St. Leo’s Campus

By Bob Gariano

Owing to the ethnicity of the communities that it serves to the north of the store’s location, the Wal-Mart on Waukegan Road just north of Lake Bluff offers a wide range of hot pepper plants and other ethnic vegetables for spring plantings. Even though it is located in Waukegan, the store gets a fair share of spring gardener shoppers from the prosperous North Shore communities of Lake Bluff, Knollwood, and Lake Forest.

One warm day last week a tall gaunt figure, dressed incongruously in a heavy overcoat and woolen knit cap, was stationed in front of the store, serenading shoppers, most of whom walked by without acknowledging him. It was hard not to. He sang a Jamaican folk song in a strong baritone voice that seemed a perfect match to the poetic rhythms of that Creole language. His voice could be heard across the parking lot.

Stopping to light a stub of a cigarette and taking a puff, he declared to no one in particular that he had served in the United States Army for 31 years before retiring two years ago.  He then put down the two tattered shopping bags that he carried and offered an old cup to solicit charity from people passing by.

“I have travelled all over the world and I speak four languages. My friend taught me to speak Jamaican. I wrote this song to celebrate. I used to have an apartment near the police station but now I am looking for another place to live.” He jingled the few coins in the cup. “I am hoping that someone will come by soon to give me a ride. If not, I guess I will just have to walk.” The man’s woolen cap bore the insignia of a US Army unit.

There are more than 25,000 United States armed forces veterans in the greater Chicago area who are homeless. More than half served in Vietnam. These veterans, many of them in the later years of their lives, live on the edge of our communities, sleeping in shelters or on the streets and under bridges, anywhere where they can find some protection from the elements. Many of these individuals are infirm and suffer from post traumatic stress syndrome or substance abuse problems. Many are disabled or are afflicted with physical diseases or emotional and mental issues. Most are unaware of even the limited governmental benefits available to them.

Catholic Charities began working with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in 2004 to help remedy a small part of this problem. Located about 40 miles away from the North Shore in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood of south Chicago, the St. Leo Campus for Veterans provides housing and medical care for homeless veterans. The facility houses more than 40 veterans and also includes a clinic and treatment center. In addition, the Pope John II Residence provides affordable housing on campus for veterans with physical disabilities.

The St. Leo Campus was originally designed as a pilot facility to prove the merit of a joint effort between private charities and government funding to provide for these veterans. The plan was to install a score of such campuses across the country. Even though this plan did not materialize because of lack of government funding, the Catholic Charities continued to keep the St Leo Campus functioning with donated funds and volunteer effort.

While many of these homeless veterans are located in urban areas far from the North Shore, these prosperous communities make a difference by being the most important contributors to the Catholic Charities, especially during the annual spring philanthropic drive that is held by local Catholic churches each year. The charity is now in the midst of their 2013 campaign.

Catholic Charities serve our needy veterans in other ways as well. From its inception in 1917, Catholic Charities have provided veterans with social services through a variety of clothing rooms, food pantries, evening supper programs, and transitional shelters. The Catholic Charities run low cost apartment buildings for veterans in Des Plaines and Summit where 18 residential buildings provide low cost housing for elderly veterans where they may live in safety and with dignity.  Working with the Office of Veterans Affairs, the Catholic Charities also runs Cooke’s Manor, a clinic designed to help veterans battling addiction problems.

In 1890, the poet Rudyard Kipling wrote “The Last of the Light Brigade”. The first two lines of his poem were a stinging post script to Alfred Lord Tennyson’s patriotic poem written 40 years earlier. Kipling wrote:

“There were 30 million English who talked of England’s might; there were 20 broken troopers who lacked a bed for the night.”

These words inflamed a public who had largely ignored the problems faced by their retired veterans. Catholic Charities, through their charitable programs, are making sure that our veterans are not forgotten. To learn more about the St. Leo Campus for Veterans visit their web site at www.stleoveterans.com