How we helped one veteran avoid homelessness (video)
Warren Reiten, 72, first learned about The Salvation Army while serving in Vietnam with the United States Army. Little did he know that decades after that introduction, The Salvation Army would help him avoid homelessness.
“I never thought I would need immediate help,” explained Reiten. “Maybe because of false pride or something, I was always able to make my own living. But when you get up into your seventies and stuff, things change.”
The changes started when he retired at 62 and he found himself living on a fixed income.
Living on a fixed income
Reiten currently receives disability and a pension check, together they only add up to about $1,000 per month. Somehow he makes it stretch. He pays rent, buys groceries, makes his car insurance payment and pays for gas. But by the end of the month, barely a nickel remains.
The limitations of his income took a serious turn when he was moving into a new home last winter. He was renting at the time, and confusion over the pet policy forced him to move out of his place. He’s an animal lover and refused to part with his pet cat.
Bound by a lease, Reiten was obligated to pay rent at the old place, while trying to scrape together first month’s rent and a deposit for a new place that would accept his cat. He came up $400 short.
“If it weren’t for The Salvation Army helping me out, I might have ended up on the street,” said Reiten.
It was December, it was cold in Fargo and Reiten feared the worst. But after listening to the retired veteran’s story, the Fargo Salvation Army provided him with the $400 deposit he need to move.
“The fact that The Salvation Army helped me get that rent deposit,” smiled Reiten. “That was crucial, or I’d be in a homeless shelter.”
More help needed
After learning even more about Reiten’s life, the Army wasn’t done helping him. He didn’t have a bed, so workers found him one and these days he’s sleeping soundly.
“I’ve been getting eight hours of sleep,” Reiten explained. “It’s made a difference in my attitude and my shoulders don’t hurt anymore.”
Reiten says he can now focus on his blessings, not his challenges. More than 40 years after first being introduced to The Salvation Army he has a new appreciation for the good they do.
“Things can turn on a dime in a second, from good to bad,” said Reitan. “All I can say is The Salvation Army helped me. Thank you.”
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