Veteran kept off street by your generosity
The Salvation Army Northern Division is committed to serving veterans, from our statewide assistance programs in North Dakota to our Veteran’s Homeless Prevention Program and veteran housing facilities in Minnesota.
These programs help people like Randell Wyatt, a 53-year-old Air Force veteran suffering from kidney failure. If not for The Salvation Army and its supporters, he’d be homeless.
Wyatt came to Minnesota from Virginia in September 2012 soon after his kidneys gave out.
“My research told me Minnesota was the best place to come for healthcare,” said Wyatt, who undergoes dialysis three days a week at the VA Hospital in Minneapolis. If he qualifies for a replacement kidney, the waiting list is five years, he said.
Until Wyatt’s kidneys failed, he’d worked his whole life – everything from driving truck, to managing a fast-food restaurant, to delivering newspapers.
“I’d been working continuously, doing whatever I had to do,” said Wyatt, who now lives off social security benefits totaling $1,280 per month.
He almost became homeless late last summer when he was living in a Brooklyn Center apartment. The complex was sold to new owners who wouldn’t renew his lease because of a non-violent felony conviction on his record from five years ago. Though Wyatt paid his debt to society and was a model tenant, it didn’t matter. He was out.
He scrambled to find a new home, filling out applications at 36 different apartment buildings. Though his income always was sufficient, nobody gave him the time of day because of the felony conviction.
“I was in panic mode,” Wyatt said. “If I didn’t find an apartment, I’d be on the street with no family, no nothing. It was scary.”
Problem solved
In a last-ditch effort, Wyatt called The Salvation Army. He’d heard about the organization from someone at the VA Hospital.
He soon met with social worker Krystle Englund, who leads The Salvation Army Veteran’s Homeless Prevention program in Minneapolis. Wyatt explained his situation to Englund and she got straight to work on finding him a place.
“Mr. Wyatt is one of the most organized, persistent veterans I have worked with,” Englund said. “Unfortunately, a veteran with a non-violent, non-drug-related, non-arson offense would not be considered by most rental companies. We had to search the private market.”
That search paid off. Englund soon discovered a clean, one-bedroom apartment in a quiet neighborhood in New Brighton. She and Wyatt met with the owner and assured him that Wyatt was on the level. The owner agreed and was happy to hand over the keys.
“It was because of Krystle and The Salvation Army that I got this place,” said a proud Wyatt, who moved in September 1. “If not for the help, I honestly believe I’d be on the street right now.”
Not only did Englund help him find a home, she paid the $700 damage deposit through a homeless prevention grant from the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency. Wyatt couldn’t afford that bill because he’d spent all his money paying for application fees at other apartments.
“Without The Salvation Army I wouldn’t be here – people need to know that,” said Wyatt, who plans to thank The Salvation Army by bell ringing this Christmas season. “They kept me from being one of those people who falls through the cracks. I wouldn’t have survived without The Salvation Army’s help.”
Assisting veterans is one of many services The Salvation Army provides. Learn more about all different ways your donations help Do the Most Good.