1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,640 All across America and around the world, this is Veterans Radio. 2 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:15,920 This is Veterans Radio. 3 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:17,840 Welcome to Veterans Radio. 4 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:20,560 I am Jim Fausone. 5 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:22,880 I'm the officer of the deck today. 6 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:24,720 We've got some great programs for you. 7 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:27,760 I think you'll find very interesting. 8 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:34,480 We always want to remind you you can find more about Veterans Radio at its Facebook site 9 00:00:34,480 --> 00:00:37,280 or at the web. 10 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:42,720 VeteransRadio.org is our new URL, VeteransRadio.org. 11 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:48,240 Where we're on the web 24-7, you can find a lot of our podcasts there as well. 12 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:55,520 We post new ones every Tuesday, so you can get a new story, a new interview, something 13 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:59,280 you didn't know before by going to VeteransRadio.org. 14 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:04,560 And before we get started, we want to thank our sponsors. 15 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:13,840 First up, we want to thank National Veteran Business Development Council, NVBDC.org. 16 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:19,520 It was established to certify both service disabled and veteran owned businesses. 17 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:26,080 You'll find out how they can help your business by going to NVBDC.org. 18 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:29,600 We want to thank Legal Help for Veterans. 19 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:35,080 Legal Help for Veterans fights for veterans disability rights all across the nation. 20 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:46,760 You can reach them at 800-693-4800 or on the web at LegalHelpForVeterans.com. 21 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:52,920 We want to welcome to VeteransRadio Pazella Colston Bonner, who's an Army veteran, and 22 00:01:52,920 --> 00:02:00,360 after her service has really continued to dedicate herself to doing what's necessary 23 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:06,520 for veterans, but also female veterans and those who are in need of homes. 24 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:09,480 So, Paz, welcome to VeteransRadio. 25 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:12,680 Thank you so much for having me today. 26 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:18,480 Well, let's start with the beginning, because all of us have this beginning of when we decided 27 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:20,720 or how we decided to join up. 28 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:22,560 How did you end up in the Army? 29 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:27,600 Well, in high school, I just thought it would be something interesting to do. 30 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:31,320 I'm the type of person that if I hear something, I'm like, hey, that'll be pretty interesting. 31 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:37,240 And I thought that going into the Army would be a way to partially pay for college. 32 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:41,520 And when I got ready to graduate, I told my mom, hey, mom, I think I want to go into the 33 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:43,000 Army or actually before that. 34 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:44,960 And she just kept saying, uh-huh, uh-huh. 35 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:46,880 So, when it came to my graduation. 36 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:51,400 Maybe you'll stop thinking about it if she ignores it long enough, right? 37 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:52,400 Exactly. 38 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:55,640 She said to me, no, you're not going to the Army. 39 00:02:55,640 --> 00:02:56,840 I don't think you know what you're doing. 40 00:02:56,840 --> 00:02:58,360 You're going to college. 41 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:00,760 And you know, your parents told you back then. 42 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:01,760 So, I went to college. 43 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:04,560 I did a year and a half in college. 44 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:07,440 And my mom was pretty young. 45 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:08,840 You know, 46 years old. 46 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:10,560 I'd never seen her sick or anything. 47 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:12,480 And she started having seizures. 48 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:14,160 And she was in the hospital. 49 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:16,880 And I went to the hospital and I told her, hey, mom, you know what? 50 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:18,400 I think I want to go in the military. 51 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:19,400 And she said, you know what? 52 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:20,400 I think you're old enough now. 53 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:21,400 You're 21. 54 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:22,400 I think you know what you're doing. 55 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:24,000 So, you got my blessings. 56 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:26,840 Three days after that, she unexpectedly passed away. 57 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:28,240 Oh my goodness. 58 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:30,600 Yeah, she was supposed to come home. 59 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:34,800 And at that time, I was going to join the Air Force. 60 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:39,200 And I felt like after she passed away, I wanted to get away immediately. 61 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:43,120 So, I jumped over and joined the Army because it seemed like they were going to move me 62 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:46,280 a little faster, get me, you know, out of the city. 63 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:48,120 And it ended up not happening that way. 64 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:50,320 I ended up staying a little longer. 65 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:54,040 But with her blessings, I said, okay, now it's time to go. 66 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:59,760 Well, you spent about 20 years in the Army, both active and reserve. 