ISSUED

Civilian David Clayton has been in pursuit of change for homeless vets since 2017. He’s appealed to congress and made several trips back and forth across the country with his furry friend Boomer. The journey has been hard and hope is strained, but his resilient soul soldiers on.

When did you start doing your homeless outreach and what inspired you?

I would have to say that it was uh 2017, just after Trump was elected because I knew that nothing would be done, as unfortunately previous administrations nothing had continued to be done. I was living my best life so to speak. I was earning plenty of money and I was the typical asshole going into a bar saying, “Drinks on me!” I only cared about myself, and I was absolutely miserable.

One night I looked down at my dog Boomer, and he was just sitting below me at my desk looking up at me, and I just remember that moment like it was yesterday. I connected with him and I realized how miserable I was, that I had everything I could possibly want and there were so many that I felt had already earned this life that were in need and hurting, and our country who’s supposedly the greatest nation in the world just turned a blind eye to them because our country is based on such a selfcentric model of success and possession, and wealth is turned into worth somehow.

It disgusted me and I felt like I absolutely did not deserve this life. I was in that moment suicidal. I was gonna go one of two ways either take my own life or make a dramatic change and try to help others. For once in my life I started living for others.

I started typing away at my keyboard looking up everything from the homeless population, the VA report on registered as homeless, to the housing and development reports on registered as homeless, looking where our taxes were going into spending. How an actual solution could be made as opposed to all these temporary citizen programs.

My plan was originally just to come up with proposed legislation to house homeless veterans that’s a total solution that’s multipronged and both helps homeless veterans and helps the nation as a whole as well, and I wrote it backwards from the perspective of, “How would the cheapest whiniest person in the world that really doesn’t give a crap about veterans or our country argue this?” So, I wrote it backwards from the perspective of tax cuts. That’s all the hell they care about is tax cuts.

I packed up all the stuff in my car. All the camping and survival gear and I really only meant to take my dog and me. I had an estate sale and I sold off everything I owned. I raised about $25,000, and I had about $20,000 in savings. So, $45,000 my dog and I in a small car, and the whole plan was just to go to DC to lobby in person.

When I got to DC, my little dog in hand, we walked all 7 floors of the Longworth building. Republican Speaker Paul Ryan, Bernie Sanders, it didn’t matter, we went to every single office.

We heard just the same exact thing from every single aide. We never saw, in the two weeks we were there, a single actual representative. We heard the exact same blow off that, “Oh the representative really cares about veterans affairs and veteran’s wellbeing and stuff.”

When I got the blow off, I left and ended up crisscrossing the United States seven times helping people where I could. I found that a lot of homeless veterans are migratory. They travel all over the country with the climate, so they don’t freeze to death.

The thing that was most core to me was that I got sick and tired of this nation saying we care, but not doing a damn thing about it.

Why did homeless veterans become a primary focus?

Family. My family’s lineage serving the nation is a proud one. I come from a great grandfather junior rear admiral that commanded part of the pacific fleet during World War II, and then on my father’s side the royal navy, so it’s both pride and honor, but also from the civie side that there aren’t more civilians doing more.

What has been the best aspect of this endeavor for you?

Giving hope, not just the vets in need, but the ones that aren’t in need that are proud to serve this country but still have that underlying concern at the back of their mind, like, “What happens if I fall on hard times?” I’ve had a lot of outreach from the active duty and veteran community that are doing fine in life that just thank me for caring because not enough people do.

What was something you learned that you didn’t expect out there?

One thing that I saw that I didn’t expect was from the homeless veterans themselves. Anyone I set up to help in like a little circle in a parking lot, anyone that approached me offered me something first, even though I never asked. I never wanted, but homeless people are some of the most kind, misunderstood souls in this world and they’re thought of in society as dangerous or unstable. They’re so compassionate and caring, way more so than people give them credit for. They’re living the hardest lives imaginable, and to offer the few little things that they have first in exchange for company blows me away.

What kind of impact do you hope your work will generate?

I don’t know. It seems like my message only carries weight when I get angry and I’m so tired of being angry, you know? It’s not enough just to protest or make phone calls anymore. I’m having a hard time holding on to hope, especially with Boomer not being here anymore. That little man was the source of all my strength. I mean I wouldn’t have even started this journey without him. There was something about that little man, he put in my brain that as fucked up and as horrible as humanity can be, we are still capable of so much if we come together.

What inspires you to continue?

The pain in others that is still prevalent today. That’s really the only thing that inspires me to continue. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to rest.

That was wonderful. Any last comments?

Don’t just talk about it. Be about it.