Posted on Feb 14, 2016
Dennis Hutchinson shares his story behind his homelessness. Through the VA he now has an...
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RP Members check out this veteran's story! Another positive success story for the VA.
Check out the whole story here:
http://dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=154974
Sitting inside his small, one-bedroom apartment decorated with a large American flag and stained glass décor he made out of recycled materials, U.S. Army Intelligence veteran Dennis Hutchinson said nothing in his life readied him for homelessness.
"Being homeless is the hardest job I ever had," said the 52-year-old who at one time owned his own computer company and worked as an executive chef on oil rigs.
His despair proved so acute that two years ago he was hospitalized after four separate suicide attempts. After the last one, the local VA doctor prescribed him what he considers a magical elixir for his depression: his trained service dog, Shaggy, a terrier/Bassett Hound mix.
"I love him so much, and he loves me back," the 52-year-old said of the 3-year-old canine he lives with in an apartment he is able to rent as a recipient of one of the local VA's federal Housing and Urban Development Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing vouchers (HUD-VASH).
Check out the whole story here:
http://dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=154974
Sitting inside his small, one-bedroom apartment decorated with a large American flag and stained glass décor he made out of recycled materials, U.S. Army Intelligence veteran Dennis Hutchinson said nothing in his life readied him for homelessness.
"Being homeless is the hardest job I ever had," said the 52-year-old who at one time owned his own computer company and worked as an executive chef on oil rigs.
His despair proved so acute that two years ago he was hospitalized after four separate suicide attempts. After the last one, the local VA doctor prescribed him what he considers a magical elixir for his depression: his trained service dog, Shaggy, a terrier/Bassett Hound mix.
"I love him so much, and he loves me back," the 52-year-old said of the 3-year-old canine he lives with in an apartment he is able to rent as a recipient of one of the local VA's federal Housing and Urban Development Veteran Affairs Supportive Housing vouchers (HUD-VASH).
Homeless
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Housing
What Would You Do
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 1
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The VA does have many success stories COL Mikel J. Burroughs. My twin brother, also a Vietnam vet, COA, 1/327, 101ABN is a supported employment specialist at the VA. Many of his caseload are just like Mr. Hutchinson, drug and alcohol addicted along with a myriad of mental health issues. Some want to work while many other do not, they just want to use the system to get by. I am glad he got the help he so desperately needed.
On a side note, I found no Hutchinsons (assuming his father had the same name) on the POW roster from Vietnam.
On a side note, I found no Hutchinsons (assuming his father had the same name) on the POW roster from Vietnam.
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