Fayetteville veteran opens up about overcoming homelessness: 'I had nothing but myself and my faith'

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Fayetteville community is coming together to support veterans impacted by homelessness. The VA and the city of Fayetteville hosted a veterans stand-down event in Festival Park on Thursday.

Veteran Latashia Hairston of Fayetteville said that after leaving the army, she went from staying in a shelter with her three children to becoming a homeowner. She told ABC11 she never thought she would end up without a home.

"The particular job field that I was in, it was kind of hard to translate it to civilian life. So I found it hard to find work that can help to take care of me and my children," Hairston said.

Hairston said she first stayed with family but she later had to move out and was homeless by 2011. She said she remembers staying in shelters, then temporary housing--at times having to share a bed with her two youngest children. Her oldest child, not yet 10, had to sleep on the floor. She said it was that experience that motivated her to make a change.

MORE LIKE THIS:VA data shows unique health challenges for female veterans: 'It's taxing for quite a lot of women'

"There were moments where I had nothing but myself and my faith to depend on to catapult me to that next level," Hairston said.

She said that she eventually got permanent housing in 2015 and bought her home in 2021.

The Veterans Life Center of North Carolina said vets make up about 20% of people who are homeless, even though they make up less than 10% of the population. Plus, the VA says veteran homelessness increased by over 7% last year.

Hairston said events like this that share resources for veterans are valuable. But she also said the vets should get more support in acclimating to civilian life before leaving the military.

"Something that simple could have a monumental impact on what that transition looks like," Case Manager Krizia Armbrister of Veteran Services of the Carolinas said.

Hairston has encouraging words for vets still trying to find a home.

"Just keep the faith and you will make it through," she said.

ALSO SEE:Fort Liberty forms special decade-long partnership with NCDOT to repair roads