Tim's Story: Veterans' housing manager witnesses transformations through bicycling
Tim Blessing has an important job: homemaker.
As coordinator of Volunteers of America’s two transitional living houses for homeless veterans, Tim is responsible for making a social services program feel like home for the eleven veterans who live at Rest & Recoup House and The Eagles’ Rest House.
“I check-in with the guys at each house, each day to see how they are doing with their goals, make sure they are making it to their medical and mental-health appointments and help them problem solve about any stresses they are having with money or relationships,” explains Blessing. “But the most important part of my job is making the time to sit down and listen, regardless of how much time they need to get their thoughts and feelings out.”
What he has learned in his interactions with the guys in the two houses is that despite their tough exteriors, they are vulnerable to stress and have worries and fears like anybody else. And they don’t just try to deal with difficulties themselves; they help each other out when they see someone else is hurting or struggling in some way.
This camaraderie was displayed clearly earlier this year when Volunteers of America received some funding that allowed the program to purchase several high-quality bicycles from Two Wheel Transit for the veterans to use.
“When we picked-up the bicycles,” recalls Tim, “some of the vets came with us to ride their new bikes home. We immediately noticed a sense of excitement and jovialness; their anxieties seemed to melt away as they got on the bikes and start riding.”
Over the next few weeks the guys rode their bikes all the time.
“It was amazing,” says Jon Carollo, who directs all of Volunteers of America’s programs for veterans. “Except that we quickly realized that when a veteran ‘graduated’ and lef the house for his own apartment, his bike had to stay with the program. So, we asked the guys at both houses to come up with a solution.”
A group of current and former residents of the two houses convened a Bicycle Advisory Committee. They created Bikes for Homeless Vets—a way for guys in the two houses to have bikes of their own and as a way for them to give other homeless vets the same opportunity. The group—including veterans from 22 to 73 years old, from all branches of the military—meets every Friday to administer the program.
“It is really great that the guys wanted to help other veterans in the Spokane area coming out of homeless, because even having a single bike helps provide hope and a sense of ownership,” says Blessing. Plus, we can use giving bikes to vets as a point of contact to let them know about other resources or services that they might not know about.”
The program is going really well so far,” continues Blessing. “It’s not only a program that allows our vets to help fellow vets, but also a way that the community at large can help local vets. Whether folks donate a bike, their time or their ideas, they are helping a vet, you’re helping the Spokane community as a whole, you’re giving someone a chance to help themselves.”