Veteran on brink of homelessness finds place to call home

BEDFORD HEIGHTS, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) - A veteran who served in two branches of the military has a house of his own after he and his children were on the brink of homelessness.

After dedicating years of service in the U.S. Army, Navy and the Merchant Marines, Don Thompson struggled with challenges stemming from the pandemic. He also lost his job and was denied assistance.

After all of his misfortunes, Thompson was on the brink of homelessness.

“The army told me to overcome and adapt to any situation, and so I always relied on myself, but I have been put in places and situations where I realized that alone I just couldn’t do it,” he said. “I needed help from other individuals, and those individuals are fellow veterans.”

A house in Bedford Heights, Ohio, was on the verge of being demolished. However, Ride with Valor, a nonprofit focused on helping veterans, stepped in to fix it up and turn it into a home for Thompson and his 2-year-old twin boys.

“One of the greatest accomplishments that has been made for me wasn’t necessarily done by me and by me alone,” Thompson said.

Ride with Valor turned the keys of the home over to Thompson Saturday afternoon.

“That’s a great thing, when you’re used to carrying the world on your shoulders, but then you have a team of other individuals that say, ‘Look, we’re going to take some of that weight off of you,’” Thompson said.

Thompson has been on a journey of overcoming challenges. Now with the help of others, he’s learned you don’t have to do it alone.

“And that’s what life is about,” he said. “That’s out of the ‘me’ mode and I want to take that ‘m’ and turn it into a ‘w’ and say together, ‘We got it.’”

Copyright 2023 WOIO via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.