, some of herfears were realized. Shelearned that after nearly fiveyears,theownerofherapart-ment complex isn’t renew-ingherlease.Dunkinsmokesonherpatio.She’sheard thatneighbors have complainedtothepropertymanager.

NEEDINGAHOMEDunkin says she lives a

simplelife.ShereceivesaVAdisability check for $926 amonth.Herapartmentrentisapproximately $620 amonth. She pays around$280.Sheusestheservicesoflocal foodbanks, sharing thefoodwith friendswhoareal-solivingonmodestincomes.Shestilldealswithseverede-pression, a condition that

makes her unable to hold ajob.ShehasfiledaclaimwiththeVeteransAdministrationfor unemployability basedonmental health issues. Shespends time with her dogs.Shewrites to30penpalsandvolunteers for organizationsthathelpotherveterans. Shelooks out for neighborhoodbirds and squirrels bymain-

taining a large collection offeeders in the hills near herapartment.

All she wants, she said, isto find a “nice, peaceful re-laxingplacetocallhome.”

She wants potential land-lords to know she’s courte-ousandrespectful.

“IlearnedthatasalittlekidintheSouth.Andthemilitaryreinforcedit,” shesaid.

Before learning the newsthatshewaslosingherapart-ment, shewas training tobe-come a volunteer with theIdaho Suicide PreventionHotline.Shecreditsahotlinewith saving her life someyears ago. All of that is onholdfornow.

“My priorities havechanged. I need a lease,” shesaid.

She plans to stay in Boise,no matter what happens.“Even if I’m homeless inBoise, Boise is still myhome,”shesaid.

STIGMA,SAFETYNETSStigma is a reality for vet-

erans trying to transitionoutofhomelessness.Someland-lordsworry that renting to ahomeless person, veteran ornot, puts their properties atrisk.Theyworrythatrentersmight havemental health is-suesorotherproblems.

“For some landlords,there’sapatrioticdutytorentto veterans,” said Watson.One apartment complex onthe Boise Bench, for exam-ple, lowered the rent on anapartment because thevoucher holder was a veter-an.

“But I’ve also had land-lords say, ‘How do I know ifthisperson’sgoing tobeOK?DoeshehavePTSD?Acrimi-nal background? Credit is-sues?’ ”Watsonsaid.

Homeless veterans do

have complicated histories,including medical issues.Some have credit problemsand criminal records. Veter-ans who are registered sexoffenders are not eligible fortheprogram.

Despite therealitiesof thehomeless veteran popula-tion, Whitehead-Johnsonnotes that although HUD-

VASH provides a safety netfor veterans, it also providesoneforlandlords.Inadditionto regular, reliable rent pay-ments, theprogramincludesannual inspection of rentalproperties to make surepropertiesarecaredfor.

Each HUD-VASH vouch-er user has his or her owncase manager. Case manag-ers make home visits andprovide other oversight andsupport.

“It’s more than whatwould come with a civiliantenant. Landlords can callcase managers the minutethere’s anykindof concern,”saidJohnson-Whitehead.

AmandaWalund,alicens-ed clinical social worker, isthe case worker for around30 HUD-VASH voucher us-ers inBoise. Since she beganworkingwiththeprogramin2011,she’sfounditmorediffi-cult togetveteranshoused.

“It seemed that when Ifirst started, we had a goodbase of landlords, moreproperty managers onboard. In the last few yearsthere are fewer propertymanagers who will acceptvouchers and rents have in-creasedbeyondwhatvouch-erswillpay,”saidWalund.

Someveteranshavegivenupthesearchforapartmentsin Boise and moved to Ca-nyon County, where findinganapartmentcanbeeasier.

“That’s unfortunate be-cause most of the servicesveteransneedareattheVAinBoise. And there are moreemployment opportunitieshere. We feel like our handsaretiedrightnow.Itfeelslikerunning full speed at a brickwallwhenwedon’thavepla-ces toreferveterans to,” saidWalund.

One of the HUD-VASHvoucher veterans she

worked with looked for anapartment in Boise for eightmonths.

“He certainly had somebarriers,”saidWalund,refer-ring to a bad credit historyand other issues, “but itwasn’t for lack of him, or us,or thehousing authority try-ingtofindhimaplace.”

