Remember the Homeless Vets

Liberty House looks like an ordinary house, except maybe for an unusual number of American flags out front. And on the door a sign reads, "Through These Doors Pass the Greatest People in the World, An American Veteran."

On a weekday evening, a few veterans had settled down for some television after their meal. Talk turned to the Red Sox.

CONVERSATION SOUNDS

Liberty House accommodates up to 10 veterans who would otherwise be homeless. They can stay there for up to two years. Bill and Judy Zarakotas run the home. Judy Zarakotas says these veterans have lost a lot -- including their family connections.
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JUDY: So we try to build them up by encouraging them.If ever they start to talk down about themselves, I tell them I don’t want to hear that. You’re a wonderful person, we love you, you’ve done a wonderful service for your country and you deserve better.

Bill Zarakotas, a Coast Guard veteran, says Liberty House is unique.

Bill: Veterans do well with other veterans. They'll open up to other veterans, they'll talk to other veterans, and talking to other veterans is the best therapy.

The veterans in this story did not want to give their last names – they want some privacy while they are trying to get their lives in order.

Mike is 59 and says he has worked in retail management. He’s been at Liberty House for about a week. He says a mix of financial and medical problems brought him to this point. Mike had surgery for colon cancer and is now getting chemotherapy at the Catholic Medical Center.

MIKE: I was declared ineligible by the Social Security disabilities program to receive any financial benefits, so I was forced to utilize my life savings, and eventually my savings account ran dry, and I found myself nearly penniless and about to be homeless.

Mike plans to stay here until he is done with his chemotherapy. He is awaiting approval of a VA pension.

Liberty House was created four years ago by Vietnam veteran Donald Duhamel.

The Zarakotases, who are both in their 60s, began working here after they retired. Judy Zarakotas helps the vets get medical care, guiding them through a maze of paperwork.

Bill often cooks dinner for the residents. And then there are the middle-of-the-night emergencies -- like at 3 a.m. when he once got a call about a veteran he knows who has mental health problems.

Bill: He was out with no clothing on him above the waist, bare back, probably four or five below zero, swinging an ax through the air. Nobody wanted to deal with him, they were afraid of him, so I went down. I just called his name. I said let's go, in the car, you're going to the VA. I says go get a shirt on. He got his shirt and jacket, got in the car, and I brought him to the VA.

The exact number of homeless veterans in Manchester is hard to come by. But the Zarakotases say they must turn people away on a daily basis.
Bill Zarakotas says there are far too few resources for these people and the success rate can be frustratingly low.
But Dave, a 60 year old veteran, is a Liberty House success story. A former aircraft machinist, he arrived at Liberty House in July.

On a recent morning, he is sitting in the small first-floor living room, which is made to feel even smaller by a 50-inch television and piles of plastic bags filled with donated clothes and blankets. The house cat, an adopted stray named Liberty, sprawls out on the rug.

DAVE: Since I've been here I have established a relationship with my children, which I have now gotten them back. I have sole custody of my children. I received my disability, which was just upgraded.

These days, Dave is getting ready to move into his new apartment in Concord.
For NHPR News in Manchester, I'm Ellen Grimm.