The Veterans Village
As doors open, miracles happen
NOT LONG AFTER Dr. Carlen Pippin volunteered to serve meals and hand out food boxes at the Serenity Center community kitchen in Shelbyville, he was shocked to discover that about 40 to 50 veterans came through the food line each week, and that some were homeless.
Pippin, a retired veterinarian in Shelby County who served with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam, brought the matter before fellow members of the local VFW post—prompting veterans Robert Baker and Barry Campbell to join Pippin as volunteers, along with Marine veteran Gerald Sebree, director of the Serenity Center.
In the weeks that followed, as the four shared tables with veterans who came for meals, they learned that some were sleeping in their cars, while others had no transportation and were in desperate struggles with medical and financial problems, post-traumatic stress, substance abuse and other critical issues.
“Some didn’t even know that they’re entitled to benefits for their service,” says Pippin, a consumer-member of Shelby Energy. “One couple was living in a tent with two of their grandkids. They’d gotten custody of the grandkids, but wouldn’t tell anybody about their living conditions because they were afraid social services would take away the grandkids.”
Touched by such needs, Pippin and other veterans dug into their pockets to create a small fund to assist with the most desperate hardships. Local businessman Jerry Karem and CPA Robert Diemond and his wife, Cindy, lent major support as news of the effort spread through the community. Veterans Stanley Fister, a builder, and Bobby Pridemore, a construction contractor, also offered assistance.
When the story aired on a Louisville television station, other hearts, doors and purse strings began to open. Now, five years later, on the eve of Veterans Day and Thanksgiving, those early efforts of a caring band of veteran brothers and a small army of unnamed volunteers are bringing hope to many neglected vets through what has become Veterans Rural Outreach.
A section of Bradshaw Street in Shelbyville has been transformed into “Veterans Village” and is lined with six new, fully furnished mini-homes built by Crossroads Missions volunteers. A spacious veterans community center feeds vets from Shelby and surrounding counties on Thursday nights, and offers counseling and recovery help under the supervision of Veterans Rural Outreach Executive Director Brady Wright. So far, 35 veterans have been residents of the mini-homes, usually over a period of six months to one year, while transitioning to better lives.
“This place saved my life,” one veteran told me.
Much of the money for the mini-homes was given by individuals and nonprofits who chose to remain anonymous. Some homes were donated in memory of a relative who was killed in Vietnam, or veterans of other wars, and in whose honor the homes were named. More mini-homes and transitional services are planned.
Pippin welcomes other communities to inquire about the project at vroky.org.
“It’s totally a gift from God,” he says. “Miracles happen every day.”
