Tag: veterans
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Habitat for Humanity builds home for veteran family in Colorado Springs
The word “home” may only have four letters, but for Willie and Barbara, it is a huge word, weighted with gratitude and hope for the future. “It means everything,” said Willie, an Army veteran who was stationed at Fort Carson in the 1980s. “It means the world.” Willie and his wife, Barbara, are about to…
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‘Life can be good again’: Local program brings healing to vets, military families through animal therapy
When Gillian Sirles came to the Remount Foundation nine years ago, she had survived multiple suicide attempts. Sitting on a picnic table outside the horse stables at the Air Force Academy, Sirles recounts her story of survival. Decades earlier, the Navy welder was discharged for alcohol use, an attempt to push down past trauma. In…
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After terrorist attack, daughter’s death, suicide attempts, Colorado veteran pledges to help others
When terrorists blew up Marine Corps barracks in Beirut and killed 241 troops, Keith Hairston was among the sailors who volunteered to help recover bodies. The damage was severe following the Hezbollah truck bombings in the Marine Battalion Landing Team headquarters during 1983, he recalled. “I’m talking about body bagging arms, body bagging legs, heads,” Hairston…
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Cañon City police seek information regarding burglary of veterans organization
The Cañon City Police Department is seeking the public’s help in a burglary investigation that left the Veterans of Foreign Wars building with over $1,000 worth of damage. Police say the burglary happened around midnight on Friday at the VFW hall at 215 N. Cottonwood Ave. in Cañon City. The suspect allegedly stole over $3,000…
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Mt. Carmel reports greater need for homeless Colorado Springs veterans as temperatures drop
Homeless veterans flowed into Weidner Field downtown Tuesday morning with uniformed troops by their side as they navigated an array of services, such as haircuts, help with housing and cold-weather gear. An estimated 300 homeless veterans live in Colorado Springs and the Annual Stand Down event aimed to help ensure they have life-saving gear and…
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Homeless veteran Stand Down planned for Tuesday to reach hundreds
Nonprofits hope to welcome hundreds of homeless veterans to the annual Stand Down at Weidner Field on Tuesday ahead of cooler fall and winter weather. Across the community about 300 veterans are homeless and the event is hoping to reach more than 200, said retired Army Col. Robert McLaughlin, executive director of Mt. Carmel. The…
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New organizers reviving Veterans Day parade after cancellation
Colorado Springs will have a Veterans Day parade after all. Civic and businesses leaders announced Tuesday that new organizers have come forward to ensure a parade will take place next month after last week’s news of the cancellation of the original parade triggered an outpouring of support for the event. The new parade, to be…
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Paving the way: How women are carving out their own lane in Colorado Springs’ car scene
Since Kaitlynn Jones was 16, she’s driven a “cool car.” It makes sense — she loves cars, an interest she attributes to her dad, who sold vehicles her whole life. But, despite her passion, she struggled to find belonging in the Colorado Springs car scene. “I had gone to a few local car meets in…
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Honor Flight of Southern Colorado takes veterans to D.C. war memorials for healing
A crowd holding American flags and patriotic signs cheered outside a Colorado Springs school as veterans departed for Washington, D.C., on Thursday on a trip to honor their service. The 26 veterans on the trip, who served in World War II, and the Korean and Vietnam wars, expect to spend three days in Washington, visiting…