by Jim Houck, Jr.
What We Can Do As Neighbors for the U.S. Veterans Over the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays
The U.S. Veteran needs your support at all times, and especially during the Holiday season. There are older Veterans in nursing homes that would really enjoy your visiting them to just simply listen to their stories or to have a meaningful conversation with them. You don’t need to personally know them to spend time with them. Most nursing homes encourage you to visit with their resident Veterans, as long as you call ahead and let them know you are coming. Many places will have residents in the lounging area and have coffee and donuts for you to enjoy along with them. I think that in this busy world we live in, we can find an hour of time to comfort the people who have put their own lives in jeopardy so that we have the freedom to visit them.
I personally know individuals who are so dedicated and thankful for our Veterans, they make a point of visiting them once a month, year-round. They go the extra mile by holding birthday parties every so often with cake and ice cream—again, furnished by the nursing home—even if there is no one on that particular day with a birthday. I also know people that pass out craft projects to resident Veterans, such as snap-together bird houses and little plaques to paint, to aid in making them feel useful and active. Veterans Day is coming up on November 11, and what could be better than stopping in at a nursing home and thanking a Veteran for their service, standing back and watching their eyes light up.
The next group of Veterans that need your help—and not just over the holidays, but year round—are Veteran families that are struggling with keeping a roof over their heads and food on their tables. These families, through no fault of their own, have come back from their tours of duty to a country suffering from the highest rate of unemployed people in our nation’s history. Partially due to our factories moving to another country or the closing of so many small businesses, or whatever reason, they cannot find jobs that pay enough to support a family. The Veteran is proud and does not want people to know he is in need of a handout. There are organizations to which you can contribute food, clothing, and financial aid; these organizations will see to it that the Veteran families in need receive one hundred percent of what is donated. In addition, these organizations give to the Veterans in a way that the proud family in need will not be exposed. Check with your local Veterans organizations, and they will direct you to the right donor organization.
The last group of veterans I am going to mention that need your help are the homeless veterans. These veterans have come home and from the things they have faced while during their tours of duty, could not face life without the use of drugs or alcohol or both.
They spend their lives on the streets and cannot face living a normal life, with a place to live and a job. Well, the good news is, there are places that take these homeless veterans in, if they agree to try and clean their lives up, and give them a clean place to live, clean clothing, three good hot meals a day, and guidance to a new way of life. The time spent there is entirely up to the individual, some take a few months and some take a year or more. When the individual is ready to take on a job and live clean in an apartment or house, they are helped to achieve these goals.
There is a group that collects furniture and all living essentials for that person to get a new start. The furniture and essentials are donations from people like you that have different types of furniture taking up needed space or wanting to replace a piece of used furniture with new. These are warehoused until someone is released from the program and needs them and then their new place will be completely furnished. You can contact these places through your local veterans’ organizations.
I really hope that these few suggestions have given you some incentive to help a veteran, veteran’s family, or a veterans’ organization. With everyone pitching in, with a little effort, we can help so many in need. I cannot think of a more worthy cause than helping our U.S. Veterans. Please try contacting local veteran organizations for the information you need and if you have difficulty please email me at 72andready@gmail.com and I will respond with as much knowledge as I’m able to give your inquiry.
God Bless the United States of America, God Bless the American Veteran, and God Bless You.
