About half of the veterans experiencing homelessness or on the verge of homelessness have serious mental illness, half has a history with the criminal justice system and nearly 70 percent have substance abuse disorders.
The Call Of America is working daily on giving support to many of these Indiana Veterans. Legal advice and referrals, counseling and supportive services, are some of the ways that we are helping our Veterans today.
Basic Needs Assistance:
To support our Indiana homeless and low-income Veterans, The Call Of America is always in need of basic toiletries for our veterans. The items needed include:
• Toothbrushes
• Shampoo
• Conditioner
• Toilet Cleaner or other Cleaning Supplies
• Laundry Detergent
• Dish, Body or Hand Soap
• Toilet Paper
• And of course any time of food, perishable or not is always in need!
All items can be brought to: The Call Of America Corporate Office 711 E. Harcourt Angola, IN 46737 (inside Project Help)
Handicap Remodel Project: Paul is an Army Veteran with Crohn's Disease, COPD, Heart Disease and a seizure disorder. Not only has he served in the U.S. military, but he has a daughter in the Army and a son who is currently serving in Afghanistan. Paul will soon be having a bowel transplant surgery at the U of M Medical Center. He'll have to stay there for approximately a month. When he returns home he will be wheelchair bound. Currently The hallway in Paul's home that gives him access to his bedroom, bathroom and kitchen is not wide enough for a wheelchair to fit through and his entire bathroom is in need of expansion so that his wheelchair can have access to the sink, bathtub and toilet. The Call Of America is helping to make his more more accessible to Paul and improve his quality of life.
Paul and wife Candy live in Pleasant Lake, IN
Paul is a member of the American Legion and the Elks.
Candy is Director of the Steuben County Cancer Association. She and Paul have helped countless people who were battling with cancer.
They both have big hearts and even rescue Dachshunds dogs from across the US. They currently have nine. Almost all of them have severe medical issues, some were beaten and left for dead by their previous owners.
Aside from being a veteran and parent of 2 servicemen, they are an amazing, giving couple who have helped many other people and man's best friend as well. It's time for us to return the favor. That's why The Call Of America has taken on this project. Help us help these folks, let's give to them like they've been giving to others for years.
We have yet to find the right contractor for the job. Our director, Jennifer LaRose is interviewing them now. The first contractor gave us a great floor plan, but the cost was close to
$30,000. One of the contractors she met with was willing to donate a little more in labor and items. So we'll see how much he quotes us. For now it looks like we're going to have to generate $30,000 to get this done.
Because of Paul's medical problems, sometimes he is in the bathroom for hours at a time. With only one toilet in the house, this leaves his wife in a bind if she is in need of the bathroom sending her down the street to use the restroom at the local gas station or at a neighbor's house. The plan for the bathroom includes a 2nd toilet outside the main bathroom in it's own small facility. Also included is a stand up shower that Paul can roll his wheelchair into. And a locked medical cabinet that will store all his medicines away from his grandchildren. We're going to get this done, and we're going to keep posting updates right here. Check back often to see how it's going.