Theveteranendedupgiv-ing up hisvoucher.He eventu-ally found aroom. Wa-lund wor-ries be-cause theatmos-phere is nota healthyone.“Buthe

was just tired of searching,”shesaid.

WILLINGNESS,BUTNOROOM

Douglas Peterson directsThe Housing Company, apart of the Idaho Housingand Finance Association.The group builds and man-ages affordable housingacross the state. It currentlyrents to three HUD-VASHvoucher holders, all in Ca-nyonCounty.

“April 2014 was the firsttime we used HUD-VASH.We’ve had no negative is-sues, no calls from neigh-bors.Ithasbeenaprettypos-itive experience all around.We get paid our rent ontime,”saidPeterson.

Petersonsaidthatallkindsofneighborhoodshaveprob-lems, and he noted the storyofamaninanaffluentneigh-borhood who got in troublewith his neighbors andneighborhood associationafterhebuiltafortforhiskidsoutofcardboardboxesinhisfrontyard.

“Whether we believe inthepoliticsofwar,orthepol-iticsofbeingaDemocratoraRepublican, we should carethat veterans made sacrific-es. They gave their mindsand bodies. We should res-pect that and show themsome care and assistance,”said Peterson. “We don’tjudgehowtheygothere.”

Peterson’s willingness torent to homeless veteransgoes only so far. He doesn’thavethespace.Hisorganiza-tionmanages a 32-unit com-plex in Boise. There are 51peopleonthewaiting list.

HUD-VASHSUCCESSThe HUD-VASH pro-

gramoperates on theprinci-plethathousingisabasichu-

manright. It followsa“hous-ing first” philosophy: Startwith a safe home, then buildfrom there to solve otherproblems. HUD-VASHvouchers don’t expire.They’re available indefinite-ly for the veteranswhoneedthem. But in an ideal scena-rio, a homeless veteran willuse HUD-VASH to gethealthy, get a job, becomeself-supportingandleavetheprogram.

Gale Hacking is a veteranof the VietnamWar and theHUD-VASHprogram.

HackingwasborninPoca-tello. He grew up in SodaSprings and Rupert. He en-listed in the Navy when hewas17.Hackingservedthreecombat tours inVietnambe-tween 1968 and 1972. Seattlewas his first stop back onAmericansoil.Heandhisfel-lowsailorswantedtosee theSpace Needle. They werestill inuniformbecausenoneof them had street clothes.They stumbled into an anti-war protest. The crowdthrew bottles “and anythingthey could get their handson,”saidHacking.

“At the time,wewere justkindofnumbabout it. In ret-rospect, it disillusioned us.We had a lot better idea ofhowwewere going to be re-ceived. It put us in a tailspinforawhile,”saidHacking.

Heeventually returned toIdaho. He got a job as a coredriller with the Bureau ofReclamation.Alongstringoftroubles — divorces, addic-tiontoalcoholanddrugs,andjailtime—causedhimtolosehis job.

“In between jail and theBoise Rescue Mission andliving where I could, I washomeless for 15 years,” saidHacking. “It got to a pointthat I was thinking of goingup into the hills, digging aholeandendingthemisery.”

Better thoughts inter-vened.Hackinggotanapart-ment with his HUD-VASHvoucher. Having his ownplace was surreal at first, hesaid. But having that place,not being exposed to un-healthy temptations and un-healthy people, made all thedifference, he said. He start-ed volunteering at the VAandgot treatment for his ad-dictions.

“Once you get sober, yourealize youneed to catchup.Youstartdoinggoodthings,”saidHacking.

While at the VA, he dili-gentlycheckedjoblistingsatthehumanresourcesdepart-ment, sometimes once aweek, sometimes two orthree times a week. When ajob opened up as part of theteamworkingwithhomelessveterans as a full-time com-munityemploymentcoordi-nator, Hacking was an obvi-ousfit.

“They wanted someonewho could understand thepeople living on the street,who had been there, whocould communicate withpeople on their level,” hesaid.

Hacking’s desk is in abright corner cubicle at theVAoffice. It’s linedwithwin-dows onto River Street, justacross from the shelter heknowswell.

