3 Doors Down Team Up With Home Depot to Help Homeless Veterans

3 Doors Down Team Up With Home Depot to Help Homeless Veterans
Posted on Aug 26th 2011 11:00AM by Carlos Ramirez

Michael Kovac, Getty Images

3 Doors Down have built their career on the back of an endless parade of melodic rock radio hits. But it's their tireless work with the US Military that has made them the go-to band for the Armed Forces these past few years. "It's the least we can do for these troops and we'll always find time to play for them if it lifts their spirits," 3 Doors Down guitarist Matt Roberts tells Noisecreep. We're in West Los Angeles with Roberts and his bandmates where they're volunteering for their latest passion project.

The band is here with The Home Depot Foundation, The Mission Continues and local volunteers, to refurbish the exterior grounds of New Directions, a nonprofit organization, which runs a residential program on the campus of the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration Medical Center.

New Directions provides an array of services for homeless veterans recovering from "Invisible illnesses" including substance abuse, mental illness and post-traumatic stress disorder.

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Homeless Veterans shine on America's Got Talent

New Directions Choir, ex-homeless veterans, shined on America's Got Talent. They stood up talking about being homeless after serving this country and reached out to all veterans and those serving today to reach out for the help they couldn't find before. They don't want anyone to go through what they did. They managed to do so much more than just sing with beautiful voices. They put the spotlight on homeless veterans as well as PTSD. In the end, they received two standing ovations and lots of tear filled eyes.

15,000 Homeless Veterans in LA Alone!

If you ever wanted to know why I do what I do, read this! PTSD is the bulk of the homeless problem with our veterans and my husband was almost one of them.

Living with PTSD in the house is hard, even if you know what it is. It once got so bad that I wanted him to go to the homeless shelter in Boston, but they didn't have the room for him. This was before Iraq. It was before Afghanistan. It was not before I knew what PTSD was. I've been doing this since 1982 and I've been trying so hard to open the eyes of the people in this country before it was too late for too many with no place to go, but no one listened and now, just in LA alone, there are 15,000 homeless veterans!

Veterans of two wars work together
Story Highlights
Sergio Arias' Marine unit served in Iraq in 2003

He says he has post-traumatic stress disorder, became addicted to drugs

Vietnam vets mentor other former service members in New Directions programs

Number of homeless veterans of Afghanistan, Iraq is increasing
By Paul Vercammen
CNN

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- When Sergio Arias returned to civilian life in Oxnard, California, visions of war still haunted him.

The former Marine, who served a tour of duty during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, says he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Even now, it's not something I want to relive," says Arias, who left the military as a corporal in August of that year.

After his release from the service, Arias became addicted to methamphetamines and landed in jail.

Arias, 28, says he has cleaned up at New Directions, a program for addicted and homeless vets in Los Angeles.

Arias is getting by with a lot of help from newfound friends, veterans of the war in Vietnam who also were homeless, addicted and have been incarcerated.

John Keaveney started New Directions in 1992 after he came home from Vietnam and served nine years in prison on a stabbing conviction.

The 60-year old former Army infantryman says combat can erode a veteran's self worth.

New Directions says there are more than 15,000 homeless vets in Los Angeles, the largest such population in the United States. Most of the vets are from the Vietnam War era. A small but growing number of veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq are starting to hit the streets.

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http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/19/homeless.vets.newdirections/index.html