MADISON, Wis. — Porchlight is a Madison nonprofit dedicated to helping people who are homeless.
Porchlight offers a variety of different shelter services, including one targeted for people who served our country. It’s called the Veterans Transitional Housing Program.
The home is located on Spring Street. It’s a 24-bed, single-room occupancy transitional program for male veterans who are experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness.
In addition to a place to live, they get support finding permanent housing and resources to address physical and mental health, substance abuse recovery, and other services.
We talked with a veteran who not only gets helped by the Veterans Transitional Housing Program but also manages the building. Because of privacy concerns, he did not want to share his full name, and asked us to refer to him as “TC.”
“The guys look up to me, they respect me,” he said. “I respect them, and we all work together.”
TC is a veteran who served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1972 to 1978.
He said when he initially made the transition from military to civilian life, things were going well. Then, he got into a life-threatening motorcycle accident, and everything changed.
“I was on a brand-new BMW motorcycle, at a stoplight,” said TC. “A lady came out of a parking lot, talking on her cellphone, going 30 miles an hour southbound in a northbound lane, and ran me over.”
“I was in the nursing home for about a year, and not once did she call to see how I was doing,” said TC, who badly injured his ankle, knee and pelvis. “Not a card, nothing.”
After leaving the nursing home, TC still could not work because of his injuries. He said things got so bad; he had to search out refuge in a homeless shelter.
“During the day I was going to the Beacon here in Madison, and while I was there, I was getting on the computer system, checking out different job opportunities and housing and trying to refocus on everything,” he said.
TC was eventually put in touch with Terry Singletarry, who runs the Veterans Transitional Housing Program for Porchlight.
“We don’t allow drugs here, we don’t allow alcohol in the building,” said Singletarry. “Most of the veterans that come in here actually want that help. We are trying to get them in, get them housing, and get them jobs if they want jobs.”
Veterans can stay in the program for up to two years. It’s meant to help them get back on their feet.
“I was losing track with my family. That’s back on track now,” TC said. “I have enrolled in the University of Wisconsin, and I am taking my prerequisites for information technology and cyber security. My first semester grade was 4.0. This gave me a chance to sit back and see what I wanted to do, and who I was going to be.”
Porchlight is always accepting donations of money, clothes and toiletries for its various shelters, including the Veterans Transitional Housing Program. For more information, click on this link.