NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Today NewsChannel 5 met a group of veterans who have all lived homeless. Now their lives are changing in major ways, and this was certainly a good day.
When I got to the Glastonbury Woods Apartments, I saw several of the veterans gathered outside, waiting on something to get there. That's when I met Raymond Weatherspoon, a veteran of the Air Force.
"I had a bad mishap in '77, and I was honorably discharged," he said.
Weatherspoon said it's too difficult to talk about the details of what happened back then.
"I had to live day by day through all the PTSD," Weatherspoon said. "I'm still going through the PTSD. I struggled a lot through life. Any help I was able to obtain, I was very, very thankful. Very thankful."
The wait was over. A van pulled up to the apartments. A crew with the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System began delivering Thanksgiving dinners. The veterans walked over as turkeys and sides began being handed out.
"We are driving from Clarksville, Columbia, Lebanon, all over Nashville, Murfreesboro, Crossville, and Cookeville," said Nicole Payne of the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System.
This happened through a coordination with the YAIPAK non-profit.
"Each year, what they do is donate turkeys and the sides to all veterans who are in our program, any veteran who's in the HUD-VASH program," Payne continued. "Any veteran in our program has previously experienced homelessness. Some of them, last year at this time, were on the street. This year, they're in their apartment. They're getting to have their Thanksgiving meal. It's just a great feeling."
Payne said they are delivering around 430 Thanksgiving dinners.
"There's just something great about getting to give food to someone, especially right now," she said. "Food is expensive. Things are expensive."
"It's heartwarming, touching," said Weatherspoon. "It makes me very thankful for people that to have that kind of compassion for others."
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
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- Carrie Sharp
