How ‘Three Hots and a Cot’ is Supporting Birmingham Veterans
'Three Hots and a Cot' is transforming the lives of unhoused veterans through housing, job readiness, mental health support, and more. Meet the veteran-turned-director leading the mission — and learn how you can help. Image: Facebook / Three Hots and a Cot
During active military service, the simple promise of “three hots and a cot” alludes to the humble nature of military life — but food and shelter can be harder to come by at the conclusion of duty, as some service members struggle to access the resources they need to successfully reintegrate into civilian life.
Birmingham-based organization Three Hots and a Cot aims to support veterans who have fallen through the cracks as they navigate their way back to the life they deserve, with services that extend far beyond what the name implies.
Addressing the Lack of Veteran Aid
According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, veterans make up about 5% of the total homeless population in the United States. In areas with a large VA hub, like Birmingham, the percentage of homeless veterans is much higher. Three Hots and a Cot estimates unhoused veterans comprise upwards of 25% of the city’s homeless population.
Veterans face many of the same challenges that impact the homeless population at large, including the sharp rise in housing costs and the shortage of livable wages. But the lingering effects of their combat experience only compound the issue. At the top of the list are Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), service-connected disability, nontransferable job skills, and a lack of societal support.
Three Hots and a Cot aims to address these barriers. Starting with the most basic needs, the organization helps homeless veterans transition from life on the streets to a self-sustaining lifestyle. From food and housing to access to physical and mental health services, as well as job readiness, Three Hots and a Cot takes an individualized approach, treating every veteran with respect and dignity as it addresses each person’s unique needs.
Since opening its doors in 2009, the organization has assisted 1,800 local veterans and their family members who have come through the program.
The Executive Director was once a recipient!
For Executive Director Jay Gibbs, Three Hots and a Cot was a lifeline. An Army cavalry scout, Jay completed two tours in Iraq from 2002 to 2006 and received a Purple Heart due to a roadside bomb during his second tour. Upon re-entering civilian life, Jay served as a police officer in Georgia for a few years, until symptoms of PTSD began to wreak havoc on his life. He returned to his hometown of Gadsden, Alabama, and found himself in and out of jail over the next decade. Eventually, he wound up at Three Hots and a Cot.
Jay did well when he was with the organization, but struggled to make a life for himself on his own. After a few years, he had an epiphany. “I looked back, and every time I was around Three Hots and a Cot, my life was amazing,” Jay tells us, “So I decided at that point I was never going to leave.”
At Three Hots and a Cot, stories like Jay’s are a dime a dozen. Jay credits the organization’s emphasis on helping veterans find sources of meaning and purpose as essential to his road to recovery. He has served with the organization in various capacities and now oversees the day-to-day operations, employees, and housing facilities.
An Organization by Veterans, for Veterans
Three Hots and a Cot began with a call for help from the VA center in Washington, D.C. In the early 2000s, a group of Navy veterans who had once worked together in the trucking industry decided to turn their shared dream of supporting fellow service members into reality. During a trip to Washington for President Obama’s 2009 inauguration, one of them contacted the VA to ask where veterans were most in need — and the answer led them to Birmingham.
“So they quit their jobs and moved down here from Virginia, not knowing what they were going to do,” Jay tells us. In 2010, they opened the Saint Benedict’s Veteran Center in Woodlawn to house 10 veterans. By the end of the year, they acquired another housing center, a former nursing home in Center Point, and were able to take in 20 more veterans.
Now, Three Hots and a Cot regularly receives calls from local VA centers requesting their assistance for any unhoused veteran who walks through their doors. And while the intake process is always the same, the care is tailored to each individual. “When they get here, we’ll say, ‘Alright, what is it you need? Can you work?’ If they can’t, we point them in the direction to start on disability. If they can, we help them find a job,” Jay explains.
“The typical stay here for a veteran is three to six months, give or take, considering what hurdles they have to cross to become self-sufficient,” he adds.
Filling the Gaps No One Else Will
Providing housing for unhoused veterans is the primary task for Three Hots and a Cot, but it is certainly not the endgame. Jay explains that government systems, such as the Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCV), aren’t always sufficient to meet the needs of their recipients.
“[Veterans] get these HUD vouchers, which will pay for their rent, but it won’t pay their utilities or anything,” he explains, “So we do our very best to help them move into that place fully furnished and with everything they need down to kitchen utensils.” Even so, Jay explains that sometimes it’s only a matter of months before HUD voucher recipients are struggling to buy groceries or pay the power bill, as many veterans they work with are either unemployed or underemployed.
That’s where Three Hots and a Cot’s housing facilities come in. “We can offer them a very low charge that pays for everything — down to the Wi-Fi, food, and more,” Jay says, adding that their facilities are also strategically located in communities that make steps to employment and independence more accessible.
Currently, Three Hots and a Cot houses around 40 veterans throughout its 10 sites, each with a unique configuration of rooms, apartments, and a few single-family homes to accommodate service members and their spouses where possible.
Their newest housing site, a 12-room motel converted into studio apartments in Oneonta, opened just a few months ago and is one Jay is particularly excited about. “Over the years, we’ve hit roadblocks a lot with trying to help dependents, and we’ve never really been able to help them,” he says, “So now they have their own apartment. We actually got a veteran in last month who has a 7-year-old daughter, and that’s something that we haven’t been able to do since we opened our doors.”
The organization also transports veterans to and from the VA center to ensure they get the care they need, among other practical means of support. “We ask them if they have their birth certificate, social security card, and driver’s license. And if not, we’ll help them get those things, then we help them find their own housing,” Jay says.
He also maintains a certification in peer support counseling, allowing him to speak with veterans as needed and help them feel heard and validated throughout their journey with the organization.
Helping Veterans is a Community Endeavor
Jay says that ensuring veterans get the help they need after their time of service is a community imperative. “I’ve heard the saying before, ‘If you’re willing to send a kid to fight your battles, you better be ready to take care of the man,’” he shares. That’s the mentality the organization takes with every veteran who comes its way. “If they truly need help, we try to help meet that need.”
Three Hots and a Cot relies on community donations for the bulk of its services. From room furnishings to clothing and personal items to food and housing repair services, there are endless ways to get involved. “We’re always open to visitors who want to tour and see what we do and where donations go,” Jay says.
For information on donating or volunteering with Three Hots and a Cot, click here.
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Katie Leigh Matthews
A Birmingham native, Katie is a lifelong waterfall chaser and is passionate about the outdoors. She also loves connecting with remarkable women in the Birmingham community and bringing their stories to life. Katie has been writing professionally for over six years; you can find more of her work at Moms.com and Islands.com.