Program aims to get veterans re-acclimated to regular life

Bob Adams founded the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans about 18 months ago in Wheaton. Recently, four veterans have been staying at the shelter. file photo

Shelter from the storm
Program aims to get veterans re-acclimated to regular life

July 7, 2008

By Paige Winfield pwinfield@scn1.com
Four military veterans are fighting a war inside a 110-year-old Victorian-style home in downtown Wheaton.

It's a battle that confronts many servicemen and women after they return from combat and face psychological and emotional enemies, born from post-traumatic stress disorder and the difficulty of re-acclimating to civilian life.

The veterans, who are in their 40s and 50s, live in the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans -- a transitional home that opened 18 months ago to help retired servicemen struggling with substance abuse and homelessness to get back on their feet.


To gain one of the five available slots in the home, each had to remain sober 45 days prior to entering and sign a commitment to the program. During their five- to nine-month stay, they receive counseling, find and maintain jobs in the community, submit to random drug and alcohol testing and obey a strict eating and sleeping schedule.

One resident drives a school bus. Another resident, who is scheduled to graduate in August, works as a line chef at Arrowhead Country Club.

If the veterans complete the program successfully, they will join eight others who have graduated from the program, said Executive Director Tom Mouhelis, 62. He said five residents have left without completing the program.

Later this month Mouhelis will present to the Wheaton City Council a plan to expand the house in the back, increasing its capacity to 15 residents. The home is the only shelter in DuPage County specifically designed for homeless veterans.

While 9 percent of the U.S. population are veterans, they comprise nearly one-fourth of the homeless population, according to the Interagency Council on the Homeless. A study by the council found that 76 percent of veterans experience alcohol, drug or mental health problems.
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