Homeless veterans bunk in own space at Rescue Mission

By Adam Ashton

After spending a few years on and off the streets, Gordon Fowler appreciates the little things about the veterans dorm at the Tacoma Rescue Mission, where he’s been sleeping for the past two months.

It’s a clean place where the Navy veteran can keep his belongings during the day without worrying that someone will swipe them. He gets a little personal guidance from a retired Navy captain who’s coaching him on how to get back into an apartment.

And it’s a far calmer scene than the open rooms where the Rescue Mission shelters as many people as it can fit on the coldest nights of the year.

“Vets have respect; they show respect. Vets respect each other,” said Fowler, 73.

He’s one of a handful of homeless veterans who are using a revived program for former military service members at the Rescue Mission to steady themselves while they look for work or sign up for long-term benefits they earned while serving in the armed forces.

They commit themselves to volunteering 20 hours a week, and in return, they get a small place of their own in a room modeled after a military barracks.

It’s not much, but it gives the veterans a start in climbing out of homelessness.

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