Kids hungry to learn about veterans from veterans

Program 'desperately seeking' veterans to speak to Elgin-area students
Daily Herald
Elena Ferrarin
October 5, 2018

John Oliver, principal at Clinton Elementary School in South Elgin, said he's excited to have veterans back in November after they spoke in fourth- through sixth-grade classrooms last year. One thing is to learn about wartime in textbooks, but it's entirely different to ask questions of veterans who served in submarines, aircraft carriers and military support, he said.

A program that invites Elgin-area veterans to speak in classrooms around Veterans Day was so successful that many more volunteers are needed this year.

Don Eageny of Elgin was among veterans who spoke in November at Clinton Elementary School in South Elgin as part of the "Veterans Voices" program. More volunteers are needed this year.
Courtesy of Gail Borden Public Library

There have been about 130 requests for speakers for the "Veterans Voices" program and about 40 veterans have signed up so far, or about 20 short of the ideal, said librarian Tish Calhamer of Gail Borden Public Library. 

"People's lives tell stories, and this is a great way to teach kids what it means to serve and what Veterans Day is all about." Calhamer said.
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Orlando Veterans Make the News In a Good Way

News 6 gives voice to veterans The Veteran's Voice debuts on ClickOrlando.com 
Click Orlando
February 14, 2017

ORLANDO, Fla. - WKMG-TV News 6 this week launched "The Veteran’s Voice," a section of ClickOrlando.com dedicated to those in Central Florida who have served our country. "The Veteran’s Voice" is designed to be a platform that gives veterans an opportunity to be candid about the daily challenges they face.  
Over the next year, News 6 will interview local veterans in an effort to understand more clearly how our community can help make Central Florida a model when it comes to veterans’ needs. To see their stories, go to ClickOrlando.com/veteransvoice.

Vet Voice Open Letter To Bill O'Reilly on Homeless Veterans

Again, Homeless Veterans are two words that should never be linked together.
New Program Aids Homeless Vets, But Not Nearly Enough
by: RockRichard
Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 23:24:26 PM EDT
I'm sure we all remember this little SNAFU from our favorite ostrich, Bill O'Reilly:


On the heels of Bill's ridiculous assertion, I wrote him an open letter. Here is an excerpt:


Dear Bill, I seem to remember you stating that if anyone can find a homeless veteran, just let you know and you'd house them. Well, Bill, today I happened across an article from the Associated Press. Let me introduce you to a couple Veterans:

LEEDS, Mass. - Peter Mohan traces the path from the Iraqi battlefield to this lifeless conference room, where he sits in a kilt and a Camp Kill Yourself T-shirt and calmly describes how he became a sad cliche: a homeless veteran.

...Mike Lally, still only 26 years old, is here, booted out of his house by his wife, padding around in an old T-shirt and sweats at a Leeds shelter called Soldier On, trying to get sober and perhaps, on a day he can envision but not yet grasp, get his home and family and life back.

The shelter that housed the two homeless Vets, called "Soldier On", was mentioned in an article from the Boston Herald today. Veterans in the Boston area and across the nation are getting some much needed assistance in securing their own rental homes, thanks to a new federal program.

Last week, housing authorities from Boston to Northampton began issuing 245 rental assistance vouchers to chronically homeless veterans. In the Boston area, 1,950 former service members are considered homeless.

"With the new number of homeless vets that we are creating because of Iraq and Afghanistan, this is focusing on their needs," said U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Somerville), who will make a formal announcement Tuesday.

The vouchers are part of a $72.3 million federal spending plan to give housing subsidies to 10,000 homeless vets nationwide through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a spokeswoman said. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that there are 154,000 homeless veterans nationwide.

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Homeless in America is a sin to allow but to have someone willing to lay down their lives for this country to be allowed to remain homeless is unforgivable.