Webb House holds turkey giveaway for veterans
Volunteers give out 3 dozen Thanksgiving birds, gifts, information
Volunteers lucked out with a sunny autumn day to provide a small but meaningful gift to veterans before Thanksgiving.
Webb House Inc., a Gary nonprofit that provides employment assistance, substance abuse counseling and safe housing for homeless veterans, organized a turkey giveaway Tuesday.
Former Bulls power forward Cliff Levingston and former Bears linebacker Bruce Herron volunteered their time, packing and delivering goods to veterans’ cars.
The Bulls typically get involved in school programs in Chicago but are looking to branch out into the nearby areas, Malik Shaw, a volunteer for the Chicago Bulls alumni relations, said.
“There is a big market for Bulls fans in Northwest Indiana,” he said.
By the end of the event, about three dozen turkeys were given out with the remaining food donated to nearby shelters.
Percy Moore Sr., a 77-year-old Vietnam veteran and officer with Veterans of Foreign Wars, helped set up and spread the word about the turkey drive.
“This is what we do,” he said. “We come to volunteer our services to help vets out.”
Food wasn’t the only thing passed out, as various gifts and information was included in every gift bag.
Brenda Ross, a volunteer with Humana, passed out information about a $75 honor program for veterans.
“Mainly, I just volunteer to help out with the veterans anyway that I can,” she said.
Marketing coordinator with the Jesse Brown VA Medical
Center Laura White distributed flyers with information for the Adam Benjamin Jr. VA Outpatient Clinic, that provides domestic violence assistance programs and emergency shelter to veterans in Cook County as well as six counties in Northwest Indiana.
As cost of living grows in the city of Chicago, many veterans have moved to Indiana for a more affordable environment, many of whom have never enrolled for VA benefits, White said.
“There is one of the highest
unenrolled veteran populations in Northwest Indiana,” she said.
There are hundreds homeless veterans in northwest
Indiana on any given night according to the event’s organizer and Executive Director of Webb House Robert Farmer.
“Many have issues with mental health, PTSD … it varies,” he said.
Up the street from event at 7700 Grant St. is the intended
site for a new female veteran home.
Pitched back in 2020, Webb House plans to expand its work with a three-story group home that can house 10 women in a temporary living environment where they can receive work training and look for a more
permanent space.
Webb House has been helping female veterans and their families for the last 17 years, Farmer said.