67 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:04,120 Give us, paint a picture for us of what your career was like. 68 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:05,120 Okay. 69 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:08,640 Well, when I went in, my mom always groomed me for business. 70 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:12,880 She heard me say my mom a lot because my mom was my best friend, my mentor. 71 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:16,240 And I think that most parents, they see something in their kids. 72 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:18,360 So they'll try to mentor them in that direction. 73 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:21,760 My mother was an accounting supervisor at Children's Hospital. 74 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:24,360 And she groomed me for business very young. 75 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:25,600 She would bring billing home. 76 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:27,160 I would do that kind of work or whatever. 77 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:29,680 She just saw that I was really good at business. 78 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:31,520 Fast forward to high school. 79 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:33,400 She had me in shorthand and typing. 80 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:36,560 So, I kind of, you know, did business like forever. 81 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:39,920 And then when I went to college, you know, I was working on a business degree. 82 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:43,960 So after she passed away, I'm like, I'm getting as far away from business as I can. 83 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:49,240 So I signed up to be a diesel mechanic for big trust. 84 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:50,240 Okay. 85 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:51,240 That was what I was going to do. 86 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:52,240 I'm like, I'm done with business. 87 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:53,240 I had enough. 88 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:56,680 And when I got ready to leave, they're like, oh, that school's not going to start for 89 00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:57,680 another year. 90 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:01,840 If you want to leave at this time, we have personnel management specialists. 91 00:05:01,840 --> 00:05:04,440 I'm thinking, okay. 92 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:05,440 That's kind of what I've been doing. 93 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:08,480 So that's how I ended up jumping into that. 94 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:11,760 Went to basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. 95 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:18,040 I did my AIT, which is my advanced training for personnel management specialists in Indian 96 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:19,040 apolis. 97 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:22,840 And then my permanent duty station was Bamberg, Germany. 98 00:05:22,840 --> 00:05:26,040 That was a course of maybe a couple of years. 99 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:28,680 Right after that, while I was in Germany, my grandmother had a stroke. 100 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:32,880 I came home and I was temporary assigned at Taycom in Warren, Michigan. 101 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:37,000 And two months after that, the military said to me, hey, you got two sisters to take care 102 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:39,960 of your grandmother, either get out or go back to Germany. 103 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:43,640 Now, mind you, it's been not even two years since my mom passed away. 104 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:45,840 So I'm not going back to Germany. 105 00:05:45,840 --> 00:05:47,400 My grandmother is on her deathbed. 106 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:52,360 So with their urging, I decided to get out and go to the reserves. 107 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:57,240 And I finished my career in the reserves a little over 18 years. 108 00:05:57,240 --> 00:06:01,720 Well, it's one of those stories of you don't know where life's going to take you, but it's 109 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:04,080 an interesting ride along the way, isn't it? 110 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:06,400 Yeah, it was very interesting. 111 00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:11,240 I mean, a lot of ups and downs, you know, had some hardships through there because 112 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:15,400 when I went in, I didn't know that there was a clause in my contract that said if I didn't 113 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:20,120 complete two years of active duty, which I did not, it was really like 18 or 19 months 114 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:24,320 that when I got out, I could not go to the VA hospital. 115 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:29,080 So I started having issues with my hips and my knees, tried to go to the VA hospital. 116 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:30,920 That's when they said to me, nope. 117 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:35,520 You didn't complete active duty long enough, so we're not going to help you. 118 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:39,840 I went on year after year trying to get help from senators who said, hey, it's nothing 119 00:06:39,840 --> 00:06:42,120 we can do, nothing we can do. 120 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:48,000 So Social Security had to disable me so that I could get Medicaid and Medicare early to 121 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:51,480 get both of my hips replaced. 122 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:55,240 Had to go before the Social Security judge, and she couldn't believe that the military 123 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:56,880 was not going to help me. 124 00:06:56,880 --> 00:07:01,480 She said, I will disable you for two years and we'll see what happens after that. 125 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:06,840 Me thinking, I don't know how long I'm going to get this help, I got my left hip replaced, 126 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:11,600 which was the worst, and six weeks after that, after therapy, I went and got the right hip 127 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:12,600 replaced. 128 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:18,080 Still, during that time, trying to get my service-connected benefits. 