Nov. 11--NEW HAVEN -- Carlos Robles had been drunk for 34 years, homeless and trapped in a roller coaster of mental illness when on June 30, 2003, he crawled out from under a bush in Danbury and decided he couldn't take it anymore, he said.

He checked himself into a hospital, and eventually made his way to the Veterans Affairs medical center in West Haven, which placed him in a sober home for veterans. The VA has provided counseling and therapy for Robles ever since.

"It's hard to stay clean in a shelter, where other people are using, or on the street with no support," he said.

In the home, he wasn't alone. "There are people just like you there," he said. "What a difference that was from the bushes in Danbury."

Robles has been sober now for six years, and he has moved out of supportive housing to an apartment in West Haven. "It's not over once you get sober; it's a daily battle," he said.

While Robles is off the streets, hundreds of new homeless veterans arrived at the VA this year, many recently returning from war zones.

Last August, 57 new homeless veterans arrived at the VA hospital, nearly half recently home from Iraq and Afghanistan, said Dr. Laurie Harkness, director of the Errera Community Care Center at the VA. Harkness estimates the Connecticut VA system has seen 250 to 300 homeless veterans this year, many of them women with children.

"That is dramatically up from what it would have been two or three years ago," she said.

Some, like Robles, never saw combat, but suffer from substance abuse and mental illness. Others returning from war suffer the effects of repeated deployments, post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor guilt, said Harkness.

"A lot of them are struggling with substance abuse, mainly alcohol. A lot of them are experiencing readjustment issues. A lot of them are feeling guilty that they are alive and back here. A lot of them are having difficulty fitting back into life here. They feel out of step with their peers," she said.

"We train our soldiers to be survivors. Our young soldiers coming back are very proud. There is so much stigma with presenting to the VA with anything more than medical issues."

Twelve percent of clients at Columbus House shelter are veterans, said Executive Director Alison Cunningham.

Early next year, Columbus House will open The Homefront, a supportive home for 16 male veterans back from Iraq and Afghanistan. A Davenport Avenue home, which once housed families with children being treated for lead poisoning, is being renovated into four apartments.

Veterans will stay at the home for two years, and will be linked to the VA's support system for treatment and job training.

There are now just 29 shelter and transitional beds set aside for veterans in New Haven, according to Columbus House.

Being with other veterans helped veteran Sue Kilvington manage her depression. She arrived in Connecticut in 2001 and after years of unstable finances landed in a women's shelter. She was hospitalized after threatening suicide and made her way into the VA system.

"It's not just the paid staff; it's the other veterans that have been through the same thing," she said. She credits the support for finding her a stable home and keeping her depression in check.

The Homefront project is backed by a $310,861 grant from the VA hospital, which will cover most renovation costs and services to be provided at the home. The Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund also chipped in $50,000. Columbus House has about $97,000 left to raise.

Two fundraisers are slated, one from 5:30 to 7 tonight at Bru Cafe, 141 Orange St., featuring veterans' poetry. Chip's Family Restaurant, 321 Boston Post Road, Orange, will hold a pancake breakfast 6:30 to 11 a.m. Thanksgiving morning.

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