Zach Day hikes Appalachian Trial to benefit homeless veterans

 

Zach Day, 26, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, began an adventure of a lifetime -- and it's all for a good cause. He will spend the next five months hiking 2,200 miles of the Appalachian Trail on behalf of the Hoosier Veterans Foundation (HVAF).

Starting at Mount Katahdin in Maine, Day will hike through 14 states, ending his journey in October at Springer Mountain in Georgia.

You can track Zach's location through his GPS tracking devise. 

http://www.findmespot.com/mylocation/?id=AHjt9/37.05777N/81.39937W

Indy Star reporter T.J. Barnes interviewed Zach just before he left. View the June 14, 2012 story at this link below:
http://www.indystar.com/article/20120614/LOCAL1804/206140321/Hiker-will-live-wild-benefit-vets-who-live-street

This photo below was taken late October along the higher elevations of Skyline Drive outside Charlottesville, Virginia.

HVAF interviewed in Indy Star story: Indy homeless count up 34%

HVAF's President and CEO, Dr. Charles Haenlein, was recently interviewed by Indy Star reporter Diana Penner on a new report by the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention (CHIP). The latest CHIP report reveals that the number of people counted as homeless on Jan. 25, when an official count was done in Indianapolis, grew by 5 percent, from 1,567 in 2011 to 1,647 in 2012 with an increase of 34% among veterans. But with the influx of veterans using HVAF services and programs, Dr. Haenlein says many other veterans are out there - on the streets and couch-surfing with friends and family.

Read the full story here:

http://www.indystar.com/article/20120613/LOCAL/206130314

Here are some faces of previously homeless veterans in Indiana served by HVAF.