SPRINGFIELD, Mich. — For many veterans, the impact of battle doesn't end when they return home. Oftentimes, veterans deal with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse and even homelessness.
But one group in West Michigan is working to help get those homeless veterans back on their feet.
Michael Hager, an Army veteran, has been struggling with homelessness on and off for three years.
"I never thought this would happen to me," Hager said. "I never imagined myself being like this."
Struggling with the aftermath of a failed marriage and PTSD, he said he turned to drugs and alcohol.
"The past three years have been hell, to be honest, but now I'm properly cared for by the VA and I'm grateful to them," Hager said. "I'm in a good place now and I don't feel anything like I did before."
Hager is now staying at the Haven of Rest Men's Shelter in Battle Creek and he's a member of the Veterans in Progress, or V.I.P. program.
"A lot of veterans feel like they've been thrown away," said Todd Artis, manager of the Haven of Rest Shelter and a co-coordinator for the V.I.P. program.
They are helping veterans get back on their feet by giving them food and shelter, but also taking them out into their communities.
"They gave a lot for us, we owe it to them," said Ken Nierman, president of the Iron Horse Riders Group motorcycle club.
The Iron Horse Riders Group has partnered with the Veterans in Progress program by taking the veterans out to baseball games, throwing them Christmas parties and on Sunday, having a cookout while fishing on the lake.
"They've given so much for the country that it's such a little thing that we're giving back to them, but at least we are a group that's doing something," Nierman said.
"It makes us feel human again," Hager said. "It makes us feel like we're a part of the community and makes us happy. It helps us forget about for a little while some of the things we've been through."
Army veteran Jeffery Whitehead is graduating from the program next month and moving into his own place.
"I went through a substance abuse program and other programs that the VA offered because at one time I was doing through things in my life and I didn't want to think about it or deal with it, so I turned to drugs," Whitehead said.
"I knew I was making a mistake because I never did that before and all the drugs did was make my situation worse. I've now been clean for four months."
It's a small gesture, but it's one that means the world to the men and women willing to give their lives for their country.
"Veterans are an elite group of people and they've been through a lot," Artis said. "Just for them serving our country is a great honor right there."
"It's good to give back," Nierman said. It's the only way I can do it."
The Veterans in Progress program is one of several offered through the Haven of Rest men's shelter. For more information, click here.