129 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:19,440 And this went on year after year. 130 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:23,480 Actually, it took me 35 years to get my benefits from the VA hospital. 131 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:27,000 So I don't know if you want to move right into that or- 132 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:29,200 Well, go ahead because I think- 133 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:33,960 Go ahead and talk about this, Pes, because I think it's sort of the foundation that helped 134 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:41,720 make you into the veteran advocate you've become with focus on homes and women health 135 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:42,720 issues. 136 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:45,720 Yes, that's exactly. 137 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:53,120 Homes for heroic veterans was born out of the difficulty that I had getting my benefits. 138 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:59,560 The disdain that I had from being helped at the VA, which I know that a lot of veterans 139 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:00,720 are dealing with right now. 140 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:06,040 I'm helping veterans to try to get their what's called service-connected benefits. 141 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:09,760 When I was in, when you got out of active duty, no one told you, hey, go sign up at 142 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:13,200 the VA, get your medical health card, do this and that. 143 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:16,120 They just kind of said, okay, see you wouldn't want to be. 144 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:21,000 You kind of wave their hand at you, which was very contrary to how it was when we went 145 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:22,000 in. 146 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:25,640 We then signed up for the military, raised our hand. 147 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:29,640 They told us exactly what to do, when to do it, where to be. 148 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:33,760 Coming out is kind of, I felt left alone and no one could really help me. 149 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:39,440 Even my reserve officers were kind of surprised that I wasn't getting the help that I need. 150 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:43,240 Fast forward to almost 35 years later, social security has helped me. 151 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:47,640 I've now gotten both my hips replaced and I'm thinking, this doesn't make any sense. 152 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:51,280 It's got to be something you can do to help veterans. 153 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:56,560 This is still before I was able to get into my service-connected benefits. 154 00:08:56,560 --> 00:09:00,240 I was on Facebook and it's a group called Veteran to Veteran. 155 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:06,600 In this group are veterans as well as people that work at different VA facilities throughout 156 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:07,920 the U.S. 157 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:13,680 I just posed the question in this Facebook group and said, why am I an honorably discharged 158 00:09:13,680 --> 00:09:17,080 veteran and I cannot receive health benefits? 159 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:18,720 I will call this person my angel. 160 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:22,480 I cannot remember his name but I know he worked at the VA in Atlanta. 161 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:26,680 He said, if you trust me, give me your information. 162 00:09:26,680 --> 00:09:28,640 Sounds like you got out on a hardship. 163 00:09:28,640 --> 00:09:30,800 No one ever said that to me. 164 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:32,000 Three days later he came back. 165 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:34,200 He said, you got out on a hardship. 166 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:37,040 That voided that clause in your contract. 167 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:40,680 It said you couldn't get health benefits from the VA. 168 00:09:40,680 --> 00:09:43,880 Here we are, over 35 years later. 169 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:48,120 He says, go down to the VA now and see what they say. 170 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:56,000 I was discharged from active duty in 1981, April 17th of 2017, which is the Friday. 171 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:58,000 I go down to the VA. 172 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:00,920 When they see me coming, they're always like, oh my God, here she comes again. 173 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:03,240 You have your son with you. 174 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:06,240 I'm like, can you just check the computer? 175 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:11,440 I've been told that whatever issues are going are corrected now. 176 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:14,520 It's about almost four o'clock on a Friday. 177 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:19,800 They clicked on the computer or whatever and they're like, everything's okay now. 178 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:21,320 We close at 4.30. 179 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:24,680 Can you come back on Monday to get your ID? 180 00:10:24,680 --> 00:10:29,080 I'll pause right there for a moment. 181 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:34,040 Well, a lot of few choice words I said in my head, but what came out of my mouth was, 182 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:37,240 I'll sit here till Monday if I have to. 183 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:44,480 They gave me my ID and I proceeded to still continue to work on getting my service connected 184 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:50,240 with benefits because the situations that I had, the illnesses, the injuries I had were 185 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:55,480 from the military and I felt like I needed to be compensated. 186 00:10:55,480 --> 00:10:57,320 Still continue to try to help myself. 187 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:02,000 After I got my first service connection, I thought I need to help veterans. 188 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:06,520 After doing a little bit of homework, I found out that there were, I don't know how many 189 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:09,720 homeless veterans out here, and I was appalled at it. 190 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:13,200 I thought, how can you be homeless if you were a veteran? 191 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:15,160 We've served our country. 