OPERATION VETERANS' HOPE

- Eugene J.

- Manning N.

- Damita P.

"I first became homeless in July 2017 after I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, Diabetes, Hypertension and Sleep Apnea since January 2017. I needed to get my illnesses under control, I was unable to work. My fiance at the time had abdominal surgery and couldn't work, so we had to cash in our savings and retirement accounts to pay our rent and bills. We went through all of our money and in July we had to move out of our house or be evicted. I had been dealing with the SSVF and since they were unable to pay my rent, the only way they could help me now is if I went into a homeless shelter and find a new apartment which would pay the deposit and first months rent. So after living with her mother for 2 weeks, I went to Carlisle Cares shelter. Amazon hired me for fulltime, and after only being there for 2 weeks, I woke up and was in excruciating pain. I don't know if it happened at work or it was because I was sleeping on a thin mat on the floor while at Carlisle Cares, but I pinched a nerve in my neck and haven't been able to work since. I am still in therapy because of this injury. In November is when Jon came to Carlisle Cares looking for homeless veterans, to give them a place to live before the winter. Him coming was a Godsend because at the shelter they were waking us up daily at 6AM, we were able to stay from 7:15AM to 8:15AM. After 9:15AM we could come back and stay until 4:15PM. 

What makes Operation Veterans' Hope so special is that now I can sleep in a bed until I have to get up for my medical appointments, helping in the thrift store, etc.. I can take my medication at the exact times specified by my doctor instead of twice a day. Most importantly I do not have walk around the streets anymore trying to find somewhere warm to stay and I have an actual bed to sleep in. That is very important to me because I am still recovering from my injuries and by staying with Operation Veterans' Hope I will be able to heal faster and have much less stress than staying at a homeless shelter. I thank God for the organization and everything that they have given to me."

"I would like to express my appreciation for the remarkable service rendered to my family by Jonathan Locke & Operation Veterans Hope (O.V.H.). I am extremely grateful for the assistance you have provided to us. Your generosity and help has been a strong support and an inspiration to us. Thank you again for your assistance.
For those of you that have never heard of Operation Veterans Hope (O.V.H.), this is a non-profit organization founded by Jonathan Locke, to provide ongoing counseling, support and intervention services to veterans and their families. O.V.H. helps veterans battling substance abuse and veterans who are homeless, will help prevent veterans from becoming homeless and/or jobless.
With your help O.V.H. can help veterans of Central PA, in need of these services, by donating to this worthy cause;
Donations will also help O.V.H. get that much closer, to building a Veteran's Center in Central PA to better help and continue helping our veterans."

"Being in the Work2Stay program with Operation Veterans' Hope, seeing a Veteran helping other veteran's is a dream come true. And I want to thank everyone for their support. God will always bless our veteran's and the Founder of Operation Veterans' Hope, Jonathan Locke. So keep supporting what they are doing, and if you haven't given your support, stop in and say hi."