Can a Small Rural Community Save a Vietnam Vet from Homelessness? John’s Story — part 1 (#Home4JohnandLexi)
Many soldiers have watched the sunset over the battlefield while tucked behind trees, sandbags, concrete walls, and the confines of man-made trenches. Little did many of them know, as they waited in the darkness, that their night would likely reflect that of the songs they had heard as children. They would learn that rockets do give off a red glare, and bombs do burst in the air…overhead…behind them…in front of them…and sometimes — on top of them. The sad reality is that many of our soldiers would leave the battlefield only to find themselves among the tens of thousands of seemingly “nameless” souls roaming the streets of our cities and rural counties. Too many of our Veterans would, indeed, go from the battlefield to homeless — from heroes to hungry — from praised to forgotten.
Homelessness is a global crisis, one not even America has been able to turn away from. According the Hud Exchange, approximately 549,928 people were homeless on any given night in 2016. Of those, it is estimated that over 39,000 of these individuals are veterans. And understand, that is just an estimate. There is no clear manner to truly determine the number of homeless individuals living on the streets, let alone in woods, in parks, and in abandoned buildings. Many of our Veterans are quite skilled at surviving in areas and in conditions most of us wouldn’t last a day in, let alone a night.
Small rural towns and counties are becoming a haven for Veterans driven out by the hustle and bustle of overcrowded cities steaming with cars and buses, construction of new business, homes, and condos. Parks are being replaced with crosswalks and bike-ways for pedestrians to better reach their intended target points, but with that park replacement comes the replacement of the park benches that many homeless individuals found refuge for the tired and weary bones, if for only a few hours. But busy people do not want to pass by and see such weary worn out souls…not when they have places to go and people to see.
But what is to be done?
I am a writer of many things, B2B and B2C Marketing Strategy, White Papers, Content, Health Care issues, and passion projects…many projects, some under this name and many under other identities, which was once the way of things for writers when I first began my career. But I came across a story that truly sucked me in. It has me, it has my attention, my heart, and my fear of what a less than positive outcome could look like for this Vietnam Veteran and his furry best friend.
So, I began pitching the story to multiple main stream media outlets. After all, I am a good writer, a published writer…surely, I can get this story told. But there were barriers I had long forgotten…a story without an actual ending is not one a syndicated industry is interested in…a human-interest story that is wrapped around a Vietnam Veteran is a great story — but it comes with a catch…it takes place in a small town — THAT’S A GOOD THING!
Nope! That’s actually a bad thing. More than one person…drama…hard to keep up with what’s going on. Add into the mix an organization focusing on Vietnam Veterans operating under a church’s non-profit status (but the church doesn’t appear to have a consistent/actual physical address — not necessarily unusually in rural southern counties), and individuals with the Veterans Administration that work with the local clinic — but it is difficult to discern if they are volunteers, mentors, or actual paid employees of the VA.
All true, yes, all true. One can hardly blame any media source for being leery of publishing this story without a final ending. Yet, I am driven to tell this story. So, I have turned to one of my favorite places to come and read a wide array of content, and I am asking you to follow along, with me, through this journey, as one small rural town, Rockwood, TN, fights to keep one of its own, Vietnam Veteran John Geary and his dog/best friend, Lexi, from becoming one more number added to the homelessness statistics in America.
In the coming posts, I will bring you more details into how Rockwood appears to be a community that is always reaching out to help one another. I will tell you more about the kind of man that John is, his love of history, and a little about his loyal dog Lexi. And of course, we will look at the two other organizations that have become a part of this situation, those from the Veterans Administration and “A Home 4 Hero’s.”
As always, thank you for taking the time to be a part of this journey~B
Read part 2
