Veterans organization celebrates two-years of changing lives

GARY | If Marjorie Newman hadn't asked for help, she believes she would be living under a bridge or dead.

Newman, 53, is one of the 16 veterans living at the Veterans Life Changing Services home and hoping for a better life.

"Don't be afraid to ask for help," the Army veteran said. "Because I thought I didn't need help, and I was wrong."

Sunday marked the two-year anniversary for the transitional housing program, which has helped more than 300 local veterans, Bessie Hitchcock said.

Hitchcock and her husband, Henry Hitchcock, created Veterans Life Changing Services, as a support program.

A 2010 federal study found more than 76,000 homeless veterans nationwide.

It's a number the Hitchcocks have been whittling away at by giving veterans a place to stay and resources to rebound.

The home, which sits on a hill next to St. Mark Catholic Church on Ridge Road, is a tranquil place where many clients are referred to Veterans Affairs offices for assistance.

The home can take in as many as 32 men and women. For now, Newman is the only woman, and she hopes to be leaving soon.

Her plan is to graduate from massage therapy school in about seven weeks, a prospect that gives her something to smile about.

"They're helping me get my life back together," she said.

Newman's smile is infectious. When she came home from class Wednesday and flashed a smile at Doug Coutee, he couldn't help but return the gesture.

Coutee, 56, of Merrillville, can be found most days volunteering at the home.

He was able to find a home after spending about a year and a half under the careful watch of Veterans Life Changing Services staff.

The Navy veteran moved back in with his wife and daughter after kicking a drug and drinking problem.

"I've got the happiest family in the world now," he said. "We're not perfect, but we work for perfection and we're happy."

Although Coutee has found stable housing, he returns to Veterans Life Changing Services just about every day to fulfill a vow to help other veterans in need.

"Whatever I can do to make their life better, I will," he said.

It's a shared attitude.

Brian Cody wishes he could help more people but knows he needs to focus on himself first.

Cody, 50, is a Marine veteran and serves as the home's cook.

"If I could be four people, I would be four people that were helping as many other people as I could," he said.

Cody has been living in the home for more than 15 months and is making an effort to help the others living with him by starting a catering business.

The proceeds go directly toward helping with the home's bills — something the Hitchcocks have trouble with since they fund the project out of their own pockets.

"My budget exceeds my income every month," Bessie Hitchcock said. "But because we have wonderful community partners, our lights have never been out."

The catering business was given a jump-start when a woman donated two large convection ovens with stove tops, Cody said.

"A lady whose son was killed in Afghanistan found out what we do here and donated them," he said.

"It means so much, and it hurts because one of our men had to die to help us," he said. "But I'm very thankful for the kindness of his mother."

Mikal Sankofa is grateful for the ovens and the three meals a day Cody cooks using the donations.

Sankofa, formerly of Hammond, said he didn't want to come to the home at first.

"But then it just really started to wear on me that I'm 59 years old and I don't have anything," he said.

The Army veteran is the most recent person to move into the home. He went in Feb. 4 and is adjusting to the idea of asking for help.

"What I have to do is shed my skin and be humble," he said.

Sankofa prefers to find a quiet place to have alone time and think. So when visitors, such as Air Force veteran Jerry Schwede, stop by, they don't hear much from Sankofa.

Schwede, 60, of Gary, was able to get his life in order while staying in the home for about 10 months in 2009 and 2010.

"You can accomplish anything you want here," he said.

Schwede works for a limousine service and often returns to visit the people who changed his life.

"I'll always be around here," he said. "These are my people. I owe a lot to them."