Homeless Veterans No More

A model

The Gordon H. Mansfield vets also run and own several businesses. A construction crew of six goes out into the community every day, and other entrepreneurial opportunities include greenhouse, vending machine and plastic assembly businesses. Technical assistance comes from Soldier On.

The group is having an impact on those outside their small military community. Shindler, who once slept in the park down the road, now talks to students at the local high school about the three things he knows best: alcoholism, homelessness and the military. "Some of the kids are on the fence," he says. "They want to hear from someone who has been there." Students from another school join the vets for dinner every Friday to learn about their hard-knock lives — in the hope that they'll be discouraged from following suit. The superintendent of the Pittsfield schools has presented Shindler with a certificate of appreciation for working with students.

Shindler, who sits on the community's board of directors, is also appreciative of Soldier On. "Without this program," he says, "I would have continued self-medicating. If you told me when I was living in the park in 2006 that I'd be here today, and with a place of my own, I wouldn't have believed it. I never, ever thought I would be afforded this opportunity."

Sally Abrahms writes on aging and boomers and has published in Time, Newsweek and the New York Times. Her website is boomerwriter.com.