Sat Mar 23, 2024 11:33 pm by globalturbo
Good People Doing Good Things — Stacey Buckner
Posted on July 26, 2023 by jilldennison
Tissue warning for today’s ‘good people’ … when I first read about Stacey Buckner it left me literally in tears. This woman … she cares so much … well, just read her story, but get your box of tissues first. Oh … you don’t have any handy … well here, I always keep a few spares …
In 2008, a stroke and subsequent traumatic brain injury (TBI) nearly killed Stacey Buckner. Today, she says her miraculous road to recovery led her to the outreach work that has become her life’s mission.
“I was released from the hospital in a wheelchair. I still wasn’t completely walking on my own. I had a stutter. No one wanted to hire me.”
Buckner worked to regain her speech and motor skills, and with the help of an organization that supports people with disabilities, she was ultimately placed in a job at the Fayetteville VA Medical Center. Her day-to-day tasks included calling and reminding veterans about their upcoming appointments.
As she learned more about issues facing veterans in her community, especially those experiencing homelessness, she began reaching out to those in need in her spare time.
CNN Hero Stacey Buckner reaches out to a veteran experiencing homelessness in Fayetteville, NC.
“On my way to work, I would drive past the strip mall. And I noticed that there was a lot of homeless people that lived behind there. I brought them hygiene packs, food.”
One day a woman refused a hygiene pack, and her explanation was eye-opening for Buckner.
“I was actually burdening her because she’d have to carry it around all day. She said, ‘I’m homeless. Where am I supposed to shower?’”
An outdoor and off-road enthusiast, Buckner had existing modifications to her Jeep for camping and recreation purposes, including a shower hookup. In that moment, “it was like God spoke to me.”
“I wrapped a tarp around my awning and set up the shower. … It was life-changing for her. Just to see her go from someone that looked so defeated to smiling and to feeling so good about herself, it was just like, ‘I have to do this more often.’”
Soon, Buckner was offering weekly showers to those living in homeless camps. Many of them, she learned, were veterans.
According to the most recent count by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, more than 33,000 veterans were experiencing homelessness in the US.
“A lot of these veterans, they’re deep in the woods. It takes boots on the ground to find them and meet their needs. Gaining trust amongst the homeless veteran community is really important.”
Since 2015, Buckner has been doing just that. She started Off-Road Outreach through which she has helped more than 1,000 veterans in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Using her own off-road vehicle – a Jeep that has accommodations for water, heating, and cooking – Buckner provides mobile showers, laundry services, and meals to homeless veterans in her hometown, known for its proximity to Fort Liberty, a military installation of the US Army. Each week, she travels to hard-to-reach places to serve veterans who are unwilling or unable to access services. Without judgment, Buckner asks what she can do to help them.
“There should be no homeless vets, period,” Buckner said. “I am to a lot of them their only family.”
CNN Hero Stacey Buckner offers mobile showers to homeless veterans as part of her Off-Road Outreach efforts.
Buckner offers immediate services like showers, food, and clothing to anyone living in the encampment. For homeless veterans, she also provides wrap-around services and works with volunteers – whom she calls “community ambassadors” – as well as local nonprofits to connect them to medical care, employment, housing, and suicide prevention programs.
“We have a huge suicide problem amongst our veterans. They need that camaraderie after they get out of the military. Even though I’m not a veteran, I do have mental health issues related to my TBI (traumatic brain injury), so I can relate. Finding your purpose and peer support is huge.”
Off-Road Outreach helps about 50 to 75 homeless veterans a week through its services, Buckner says, and often teams up with local businesses to offer other services like haircuts and to distribute items like mattresses, socks, and shoes.
“We have shoe companies that will donate nice shoes to our homeless vets. It really makes a difference when you’re homeless because you’re doing a lot of walking.”
Buckner’s program offers immediate, judgment-free services to anyone experiencing homelessness.
Buckner also launched a fresh food initiative called Veggies for Vets that serves about 50 veterans a week through a community garden. In tandem with veteran-owned farms, Buckner also distributes fresh produce to combat food insecurity and health issues. She does not take a salary for the work and credits her own disability for giving her new abilities.
“Coming out of the hospital with a traumatic brain injury, you don’t know your purpose anymore, you’re a completely different person. This is a lifetime process of recovery. I’m just thankful that I’m walking, and talking, and being able to inspire people, and give them hope, too.”
Being a ‘good people’ doesn’t mean you have to be wealthy, it has nothing to do with skin colour, gender, religion, or any other superficial characteristics … it comes from somewhere deep within. It is about caring about others, giving of yourself to help others. I truly believe that most of us have it within us to be that special person to someone, we just have to find the right opportunity and have the right frame of mind. We don’t have to save the world, but maybe, just maybe, we can make one or two people’s world a little brighter.
As a side note to this story, I have to ask why there are some 33,000 homeless veterans living on the streets in the United States today. This is simply unconscionable! These men and women put their lives on the line to protect and defend this nation and its people … why aren’t we taking care of them now???
