WALKER, Mich. — Some veterans, especially combat vets, can have challenges in civilian life. A Veterans Day drive that began at the Walker Ice and Fitness Center has spread throughout Walker. When I looked into this, I found out that the needs of younger veterans often are more urgent than those of older vets.
"It took me many years to recognize that I needed help," said Thornell Billingslea, a Vietnam veteran and vice president of the West Michigan Veterans Assistance Program. "And these young men coming home, they come out of the military, it's hard to find a job. Most of them don't fit."
The West Michigan Veterans Assistance Program provides a wide variety of support.
"If they need help with the utility bill, mortgage, rent payment, car repair, get their tags for their vehicle, almost anything," Billingslea said. "They need gainful employment. They need help with their treatment, especially the invisible scars, the mental scars ... Most of them don't think they need them."
Billingslea knows firsthand the challenges veterans face. The Detroit native served with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam in 1967. "I was shot twice and blown up once." He was awarded three Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star.
His homecoming was anything but welcoming.
"My first leave back home — I leave in Philadelphia airport to go back home to Detroit. And of course, there were protesters, and I tried to avoid them because my arm was in a cast, but this protester came over and spit in my face. That was my welcoming home."
Billingslea turned to alcohol to cope, working midnight shifts and drinking for years before getting help at age 60.
"I became a workaholic, and my way of getting through things was to drink. I drank for many years," he said. "Wasn't until after I retired that this came to my knowledge. Then I started getting treatment myself."
Today's veterans face similar challenges but often with more severe circumstances.
"These guys are doing more tours than we did. You know, our typical was 12 months, and they're going back, you know, three, four, five tours. That has got to affect them even more gravely than we were," Billingslea said.
One form of support for the West Michigan Veterans Assistance Program is what has become an annual Veterans Day drive, started at the Walker Ice and Fitness Center by its supervisor, Michelle May.
"What really inspired me is when my son entered the Navy," said May, Parks and Recreation supervisor for the city of Walker. "I was the crazy mom that would send everybody packages. He would tell me, 'Mom, hey, nobody's getting anything. Can you send them something?' So I always did a collection. And when he got out of the Navy, and a lot of his friends got out of the Navy, I realized how much they struggled."
May's son is now a disabled veteran. Watching him navigate medical issues and the transition to civilian life sparked her interest in the West Michigan Veterans Assistance Program more than eight years ago.
"Trying to get back into the civilian world is hard for them. And you know, all of us have never been in the military, don't realize how hard it is," May said.
The program operates a food pantry every Monday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. that provides groceries, laundry soap and pet food to anyone with a military ID. The organization also provides gas cards for medical appointments, help with medical bills and utility assistance — all run by volunteers, many of whom are veterans themselves.
The West Michigan Veterans Assistance Program also operates a store in Wayland that sells donated Meijer items at 25-30% below retail price and manages an apartment for veterans in need of housing.
Veterans can receive help on the first and third Friday of every month with utility bills, mortgage payments, car repairs and vehicle registration.
Michelle's annual collection started at the center and has spread to 16 locations, with several more being added. Drop off any item a family would find useful, because it's not just service members but their families being helped by the Walker Veterans Day Drive. Just be sure items are not expired or close to expiring.
"We do not want any expired items, or near expired items because they're giving this out to our veterans. Our veterans deserve not expired items," May said. "We go through every single thing that comes through here and sort it before we take it."
Last year, the drive collected two full pickup truck loads of donations, with help from the city's Department of Public Works for loading and delivery.
For those unable to drop off donations, May will arrange pickup. She can be reached at mmay@walkericenandfitness.com.
"It's just a great feeling to be able to help. And it's just, I mean, with minimal efforts. I mean, you know, go buy a few groceries, spend $5 to help somebody," May said.
But the organization needs more than donations — it needs volunteers.
"What's needed is more people to get involved. Our board members are mostly around my age. I think I'm now the oldest board member. I'm 78," Billingslea said. "We would like younger people to — if they can't be board members because they're working or whatever — at least volunteer. Help us do our work to help veterans."
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