From the Canadian Press/CTV News:
"'A roof over my head:' Tiny
homes provide hope for homeless military veterans”
Dirk Lemcke spent 8 1/2 years in
a combat regiment with the United States military before he became a truck
driver and a painter. He never expected to be homeless. Suffering from
post-traumatic stress disorder and a number of chronic health problems, Lemcke
found himself out of work and spent four months on the streets of Calgary. A
village of tiny houses was built to provide homeless veterans with a fresh start
"I've always been out to help
people and being in the situation of having to receive help is a new thing for
me. It's hard," says Lemcke. "I just want to pay my rent, eat and be
a human being, to live in a decent place and not just some slum basement. "I
just want to have a normal life." Lemcke, who is in his late 50s, now has
a home. He's a resident in a southeast Calgary community of 15 self-contained
tiny homes for military veterans. Each 37-square-metre unit -- about the size
of a small motorhome -- comes with a kitchen and bathroom. There's a TV on a
wall and a murphy bed to pull down at night. Each one is named after a Canadian
soldier who died in service. They're run by The Mustard Seed street ministry,
which partnered with Homes for Heroes, a group that supports military veterans
returning to civilian life. The homes rent for $640 a month and vets can stay
for about two years. The community opened in November and about a dozen of the
homes are occupied so far. A second tiny-homes village for vets is to open in
Edmonton later this year. Lemcke, who was born in California and grew up in
Montreal, has been learning how to carve soapstone. Sitting in his new home, he
proudly shows off two bears he has been working on with a hammer and chisel. He
says he hopes to get a part-time job and move into his own apartment. His tiny
home would then go to another veteran in need. Don McLeod, a retired warrant
officer with Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, is the tiny-home
community's veteran peer support worker. Residents have access to counselling
and McLeod helps them work their way to getting financial support from the
government. Some have addiction and mental-health issues, McLeod says, but most
just need direction. "These people are not touchy feely. I'm not going to
give them a big hug and tell them everything's going to be fine. I'm going to
say, 'You've got yourself into this mess. How are we going to make things
better?"' Ian MacIvor spent two years as a reservist with the Calgary
Highlanders. He points proudly to a field jacket and a cap from his days in the
service that hang on the wall of his tiny home. He says he was unable to work
after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour two years ago. "Once you eat
through your life savings, you've got nothing left to fall back on. I was on
the street for six months. Horrible. I almost died after three assaults." He
says he appreciates being able to sleep without having one eye open. "This
is amazing," MacIvor says. "This is perfect -- a roof over my head
and some place I can sleep having nothing to worry about except making
rent." Federal Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay recently toured
the community and said it's important that no veteran be without a home. He
said there are an estimated 3,000 homeless veterans across the country. Many
don't want to be helped, but it's essential to provide support for those that
do. "This is what veterans deserve. A little down on their luck, most
likely did go through situations that would horrify most people, and all of a
sudden they end up on the street. And today they're here. "Tomorrow
hopefully they'll be in another home."
^ This is such a great idea.
There are too many homeless military veterans in Canada and the United States
and none of them deserve to be forgotten. I would love to see this program
expanded across Canada and the US to help every homeless vet that needs and
wants it. I understand that many veterans are too proud to ask or seek any help
even when they need and deserve it, but we need to make sure the help is there when/if
they seek it. ^
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.