After he returned from the Persian Gulf War, Eric Lounds needed more than medical support for the damage he says was done by exposure to mustard gas.
The Army veteran also needed a place to live, and some emotional support. He found it at a new homeless shelter run by former soldiers.Lounds, 29, must wear an air-purifying mask because he is extremely sensitive to chemicals since the war. He came to the shelter a week ago when he began treatment at the veterans' hospital where it is located.
He says he would be lost without it.
"It would leave me suicidal. It would leave me with nowhere to go," he said.
Lounds is one of 57 residents at the first privately operated veterans' shelter at a Veterans Administration hospital.
The residents, who typically will stay about six months, take classes in living skills, basic English, computers, home wiring, and other subjects. They also receive alcohol and drug counseling, as well as help finding work.
"They come here basically to get on their feet and get on with their lives," said Steve O'Brien, a former crew chief on Army helicopters who works and lives at the shelter.
Jesse Brown, secretary of the U.S. Veterans Administration, attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday for the Western Massachusetts Shelter for Homeless Veterans, which opened in October.
"What we do here will be duplicated all across America," said Brown, a Vietnam veteran.
The shelter is run by United Veterans of America inside a brick building that once served as a ward for the hospital.
The federal government runs shelters at other VA hospitals for up to 20,000 of the country's estimated 250,000 homeless veterans. But Brown said he is exploring how privately operated shelters could be set up at those hospitals.
"In many cases, they can do it cheaper, and they can do it better," he said.
O'Brien said residents who find jobs must contribute 30 percent of their salary to the shelter. Some businesses have donated money.
The six-member staff is all-volunteer. Most are veterans themselves.