192 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:16,800 We've done what we needed to do. 193 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:19,280 What is constituting all of this homelessness? 194 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:25,200 I'm going to stop you there, Paz, before we get into the homeless angle because I want 195 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:30,520 to pull out a couple of pearls of wisdom that you've just passed along to people and we 196 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:35,920 tell them this, they don't sometimes believe us, so your story helps drive this home. 197 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:41,680 One is, we tell veterans all the time, don't give up. 198 00:11:41,680 --> 00:11:44,720 It took you 35 years, but you didn't give up. 199 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:48,360 So many guys and gals just say, well, they said no and walk away. 200 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:49,920 A lot of things happened. 201 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:52,080 The law changes. 202 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:56,840 The first time you got answers or the tenth time you got answers, they were wrong. 203 00:11:56,840 --> 00:12:00,640 Maybe somebody starts to apply more, and here's the second pearl, right? 204 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:05,640 You got to have the knowledge to be able to work the system. 205 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:11,040 If this guy in Atlanta hadn't used the word hardship for you, it wouldn't have worked 206 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:17,000 that you got around this contract clause because they kicked you out over a hardship issue. 207 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:18,000 That opened the door. 208 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:20,440 So you can't give up. 209 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:24,960 You got to keep talking to people till you get the right knowledge so you can move through 210 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:27,000 whatever that barrier was. 211 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:30,280 I just didn't want to skip over those pearls of wisdom. 212 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:35,920 Go ahead, you're saying while you're doing this, you realize the extent of homelessness 213 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:43,200 for veterans and how unfortunate and unwarranted it is, so talk to us about that part of your 214 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:44,200 advocacy. 215 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:53,320 What I found out is that there's just a huge number of veterans that are homeless. 216 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:56,480 And so I wanted to try to discover why are they homeless. 217 00:12:56,480 --> 00:13:01,320 And in my discovery, I found out that when a lot of them get off of active duty, it doesn't 218 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:03,920 matter whether they've been to war or not. 219 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:06,040 They're trained for war. 220 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:09,240 So this is what people don't understand. 221 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:13,000 I'm training for war or either I'm in war as a veteran. 222 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:15,000 I'm discharged on a Thursday. 223 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:18,320 I go to my out processing on Saturday. 224 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:23,520 So you want me to come home on Sunday and go to church on Monday to take my kids to school 225 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:25,680 like nothing has ever happened? 226 00:13:25,680 --> 00:13:28,960 A lot of veterans do not make that transition. 227 00:13:28,960 --> 00:13:30,480 We need out processing. 228 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:36,120 I feel almost just like people do that are held hostage because you're coming from a controlled 229 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:41,080 environment where you are told what to do on a regular basis. 230 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:45,240 And now you just want me to come back and transition back into society. 231 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:47,600 And a lot of people don't make that transition. 232 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:52,080 The other part of it is that a lot of family members don't know this person when they come 233 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:56,000 home because they may want to be isolated. 234 00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:57,920 They may not want to be around a lot of people. 235 00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:02,480 And the first thing that a family or friends want to do, hey, let's celebrate your home. 236 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:03,720 You've been in a war zone. 237 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:08,760 If you've been in certain areas and you've been isolated for some time, just being around 238 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:09,760 crowds is a problem. 239 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:12,160 So that's one of the things that I found out. 240 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:18,080 And so a lot of veterans will start drinking or doing drugs or doing things just to try 241 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:22,240 to cope with transitioning back. 242 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:23,880 They may go down to the VA. 243 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:29,120 They may try to go to a VFW or other places to try to get the help that they need. 244 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:34,720 If they don't get the help or they don't get a camaraderie with another veteran, a lot 245 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:36,440 of times they fall through the crack. 246 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:40,880 A large majority of them are able to come back home, get their jobs back or start a 247 00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:43,840 job, start a family, and just keep moving on. 248 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:46,880 But there is a huge number of them that do not. 249 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:51,200 That's what I've noticed is constituting most of the homelessness. 250 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:55,520 You know, just getting caught and, you know, just like, almost like underground. 251 00:14:55,520 --> 00:15:01,800 And that, that, that sort of, that motivated, all that motivated you to set up Homes for 252 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:03,600 Heroic Veterans. 253 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,520 Tell us what that's about. 