Cherokee County shows lots of love to its veterans, especially those living on the edge.
There are car donations, coat drives, a thrift store, a food pantry, and fun activities like fly fishing, swimming with the fish in the Georgia Aquarium, and snapping pictures in a newly formed photography club for veterans and their spouses.
Credit: spe
Credit: spe
The Cherokee County Homeless Veterans Program, an 11-year-old nonprofit, offers innovative and creative ways to serve the 18,500 veterans living in Cherokee and neighboring Pickens County, said founder and Executive Director Jim Lindenmayer.
“We always ask, can we help them live a little better, help them do things they’re not used to doing? The whole thing is to help them get back on solid ground, back into society so they’re not going to be chronically homeless,” said Lindenmayer, an Army veteran.
“Veterans don’t want to be homeless. Forty percent of homeless veterans have a mental health issue. We’re trying to figure out how to break the cycle,” he added.
The program operates out of the American Legion Thomas M. Brady Post 45 in Canton. When veterans from Cherokee and Pickens counties come in to apply for federal services, Lindenmayer and other program volunteers identify their additional needs.
Lindenmayer started the program “initially, just to get the guys off the street,” he said. “We would put them in a hotel and stabilize them by giving them food and clothing.
“Then we found other veterans who were low-income and needed food, so we started a food pantry.”
The pantry supports 40 families a month with food donated from local churches and other groups.
A car donation program allows low-income veterans to purchase a vehicle for a dollar. Those eligible also include formerly homeless veterans and single mothers who need transportation for work.
Credit: spec
Credit: spec
The car program started in 2018 but gained momentum three years ago when Christian Brothers Automotive became a partner. The auto repair shop provides free pre-inspections of all donated vehicles and collaborates with the veterans’ program to identify cars for donation.
In addition, Christian Brothers provides free service and repairs to the cars of veterans in need.
Since the beginning, 73 vehicles have been given away, and 69 are still on the road. Eligible veterans must have valid driver’s licenses and insurance.
“Every time we see a program that we think fits with what we do, we find a partner,” Lindenmayer said.
Another partner is Two Men and a Truck. When an unhoused veteran gets an apartment, the moving service will transport furniture and household goods from the program’s thrift store and set them up in their new place at no cost.
An annual coat drive brought in 8,000 new and gently used coats last year. These were distributed to homeless veterans and to local schools. This year, the goal is 10,000 coats.
In addition to taking care of physical needs, the veterans program looks for creative ways to prevent isolation, a common problem among disabled and retired veterans.
“Veterans who have mental health issues or are home-insecure are in their house seven days a week. They never get out,” said Lindenmayer. “We do programs to get them out of the house and doing something.”
The fly fishing program has been a lifesaver for many. Participants learn about the equipment, safety and how to cast a line, then spend a day trout fishing on the river.
“For people with post-traumatic stress disorder, standing in the water by itself is very therapeutic,” Lindenmayer said.
The photography club is just getting started. A five-session workshop on the fundamentals of photography was held in June, and participants learned how to create visual art with their cell phone cameras.
Those classes led to a photography club for veterans and their spouses. Members share their photos and will have an opportunity to exhibit their photographs at the Cherokee County Fair in late September.
“Part of this is to get them to do things they’re not normally doing,” Lindenmayer said. “It helps them calm down and get a little self-therapy.”
Veterans who don’t have a cellphone can apply for one through Cell Phones for Soldiers, an Austin, Texas, nonprofit that donates refurbished phones to homeless vets.
All veterans programs are free and open to veterans and spouses.
“We do outreach programs because we don’t know where a lot of these (homeless) guys are,” Lindenmayer said. “The more programs we offer for free, the more people we get in and are able to help them.”
For more information: www.cherokeehomelessvets.com/
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