WARM EMBRACE
Homeless veterans in Racine find warmth from donated quilts
RACINE – Richard Butler knows what it’s like to be cold.
To not have a home or prospects or a future.
Life has not been easy for the Milwaukee native who served a tour of duty in Vietnam with the Marines. Last August, he began living on the streets of Atlanta after he got evicted.
He moved back to Milwaukee and bounced around until he ended up at a facility for homeless veterans in Racine. On Wednesday night, Butler found himself in the warm embrace of a new quilt and the hands who made it for him.
Quilts of Valor harnesses the energy and enthusiasm of quilters throughout Wisconsin and the U.S. to make patriotic-themed blankets for people who have been affected by war. On Wednesday night, 15 Quilts of Valor were given to homeless veterans living in tiny homes at the James A. Peterson Veterans Village.
“Now I know I’m going to have a quilt for when I get my own home some day,” said Butler, 64.
The 14 male and one female veterans living at the complex of tiny homes in Racine were each given a quilt and personalized certificate along with a quilt case adorned with the logo of the military branch in which they served.
Karen Demaree, Wisconsin Quilts of Valor coordinator, explained to the veterans how the group was formed in 2003 and that
each stitch in every quilt represents love and gratitude as well as warmth, peace and healing. As she spoke, a veteran overcome by emotion reached for a box of Kleenex.
Demaree has made and handed out many quilts in Wisconsin, which means she has met quite a few heroes.
“But none of them think they are. They all say ‘I know someone who deserves this more than me,’ “said Demaree.
Bonnie Camp has made almost 150 quilts and when she learned of the James A. Peterson Veterans Center in Racine, which opened last fall, she helped organize Wednesday’s ceremony. Camp asked her Lake Country Quilt Guild in Delafield for help.
“I told my quilt guild members, this is big so if any of you have scrap fabrics or beige or ecru, I could use eight blocks from each of you. They gave me enough for five quilts,” said Camp.
Each quilt featured a different pattern and fabric in red, white and blue with stars of various shapes and sizes. They also included labels with the names of the quilters and recipient.
The Quilts of Valor volunteers even made a dogsized blanket for the shelter’s four-legged resident, a terrier mix named Freedom.
As the quilters called the name of each veteran, they held up the quilt for everyone to see and then wrapped it around its new owner. Many veterans got hugs, too.
Among them was Kyle Lawrenz, 47, a Racine native who served in the Air Force from 1989 to 1998 including four years in Germany and a deployment to the Middle East during the Gulf War. Lawrenz lost his job, had no income and was relying on the center’s food pantry for meals before he moved in to one of the tiny homes in January.
With the help of counselors at the shelter, he found a new job a few weeks ago as a caregiver at a group home.
“It’s beautiful that so many people help out the veterans. (Each quilt) helps the tiny houses feel like home. It shows people still care,” said Lawrenz.
After getting his quilt and hugs, Lawrenz returned to his seat to watch his fellow veterans get theirs. He stayed wrapped in his quilt, a smile spreading across his face. “My grandma made me an afghan once but that was in 1983. So this will be my first quilt since the one my grandma made,” said Lawrenz.
“It’s beautiful that so many people help out the veterans. (Each quilt) helps the tiny houses feel like home. It shows people still care.” Kyle Lawrenz, Racine native and Air Force veteran