Posted on July 26, 2023 by jilldennison
Tissue warning for today’s ‘good people’ … when I first read about Stacey Buckner it left me literally in tears. This woman … she cares so much … well, just read her story, but get your box of tissues first. Oh … you don’t have any handy … well here, I always keep a few spares …
In 2008, a stroke and subsequent traumatic brain injury (TBI) nearly killed Stacey Buckner. Today, she says her miraculous road to recovery led her to the outreach work that has become her life’s mission.
“I was released from the hospital in a wheelchair. I still wasn’t completely walking on my own. I had a stutter. No one wanted to hire me.”
Buckner worked to regain her speech and motor skills, and with the help of an organization that supports people with disabilities, she was ultimately placed in a job at the Fayetteville VA Medical Center. Her day-to-day tasks included calling and reminding veterans about their upcoming appointments.
As she learned more about issues facing veterans in her community, especially those experiencing homelessness, she began reaching out to those in need in her spare time.
CNN Hero Stacey Buckner reaches out to a veteran experiencing homelessness in Fayetteville, NC.
“On my way to work, I would drive past the strip mall. And I noticed that there was a lot of homeless people that lived behind there. I brought them hygiene packs, food.”
One day a woman refused a hygiene pack, and her explanation was eye-opening for Buckner.
“I was actually burdening her because she’d have to carry it around all day. She said, ‘I’m homeless. Where am I supposed to shower?’”
An outdoor and off-road enthusiast, Buckner had existing modifications to her Jeep for camping and recreation purposes, including a shower hookup. In that moment, “it was like God spoke to me.”
“I wrapped a tarp around my awning and set up the shower. … It was life-changing for her. Just to see her go from someone that looked so defeated to smiling and to feeling so good about herself, it was just like, ‘I have to do this more often.’”
Soon, Buckner was offering weekly showers to those living in homeless camps. Many of them, she learned, were veterans.
According to the most recent count by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, more than 33,000 veterans were experiencing homelessness in the US.
“A lot of these veterans, they’re deep in the woods. It takes boots on the ground to find them and meet their needs. Gaining trust amongst the homeless veteran community is really important.”
Since 2015, Buckner has been doing just that. She started Off-Road Outreach through which she has helped more than 1,000 veterans in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Using her own off-road vehicle – a Jeep that has accommodations for water, heating, and cooking – Buckner provides mobile showers, laundry services, and meals to homeless veterans in her hometown, known for its proximity to Fort Liberty, a military installation of the US Army. Each week, she travels to hard-to-reach places to serve veterans who are unwilling or unable to access services. Without judgment, Buckner asks what she can do to help them.
“There should be no homeless vets, period,” Buckner said. “I am to a lot of them their only family.”
CNN Hero Stacey Buckner offers mobile showers to homeless veterans as part of her Off-Road Outreach efforts.
Buckner offers immediate services like showers, food, and clothing to anyone living in the encampment. For homeless veterans, she also provides wrap-around services and works with volunteers – whom she calls “community ambassadors” – as well as local nonprofits to connect them to medical care, employment, housing, and suicide prevention programs.
“We have a huge suicide problem amongst our veterans. They need that camaraderie after they get out of the military. Even though I’m not a veteran, I do have mental health issues related to my TBI (traumatic brain injury), so I can relate. Finding your purpose and peer support is huge.”
Off-Road Outreach helps about 50 to 75 homeless veterans a week through its services, Buckner says, and often teams up with local businesses to offer other services like haircuts and to distribute items like mattresses, socks, and shoes.
“We have shoe companies that will donate nice shoes to our homeless vets. It really makes a difference when you’re homeless because you’re doing a lot of walking.”
Buckner’s program offers immediate, judgment-free services to anyone experiencing homelessness.
Buckner also launched a fresh food initiative called Veggies for Vets that serves about 50 veterans a week through a community garden. In tandem with veteran-owned farms, Buckner also distributes fresh produce to combat food insecurity and health issues. She does not take a salary for the work and credits her own disability for giving her new abilities.
“Coming out of the hospital with a traumatic brain injury, you don’t know your purpose anymore, you’re a completely different person. This is a lifetime process of recovery. I’m just thankful that I’m walking, and talking, and being able to inspire people, and give them hope, too.”
Being a ‘good people’ doesn’t mean you have to be wealthy, it has nothing to do with skin colour, gender, religion, or any other superficial characteristics … it comes from somewhere deep within. It is about caring about others, giving of yourself to help others. I truly believe that most of us have it within us to be that special person to someone, we just have to find the right opportunity and have the right frame of mind. We don’t have to save the world, but maybe, just maybe, we can make one or two people’s world a little brighter.
As a side note to this story, I have to ask why there are some 33,000 homeless veterans living on the streets in the United States today. This is simply unconscionable! These men and women put their lives on the line to protect and defend this nation and its people … why aren’t we taking care of them now???