254 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:09,240 Homes for Heroic Veterans is a 501c3. 255 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:11,120 We are five years old. 256 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:13,640 We started out transitioning veterans. 257 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:18,240 I connected with different homeless shelters as well as case managers to say, hey, what 258 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:20,520 is it that we can do to help veterans? 259 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:25,000 So we started out, I started out with one home which I bought out of my own personal 260 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:27,360 finances, a three bedroom home. 261 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:29,960 And I started just housing veterans, starting out with men. 262 00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:33,960 I would put three men, it doesn't matter what branch of the service they were in, in a three 263 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:35,720 bedroom house. 264 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:37,840 And they really gelled very well together. 265 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:44,840 They felt the camaraderie that they missed when they were, when they were on active duty. 266 00:15:44,840 --> 00:15:50,040 So what we do is we try to find out what is it going to take to get them to the next step 267 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:53,000 of their life, to getting back to being on their feet. 268 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:56,440 For some of them, it may be something as simple as getting ID. 269 00:15:56,440 --> 00:16:00,480 For some of them, it may be something as simple as getting their discharge papers, which is 270 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:04,280 their DD 214 so that they can apply for benefits. 271 00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:07,880 You know, a lot of it is very simple, but if you don't know what to do, you don't know 272 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:08,880 what to do. 273 00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:12,080 And for some of them, they have gone down to the DA and they haven't got the help that 274 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:14,200 they need, so they just give up. 275 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:16,480 You know, that's what it's been. 276 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:21,920 So we started out with, actually it was during COVID, and we had veterans from anywhere from 277 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:23,880 three months to a year. 278 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:27,720 After that, they were able to get a voucher and move on to permanent housing. 279 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:29,560 We've helped veterans get jobs. 280 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:35,440 We've helped veterans get vehicles, whatever it takes for them, again, to get back on their 281 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:36,440 feet. 282 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:38,720 So we started out with the one house. 283 00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:40,600 We ended up with another house. 284 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:45,840 And I started working with older veterans because what I found out is a lot of them are becoming 285 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:46,840 widows now. 286 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:51,400 So that's a whole other transition and they don't know what to do on their own. 287 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:56,080 So I started just working with the older veterans and after that, I'm thinking, you know what? 288 00:16:56,080 --> 00:16:59,640 After they transition, they need permanent housing. 289 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:03,960 So as of last year, we were able to acquire an apartment building. 290 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:09,200 So all of the veterans that we were able to transition from transitional homes are now 291 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:11,120 in permanent housing in our apartments. 292 00:17:11,120 --> 00:17:12,840 And we're still monitoring them. 293 00:17:12,840 --> 00:17:15,920 They still have case managers. 294 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:18,320 I stay very connected to all of the veterans. 295 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:20,920 They know that they can reach me at any time. 296 00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:23,680 You know, just to kind of have that camaraderie. 297 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:29,480 I connect them to other service organizations where they can go to events, where they can, 298 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:30,680 you know, just be in groups. 299 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:31,680 Yeah. 300 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:38,240 As you say, that whole community is so important and it builds your self-esteem. 301 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:43,880 It builds your confidence, you're kind of ready for whatever the next step is based 302 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:47,720 on where you are in the life process. 303 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:49,160 It's not easy to do this. 304 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:53,240 This is kind of the hard work, you know, you start out with doing, well, I'll just do three 305 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:57,360 guys and all of a sudden it's much bigger than that. 306 00:17:57,360 --> 00:18:03,800 Talk to us about the support community, the donors, the other volunteers who are involved 307 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:05,760 in the process for you. 308 00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:09,640 Our homes, all of our properties are in Macomb County. 309 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:11,640 They're actually in Warren. 310 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:16,040 I live in the Macomb County and I've been a resident of Macomb County for over 20 years. 311 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:21,320 So just to double back a little bit, I'm also a notary and a paralegal. 312 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:25,320 So during this process of me thinking how I can help veterans, there was two gentlemen 313 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:28,640 that came in my office that wanted to get rid of their property. 