If you've walked through People's Park in Bloomington in the past ten years, you might have noticed
Stan Staples.
Or
not.
The
weary veteran may have seemed invisible in
the rush of commuters grabbing coffee from the coffee shop across the street each morning, or passers-by picking out clothing from a
nearby boutique.
Stan had no home.
Using some of the survival skills he learned in the
military, Stan lived on the streets of Bloomington. He would find a spot in
the city where officers didn’t frequent. The
Army veteran had not worked for 14
years. And gum disease had caused him to lose all of his teeth.
“I gave up and had no goals and my own laziness led to my
homelessness,” says Stan. “I also turned to drugs and alcohol as a way to cope I couldn’t
satisfy expectations others had placed on me and as a result I didn’t have any self-esteem. And since I suffered from gum
disease I had my teeth pulled so I rarely smiled,” adds Stan.
That changed when Stan traveled to the Indianapolis VA which was
where he learned about services offered to homeless veterans and provided free to
Stan.
Stan entered HVAF's housing and recovery program in June
2014. For the first time in 14 years he had a room in a safe,
clean supportive housing building for veterans.
At HVAF’s Residential, Employment, Substance Abuse,
Treatment (REST) program, Stan stayed for 8 ½ months and received a certificate
of recovery program completion. During that time in recovery, HVAF referred him
to the IU School of Dentistry for free dental work. He received dentures.
The partnership between HVAF and the IU
School of Dentistry proved to a stepping stone in his life. Stan received
a new set of dentures from the IU School of Dentistry which was completely
free.
Once Stan graduated from the REST program he moved into
another HVAF property – the Manchester Apartments for an additional 6 months
and in March, he began working at the Salvation Army.
“HVAF taught me to believe in myself again and to not be afraid
to ask for help,” says Stan.
Today, Stan
has his own room with a private bathroom in an
apartment. He has a microwave and refrigerator. “On the streets you couldn’t
keep clean. Now I have a roof over my head."
More
about REST program
More information about HVAF’s
programs and services is available at http://www.hvafofindiana.org/what-we-do/programs-services/.
