MUSKOGEE, Okla. -- An out-of-state group donates more than 100 backpacks of supplies to homeless veterans.
Victor Lezama, founder and director of The Barracks, a transitional facility for veterans, had some friends come in from his hometown, Evansville, Indiana.
He said, “They surprised me up in Tulsa and we all hung out.” But the biggest surprise came the next day.
Lezama said, “Come to find out that in the past couple of months, they’ve been collecting over 100 backpacks for our veterans.” The group brought 103 backpacks of toiletries and other supplies.
Shelley Ryan, Lezama’s friend from Indiana, said, “We just got the word out and ordered some backpacks and kind of started handing them out to people in bunches.”
It’s all for veterans they don’t know in a community they are not a part of.
Lezama said, “This was done just on a whim. They just decided to do it because they believe in this project and what we’re doing for our veterans. Even though we’re not in Indiana, they saw how it could affect our veterans here and get them off the streets.”
The backpacks are a small part of the bigger picture of what the barracks is really all about.
The founder said, “This facility is where it is right now because of our community. There is no way that any of this would exist right now.”
Ryan added, “We hope that our veterans recognize that they have support. There are people here that they’ve done so much for that are willing to give back to them in whatever way we can.”
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