314 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:29,640 They were in their 80s. 315 00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:33,600 They wanted to give their children their inheritance before they passed away. 316 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:37,720 And during this time, one of them passed away and there was one house left and he decided 317 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:40,080 that he wanted to sell it. 318 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:43,000 Long story short, one of my friends said, you keep saying you want to help veterans, 319 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:44,680 why don't you buy this house? 320 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:47,880 That's how we ended up acquiring the property. 321 00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:55,200 Since then, I've been working with just Macomb County Veterans Services, SSDF of Macomb County, 322 00:18:55,200 --> 00:19:01,760 and everyone has really jumped on board to do what they can to help veterans. 323 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:07,320 We still are in need of more properties because this year is the year that I am focusing on 324 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:08,820 female veterans. 325 00:19:08,820 --> 00:19:15,560 Over the last five years, we have successfully transitioned over 35 male veterans from chronic 326 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:18,320 homelessness to permanent housing. 327 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:23,280 So this is the year that we are focusing on female veterans and at this very moment, 328 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:28,280 I am aware of three female veterans that are living in their cars. 329 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:33,440 I'm working with the City of Warren to try to get some blighted properties, but all of 330 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:34,440 this is a process. 331 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:39,760 So I still keep in touch with the female veterans, direct them to where they can get food and 332 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:45,720 showers and things of that nature, but we are definitely in need of support. 333 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:48,760 And so I'll just move on to our, we're having a golf outing. 334 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:54,480 This is our fifth annual charity, Golf Scramble, which is put on every year by the local business 335 00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:58,200 network of Sterling Heights, which I'm a member of. 336 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:01,280 This golf outing will be on September 11th this year. 337 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:08,920 I decided to do 9-11 because I want to highlight and focus first responders that are veterans. 338 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:12,840 You know, just to kind of get the word out on them, because a lot of people don't realize 339 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:15,920 that, you know, first, a lot of the first responders are veterans. 340 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:17,920 Yeah, absolutely. 341 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:23,000 So the golf outing will be held at Twin Lakes Golf Course in Oakland County. 342 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:29,040 The address is 455 Twin Lakes Drive Oakland Charter Township, Michigan. 343 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:34,120 And if someone is interested in donating or also sponsorship, I can give that information 344 00:20:34,120 --> 00:20:35,120 as well. 345 00:20:35,120 --> 00:20:36,120 Please do. 346 00:20:36,120 --> 00:20:37,240 Give us, I saw it on your website. 347 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:42,240 So why don't you give us the website for folks to learn more about and how they could 348 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:44,920 help homes for heroic veterans? 349 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:45,920 Okay. 350 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:53,240 The email address is homesforheroicveteransatgmail.com. 351 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:58,360 Perfect. 352 00:20:58,360 --> 00:21:04,200 And if folks want, is that the best way for them to maybe sign up for the golf outing and 353 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:05,200 help sponsorship? 354 00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:09,200 Yes, they can go there and I can email them flyers. 355 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:12,880 If they can contact us there, I can send a flyer to them. 356 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:20,320 There's also another email for the golf outing which is hfhvgolfoutingatgmail.com. 357 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:22,280 And I do believe that that's up and running. 358 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:23,520 I was just in a meeting this morning. 359 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:25,680 I think they said that is up and running. 360 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:28,000 So we're in need of sponsorship. 361 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:29,280 You can sponsor a whole. 362 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:32,280 You can sponsor a foursome. 363 00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:36,120 You may have a business where you just may say, hey, we want to donate a couple of cases 364 00:21:36,120 --> 00:21:40,600 of water for the golf outing or because it is going to be a lunch and a dinner. 365 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:45,480 You may just want to donate, you know, just anything to help out with the golf outing. 366 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:50,400 Also, if someone wants to donate, you know, just to help with the veterans as well, they 367 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:52,600 can do that on the website. 368 00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:55,040 And give the website address again. 369 00:21:55,040 --> 00:22:00,040 The website is homesforheroicveteransatgmail.com. 370 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:03,120 Okay. 371 00:22:03,120 --> 00:22:09,200 And it's important for folks to recognize that to do good work, it takes support from 372 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:10,800 all around. 373 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:15,400 Fortunately, the community here in Macomb County is very supportive of veterans as a 374 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:19,940 very veteran and military friendly business community. 375 00:22:19,940 --> 00:22:23,640 So you're doing really good work with some help from some folks. 376 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:27,640 But I want to close up with a question that I ask a lot of folks. 377 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:31,200 And, you know, you did your 18 plus years. 378 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:33,960 You fought the VA for 35 plus years. 379 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:38,000 You've been a veteran advocate for decades. 