Gregory Crawford, the executive director of Access Housing Inc. DC Southeast Veterans Services Center (Access Housing) in Ward 8, looks forward to honoring veterans each year, seeing it as a day to recognize people who sacrificed their lives for the good of the country and their fellow Americans.
This year, he planned a pre-Veterans Day event for Nov. 7 in anticipation of being unavailable on the official holiday on Nov. 11.
“People are going out of town for the holiday, and we want to thank them for their service while they are here,” Crawford, 55, told The Informer. “On this day, we will recognize and honor all who have served this grateful nation and defended our freedoms.”
While a day off, discounts and more might be associated with Veterans Day, Crawford’s celebration aligns with the true meaning behind the national holiday.
Veterans Day started as “Armistice Day” on Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I. The U.S. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 making it an annual observance, and it became a national holiday in 1938.
Sixteen years later, then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation changing the name to Veterans Day to honor all those who served the country during war or peacetime. On this day, the nation honors military veterans — living and dead — with parades and other observances across the nation and a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Crawford’s organization is one of several in the District partaking in Veterans Day events over the next few days.
The D.C. Office of Planning reports there are 31,115 veterans living in the District. Of those veterans, 7,590 served in the Iraq War, 5,525 in Vietnam, and 2,486 in the Gulf War of the 1990s, according to census data.
The Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs (MOVA) will play an active role in the recognition of veterans, said Colonel Charlette K. Woodard, director of the agency.
“This month, we proudly celebrate and honor D.C. veterans and their families, to recognize and amplify the contributions of those who’ve served,” said Woodard in MOVA’s November 2024 e-newsletter. “Our dedicated team at the Mayor’s Office of Veteran Affairs is not just committed, but deeply dedicated to ensuring our veteran community feels valued and supported.”
On Nov. 10, MOVA will participate in the National Veterans Parade that will take place on Constitution Avenue NW from 11 a.m. to noon.
Later that day, MOVA will hold its Veterans Day program at the DC War Memorial on Ohio Drive, SW from 3-4 p.m. MOVA will have a presence at the Veterans Day Navy Band Concert at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library in Northwest from 1-4 p.m. on Nov. 11.
Crawford’s Passion Aiding Veterans
Crawford is the son of the late Ward 7 D.C. Council member H.R. Crawford. The elder Crawford started Access Housing in 1985 in response to finding out that some homeless people during that time were veterans.
“I was raised in a household where my father was in the Air Force,” Crawford said. “He was a man who wanted to give back. He loved people.”
When the elder Crawford opened Access Housing, the son quit his District government job and went to work for his father. Crawford said sheepishly that he “didn’t sit in an office but was out cutting grass and boarding up abandoned buildings.”
He was able to truly learn about the veterans’ experiences.
“For one year, I lived at Access Housing with the veterans to see what it was like,” he said.
Living at the facility and taking on his father’s passion for helping people has fueled Crawford’s work at Access House.
“When someone walks through that door, I think to myself that could be a member of my family,” he said. “Everyone needs a reset. We help our veterans to reset.”
Crawford has served as the executive director of Access House since 1999 and has become astute on the problems of African American veterans in the city.
“I tell Black veterans in D.C. that the benefits are there,” he said. “Many of our Black veterans don’t go to the offices to claim their benefits. They don’t go to government offices for their services. I know of one gentleman, who was in combat and was entitled to 100% benefits but told me he won’t claim them because ‘it is blood money.’”
Crawford said providing veterans with housing is a source of pride because low-income housing is a problem facing the District.
“Some veterans can’t afford housing in the city,” he said.
Access Housing presently houses 65 people and includes support services such as a barbershop, case management access and transportation through Uber and Lyft.
Residents can stay either for 90 days or permanently, Crawford explained.
“We did some renovations and the rooms look nice,” he told The Informer. “We wanted to make sure that residents had private bathrooms.”
Crawford said that on Veterans Day staffers will be “all hands are on deck,” providing a special celebration for residents.
“We are going to have an awesome lunch and dinner onsite for the residents who are here,” he said. “We will also have transportation so that the residents will be able to attend the free activities throughout the city. While many Veterans Day activities tend to be somber, we will make it festive.”
