Photos by Layla Farmer
Members of the local VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) chapter prepare for the ribbon cut
ting ceremony.
New facility will help
vets battle their demons
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Vietnam veteran Peter
Moorman spent nearly a
decade on the streets.
His experinence is not
unique. Veterans make up an
disproportionate number of
America's homeless popula
tion.
Moorman, a Virginia
native, said his experiences in
the service were directly
linked to his homelessness.
Those who fought in the con
troversial Vietnam War weren't
greeted as heroes when they
returned home. There were no
welcome home parades and
few pats on the back.
Moorman said that coldness
led him to drug addition,
which in turn rendered him
homeless.
"The military experience
back in Vietnam (War) was one
of the things that hurt me quite
a bit," said Moorman, who
served just over a year state
side before being honorably
discharged from the Army for
medical reasons. "People pick
eted the base because we were
working with biological war
fare. We couldn't wear our uni
forms when we went off base.
We had to be undercover sol
diers."
in me years since,
Moorman, who will celebrate
11 years of sobriety next
month, said he has reconciled
his past and forged a new trail.
Now, the grandfather of two
will be helping other veterans
to start a new chapter in their
lives. He is the program direc
tor of Veterans Helping
Veterans Heal (VHVH), an
innovative new facility that
will serve as a halfway point
for veterans transiting from
homeslessness to permanent
housing. Homeless vets with
disabilities and/or substance
abuse/mental illness issues
will be reffered to the facility,
where they will receive treat
ment and a number of tools to
help them successfully re-enter
society.
The 30-unit, dormitory
style facility was made possi
ble by partners like United
Way's Ten Year Plan to End
Chronic Homelessness, the
North Carolina Housing
Foundation, Inc. and the U.S.
Department of Veterans
Affairs. VHVH partners and
supporters celebrated the
building's completion with a
ribbon cutting ceremony last
week.
Homeless veterans are a
key population being targeted
by the Ten Year Plan to End
Chronic Homelessness, says
the Plan's director, Andrea
Kurtz.
"The Ten Year Plan has
identified a number of target
populations," Kurtz explained.
"As we looked at the numbers
of people who were homeless
... one of the groups that rose
to the top were veterans. For
many of them, the transition
from Vietnam back to a civil
ian lifestyle was very difficult
and we're still seeing the
effects of that today."
Kurtz hopes to begin to
address that problem through
the VHVH. The Ten Year Plan
has already had many success,
including helping to affect an
eight percentcfrop in homeless
veterans countywide between
January 2011 and January
2012.
"Today is a day to rejoice,"
declared Shelia Womack, a
social worker from the
Salisbury Veterans
Administration Medical
Center, one of two VA facili
ties that will refer veterans to
Operations Director Jonathan "JC" Evans (left) with
Program Director Peter Moorman.
Willie Craven of American
Legion Post #55 plays
"Taps."
the program. "Today is a day
that we show our gratitude to
those who served us so honor
ably."
The old Veterans o?
Foreign Wars Post 1134 was
rehabbed to create VHVH
building.
"When someone came to
my office and talked about
making this a place for veter
ans to stay, I did not blink an
eye," said Mayor Pro Tempore
Vivian Burke, who represents
the city's Northeast Ward,
where the facility is located. "1
thought about my great coun
try and how great we feel
because soldiers and veterans
allowed us to have the quality
of life that we have... This is a
great day in the city because
history is being seen, history is
being written."
Following an inspection by
the VA in the coming weeks,
the facility will officially open
its doors to 30 veterans
referred by the VA. The vets
will take part in a comprehen
sive program that includes job
and life skills training and
addresses substance abuse and
mental illness.
"Today we celebrate the
construction, and tomorrow we
start the real work, and that is
transforming lives back to
being productive and hopeful
citizens," said Garry Merritt,
president of the NC Housing
Foundation.
VHVH Operations
Director Jonathan "JC" Evans,
a former Marine, said he hopes
to staff the facility entirely
with veterans who can relate to
the unique challenges the pop
ulation they serve faces.
People like Moorman will play
an important role in the suc
cess of the program, he
believes.
"Peter's experience with
this population is really going
to serve the homeless popula
tion very well," concluded
Evans, who is also a veteran
himself. "His remarkable story
is really going to change lives."
For more information
about Veterans Helping
Veterans Heal, visit
www.vhvh.org.
Rep. Larry Womble
NC House of Representatives
71st District
Tel (336) 784-9373
Fax (336) 784-1626
E-Mail: LWistm@aol.com
Home Address
1294 Salem Lake Road
Winston-Salem, NC 27107
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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
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CBC chair to speak at NAACP banquet
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
U.S. Rep. Emanuel
Cleaver II, a Democrat who
represents Missouri's Fifth
District, will give the
keynote address at the
Winston-Salem NAACP's
Freedom Fund Banquet on
April 27,
The event will take place
at Carver School Road
Church of Christ, 4399
Carver School Road, begin
ning at 7 p.m.
Cleaver was first elected
to the U.S. House in 2005.
In 2010, his colleagues
elected him chair of the
Congressional Black
Caucus.
A one-time Methodist
minister Cleaver began his
political career in the late
1970s when he was elected
to the Kansas City City
Council. He became the
city's first black mayor in
1991, serving in that posi
tion until 1999.
Individual tickets to the
banquet, which raises
money for scholarships and
other NAACP programs, are
$30. Tables of eight" are
$210.
Call 336-767-3470 for
tickets and/or further infor
mation.
U.S. House Photo
U.S. Rep. Emanuel
Cleaver II
i o>V
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FOR INFORMATION Contact
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330-117-3950
Email: UMCMWOZ&tdhOQ.um
Wsbsite rwiiwr.itarf00thall.0r9
AprH2S2012
Give one.
Get one free.
A hot meal. A warm "Thank you." That's what it's
4 all about for the people who deliver meals to our
community's elderly in need.
Right now, our Meals-on-Wheels program needs
more community volunteers. Please give us a call
if you can spare an hour and a half, one day a
week or one day a month, to deliver hot meals
to local home-bound seniors.
There's someone out there just waiting to give
? you a hug.
o SENIOR SERVICES
MmOvQMyljNWtoDetf? IjjMjLlg
2895 Shorefair Drive, Winston-Salem, NC 27105
725-0907
seniorservicesiric.org