As some of you know, I’m in between permanent housing. To keep my sanity, one thing I love to do is garden. I don’t consider myself a good one by a long shot, but I have had moderate success growing tomatoes and making succulents thrive. I think it’s the connection to the earth that helps to ground me and gives me the perspective that in the grand scheme of things, I am just a speck. Playing in dirt and being outdoors has been my favorite activity since childhood. This allows me to connect with my inner child.
Imagine my surprise when I found this perfect story for Feel-Good Friday.
From WRKR Kalamazoo (MI):
A team from Lowe’s in Portage will be building eight raised-bed garden boxes and installing fencing, constructing a therapy garden for the homeless veterans living at Keystone Veteran Transitional House on Stockbridge Avenue. The Lowe’s manager, Jim Merkle, is a Marine Corp veteran himself who helped design the garden, and is leading the effort.
“A lot of the Vets enjoy gardening; it’s truly therapeutic during a very stressful time in their lives,” says Tyrone Thrash, the Housing Coordinator for the Keystone Veteran Transitional House.
Here’s a little background: The Keystone Veteran Transitional House is a 12-bed shelter for homeless military service veterans in Kalamazoo. The Keystone Veteran Transitional House was opened by Integrated Services of Kalamazoo in summer 2013. Integrated Services connects these veterans to resources such as housing, and health care at the Battle Creek VA.
This is a lot related to PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). ISK’s Veteran Navigator Juan Gonzalez says experience shows horticultural therapy can help veterans.
Movity documented the shocking and sad statistics on veterans and homelessness:
- At the moment, 37.085 homeless veterans are in existence
- Eight homeless veterans are for every 1000 vets
- 45 percent suffer from mental illnesses in homeless vets
- 1.42 million Veterans are at Risk of Being Homeless
- 91% of the homeless vets are men.
- California has 29 percent homeless veteran population
- Over 51-years-old veterans account for half of all veteran population
- One in 10 vets is diagnosed with an addiction to substance abuse disorder
- There are more than 78 places that provide homeless veterans temporary housing.
Keystone is a community which cares about the valiant men and women who have fought to defend our freedoms. The therapy garden will allow the group to continue helping our veterans find healing, wholeness and stability.
Veteran Navigator Gonzalez also said that “horticultural therapy” can help with mental illness by mitigating PTSD, assuaging the effects of traumatic brain injury, and the depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders that result from both conditions.
It is an amazing way to improve your mood.
What an awesome blessing that these struggling veterans are being gifted with this—right in time for Veteran’s Day!
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