Va. shelter welcomes back homeless veterans, others in need
MIKE ALLEN, The Roanoke Times
May 22, 2021
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1of6Soon to be assistant director of the Trust House, Willie Foster, stands outside the ARCH s Trust House, Friday, May 7, 2021, in Roanoke, Va. After providing housing for COVID-19 positive homeless individuals, ARCH s Trust House has brought its clients home. Operated by ARCH Services, a Roanoke nonprofit dedicated to addressing addiction and homelessness, Trust House reserves about half of its beds for veterans. (Heather Rousseau/The Roanoke Times via AP)Heather Rousseau/APShow MoreShow Less
2of6A Welcome Home, sign hangs in a commons area at ARCH s Trust House as Army veteran McDonald Kearney, 71, returns on Friday, May 7, 2021, in Roanoke, Va. “I’m accustomed to being self-sufficient,” he said, but “the area that I was in was not conducive to my recovery, maintaining sanity.” (Heather Rousseau/The Roanoke Times via AP)Heather
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McDonald Kearney stepped out of a van and into the parking lot of Trust House, holding a backpack full of his belongings.
About a month ago, Kearney was living in a mold-infested condominium in North Carolina, dealing with an alcohol addiction and people in his life who had him pointed in the wrong direction. Even so, the Army veteran, 71, said it wasnât easy to accept that he needed a fresh start.
âIâm accustomed to being self-sufficient,â he said, but âthe area that I was in was not conducive to my recovery, maintaining sanity.â
Operated by ARCH Services, a Roanoke nonprofit dedicated to addressing addiction and homelessness, Trust House reserves about half of its beds for veterans. However, until last week, the shelter and recovery center on Elm Avenue had been repurposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.