For veterans, global pandemic one more enemy
Vets struggling to adjust to civilian life potentially at risk for more issues because of COVID-19
Larry Sharp, an Army veteran, takes a moment to relax as the sun shines on a chilly afternoon on Monday, Dec. 28, 2020. Sharp has lived at the Alpha Omega Veterans Services home on Ball Street. for over five years. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Marine Corps veteran Anton Siggers looks over paperwork in his room on Monday, Dec. 28, 2020 at Alpha Omega Veterans Services on Ball Street. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Alpha Omega Veterans Services transportation driver and resident Robert Porter completes paperwork before dawn on Monday, Dec. 28, 2020. Porter an Army veteran, has lived at the facility for over 11 years. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Navy veteran Chris Oldham raise the flag before sunrise on Monday, Dec. 28, 2020 at Alpha Omega Veterans Services’ facility on Ball Street. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Garth Knutson, who joined the Army in 1966 at the age of 25, sits in his apartment at Alpha Omega Veterans Services Monday, Dec. 28, 2020. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Alpha Omega Veterans Services program manager Kevin Ferrell, (top) himself a former homeless veteran, leads a group support session on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Alpha Omega Veterans Services resident Lorenzo Kight, an Army veteran attends a support meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Alpha Omega Veterans Services Urban Renewal Farm full-time farmer Cash Hewlette walks by several greenhouses on Monday, Dec. 28, 2020. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Marine Corps veteran Anton Siggers enters his Alpha Omega Veterans Services’ townhouse on Monday, Dec. 28, 2020. Siggers shares the townhome with two roommates. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Ed Carlock carries heavy sandbags to cover crops at the Alpha Omega Veterans Services Urban Renewal Farm on Monday, Dec. 28, 2020. Carlock is an Army veteran, who has lived at the facility for 10 years and has worked the farm since it started three years ago. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Navy veterans and neighbors Chris Oldham (left) and Terrence Motlow visit outside their rooms at the Alpha Omega Veterans Services’ Ball Street facility on Monday, Dec. 28, 2020. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Navy veteran Chris Oldham takes a pre-dawn smoke break at the Alpha Omega Veterans Services’ Ball Street facility on Monday, Dec. 28, 2020. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Less than 6% of Alpha Omega Veterans Services’ clients have contracted COVID-19 and only one has died with the virus. Nevertheless, the pandemic poses new challenges for veterans still trying to get grounded in civilian life.
Topics
Alpha Omega Veterans Services Cordell Walker Kevin Ferrell COVID-19 Veterans issuesDon Wade
Don Wade has been a Memphis journalist since 1998 and he has won awards for both his sports and news/feature writing. He is originally from Kansas City and is married with three sons.
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