More than 700 veterans expected for annual event
Breakfast counts
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Veteran’s Leadership Program of Western Pennsylvania is holding its 19th annual Veteran’s Day Breakfast on Saturday, one of the largest veteran’s gatherings in the region.
The annual event is a major fundraiser for the local nonprofit organization that is focused on assisting veterans with employment, housing and other support.
More than 700 people are expected to attend the breakfast, including Nadine Nowlin, a 56-year-old former Air Force sergeant who said the organization drastically changed her life.
Several years ago, Ms. Nowlin was shocked to find herself homeless after a car accident.
“It’s very difficult to get stable when you’re in survival mode,” said Ms. Nowlin, the mother of two adult sons. “You’re living just day to day. I found myself going from shelter to shelter.
“I couldn’t believe this was happening to me, but it was.”
The Delaware native came to Pittsburgh three years ago to help one of her sons, who was ill.
With nowhere to stay and few prospects, Ms. Nowlin contacted the Veteran’s Leadership Program and was met at the bus station by a staff member who immediately settled her into a temporary apartment.
“I came here with one suitcase of clothing,” she said. “It was the best decision I could have ever made, coming here.”
Ms. Nowlin was helped by Project Journey, a Veteran’s Leadership housing program aimed at helping female veterans and children with transitional housing.
“That started a major shift in my life,” said Ms. Nowlin, who was able to secure permanent housing in Tarentum after the program helped to fund her first month’s rent and security deposit.
She also took advantage of employment and other resources available directly through the Leadership Program, where she now serves as a volunteer while she pursues a bachelor’s degree in social services.
Next week, Ms. Nowlin will receive a free used car as part of the Keys to Progress program, sponsored by Progressive Insurance. It includes six months of free car insurance.
“I’m so excited, so indebted and so grateful and it’s only because of VLP that I have this opportunity,” Ms. Nowlin said.
“It’s such a warm and compassionate environment when you walk through those doors. You know you’re working with people who really care about you and who want to help you improve your life.”
The Veteran’s Day Breakfast raises about $25,000 each year and the proceeds benefit some of the 2,700 veterans being helped by the VLP, along with the Friends of Danang, which assists underprivileged children in Vietnam; Shepherd’s Heart Veteran’s Home and the Duquesne University Endowed Veteran Student Resource Toshua Jarrett, development director for VLP Fund, which assists veteran students with nontuition expenses.
Services from the VLP are free to any veteran living in the 18-county region of Western Pennsylvania.
The keynote speaker for the breakfast, scheduled for 8-10 a.m. on Saturday at Duquesne University’s Student Union Ballroom, will be Roger Brooke, professor of psychology and director of military psychological services at Duquesne.
His speech will focus on successful transitioning between military and civilian life.
Although about 12 percent of the American population served in the military during World War II, U.S. Census data shows that rate is now less than 1 percent.
“We want to get the message out there for the other 99 percent of the population so they can know how to assist veterans transitioning out of the military,” said Toshua Jarrett, development director for VLP.
The way military personnel return from war has changed dramatically over the years, Mr. Brooke said.
“The background for this is what we learn from traditional warrior cultures throughout the world and history. In all those cultures, the psychological and spiritual wounds of war were ritually addressed by the civilian community,” he said. “The veteran’s experience was given dignity and meaning, and an honored place in society.”
One of the ways in which that has changed for the worse is the stigmatization of mental illness, an unintended consequence of the recognition and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, often suffered by troops returning from violent conflict, Mr. Brooke said.
“When the wounds of war are interpreted as a psychiatric condition with a set of symptoms, the veteran is stigmatized with a mental illness,” Mr. Brooke said. “His experience has neither dignity nor direction.”
A veteran paratrooper who served in the South African Army before coming to America 24 years ago, Mr. Brooke also serves as president of Soldier’s Heart, a non-profit organization devoted to treating the “emotional, moral, and spiritual wounds that often result from war and military service.”
Tickets for the breakfast are $35 each, except for World War II veterans, who receive complimentary admission. The organization also is seeking corporate sponsors and volunteers to help greet and welcome veterans and their families.
Donations are accepted online, at http://www.vlpwpa.org.