AnnaWebb:377-6431;

Twitter:@IDS_AnnaWebb

HOUSINGCONTINUED FROM D1

“I’ve walked up and down every street in the North End.I’m always honest upfront. Landlords ask if I’m witha voucher program. They say they don’t participate

in voucher programs.”

CRYSTAL DUNKIN,

Air Force Veteran

D4 ● WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015 IDAHO STATESMAN ● IDAHOSTATESMAN.COM

1672102-01

PINERIDGE,S.D.—ThepeopleofthePineRidgeIndi-anReservationarenostrang-ers to hardship or to the riskof lives being cut short. Butnever have they had such anurgentmission.

On Dec. 12, a 14-year-oldboy hanged himself at hishome on the reservation, asprawling expanse of ba-dlands on the SouthDakota-Nebraska line.OnChristmasDay, a 15-year-old girl wasfound dead, followed weekslater by a high school cheer-leader. Two more teenagerstook their lives in Februaryand twomore inMarch.Theyoungest todiewas12.

Students at the reserva-tion’shighschoolandmiddleschool grades have been

posting Facebook messageswondering who might benext, with some even seem-ing to encourage new at-tempts by hanging noosesnearhomes.Worriedparentsrecentlymetat acommunityhalltodiscusswhat’shappen-ing. And the U.S. PublicHealth Service has dis-patched teams of mentalhealth counselors to talk tostudents.

“The situation has turnedinto an epidemic,” said Tho-masPoorBear,vicepresidentof the Oglala Sioux Tribe,whose24-year-oldniecewasamong two adults who alsocommitted suicide this win-ter.“Therearealotofreasonsbehind it. The bullying atschools, the high unemploy-ment rate. Parents need todisciplinethechildren.”

Somewhere between16,000 and 40,000 membersof theOglalaSiouxTribe liveon the reservation, which atover2millionacres isamong

the nation’s largest. Famousas the site of the WoundedKneemassacre, inwhich the7th Cavalry slaughteredabout 300 tribe members in1890, it includes the countywith thehighestpovertyratein the U.S., and some of theworstratesofalcoholismanddrug abuse, violence andun-employment. Life expectan-cy for men is less than 50years, thelowestintheWest-ernHemisphere.

Suicidehasbeenapersist-ent problem, a fact that ishardly surprising consider-ing the grim prospects for abetter life on the remotegrasslands,officialssay.

Most people live in clus-ters of mobile homes. Atnight,trailersaresurroundedbysevenoreightrustingcars,notbecausesomeoneishost-ingaparty, butbecause20or25 people live inside. Horseswander on the seeminglyendless pastures, some withtheirribbonesshowing.

Nearly 1,000 suicide at-temptswererecordedonthereservation between 2004and 2013. Few weeks go bywithout a suicide, saidYvonne“Tiny”DeCory,asui-cide-prevention outreachworkeratPineRidge.

But the teenagers’ deathsareespeciallyshattering.

“Whysoyoung?” she said.

“Why do these kids thinkthere is no hope? Well, lookaround.

“The economic structurehere does not support thepopulation. You have a gasstation,a littleboutique,abiggrocery store, Taco John’s,Pizza Hut and Subway. Youhave people of all ages vyingforthosejobs.Peoplethatare

50 and 60 years old are com-peting against the teenagerswhowanttowork.”

Federal experts say thatsome reservation childrenexperience a form of post-traumatic stress from expo-suretofamilyturmoil.

FriendsofAlanieMartin,a14-year-old cheerleaderwhohanged herself on Jan. 31, arestill trying to understandherdeath.

“She was very active. Sheknew everybody,” IeishaLefthand, 17, said chokingback tears. “In the locker,theyhadpicturesofher, can-dles and people stopping byherlockercrying.”

After the tribe appealedfor help in February, volun-teer federal mental healthprofessionals began two-week rotations at the reser-vation to supplement thenine full-time counselors atthe Indian Health Servicehospital who were over-whelmed.

NATIVE AMERICANS

Teen suicides plague impoverished S.D. tribeA string of seven deathsshakes the communityto its core.

BY REGINA GARCIA CANO

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEAN RYAN / Rapid City Journal

Students in Nellie Long’s class at Pine Ridge High Schoolwrite down resources their school has to help studentsduring a three-day effort to find ways to prevent suicide.