380 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:45,880 Does nieces and nephews, friends, kids come to you and say, hey, I'm thinking of joining 381 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:50,800 up with the military, you know, the question or the statement you made your mom? 382 00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:55,560 When you get that question nowadays, what's your answer? 383 00:22:55,560 --> 00:23:03,000 My answer would be if this is something that you want to do, go to the reserves first. 384 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:07,400 Because if you go to the reserves, that's your six or eight weeks of basic training, 385 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:11,000 and then your school training, which could be anywhere from two to three months. 386 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:14,640 And then after that, if you like it, you really think this is something you want to do, then 387 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:15,840 go active duty. 388 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:21,120 I would not recommend someone that is unsure to go to active duty because you're signing 389 00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:25,320 up for two, four, six years right there and it's nothing you can do about it if you don't 390 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:26,320 like it. 391 00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:32,360 I personally believe, and I felt this way for years, I feel like every 11th grader from 392 00:23:32,360 --> 00:23:37,320 that summer before they become a senior, I think they need to go to basic training just 393 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:38,320 for that summer. 394 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:41,760 You don't have to sign up with the military, but I think the discipline, the six weeks 395 00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:48,920 of basic training will just give them a little bit of an awakening of what they need to just 396 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:53,640 persevere on, you know, for that senior year for becoming an adult. 397 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:57,720 I feel like that a lot of discipline has been lacking for years, but that basic training 398 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:01,400 will just kind of give them a little wake up, a little wake up call. 399 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:05,200 Wow, that's an interesting idea I've not heard before. 400 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:10,720 Let's put it out there into the world and let people talk about it, but you know, there's 401 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:18,440 been a lot of talk about the lack of involvement the US population have in securing their own 402 00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:20,360 liberties and freedoms. 403 00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:25,240 We let the military, which is 1% of the population now. 404 00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:28,440 You go take care of that, I don't want to, but what an interesting idea. 405 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:32,800 Everybody goes through basic training to get a little life lessons and maybe it's something 406 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:34,480 they want to pursue. 407 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:38,160 But at least they know a whole lot of different stuff than they did otherwise. 408 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:40,480 So very interesting. 409 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:41,480 Well we want to... 410 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:45,360 You can teach this work in camaraderie and everything, and there's also programs in Michigan 411 00:24:45,360 --> 00:24:47,920 that are for kids to go to. 412 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:49,320 It's a five and a half month program, you know. 413 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:54,080 Maybe we'll be talking again, we can talk about that, but it was life changing for people 414 00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:55,080 that I know. 415 00:24:55,080 --> 00:25:00,960 Well, we're glad that Pazella Colston Bonner of Homes for Heroic Veterans had a little 416 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:04,120 time to talk to us today on Veterans Radio. 417 00:25:04,120 --> 00:25:10,920 Keep up the good work that you're doing for our veterans, both male and female. 418 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:13,840 Thank you so much for having me. 419 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:16,760 And I want to thank everybody for listening to Veterans Radio today. 420 00:25:16,760 --> 00:25:18,240 I am Jim Fawson. 421 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:20,640 It's been a pleasure to be your host. 422 00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:25,360 I'm a Veterans Disability Lawyer at Legal Help for Veterans, and you can reach us at 423 00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:32,960 800-693-4800 or legalhelpforveterans.com on the web. 424 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:37,840 You can follow Veterans Radio on Facebook and listen to its podcasts and internet radio 425 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:42,480 shows by visiting us at veteransradio.org. 426 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:45,200 That's veteransradio.org. 427 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:48,400 And until next time, you are dismissed. 428 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:52,840 If you have a VA claim denied by the Board of Veterans Appeals, contact Legal Help for 429 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:57,080 Veterans at 1-800-693-4800. 430 00:25:57,080 --> 00:26:01,080 They're experts in handling cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. 431 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:05,040 Your number again, 1-800-693-4800. 432 00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:10,640 We again want to thank our national sponsors, the National Veterans Business Development 433 00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:19,600 Council, NVBDC.org, VA Ann Arbor Health Care System, the Vietnam Veterans of America, 434 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:28,560 Charles S. Kettles Chapter, Ann Arbor, Michigan, VFW Graff O'Hara Post 423 in Ann Arbor, and 435 00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:34,480 the American Legion Press Corn Post 46 also in Ann Arbor. 436 00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:35,960 We appreciate all your support. 437 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:43,000 You can go to veteransradio.net, click on the sponsor level, and continue to support 438 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:46,000 keeping Veterans Radio on the air. 439 00:26:46,000 --> 00:27:00,040 And until next time, you are dismissed.