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Veterans Community Project alum Angela has changed her life with the power of a community (and a loyal four-legged companion) by her side.
This Valentine’s Day, U.S. Navy Veteran Angela is planning on a night at home with her dog.
And that, in itself, is a special occasion.
Today, Angela and her rescue Plott hound mix Cluck live in their own apartment in Kansas City—but just a handful of years ago, the pair was on the brink of homelessness.
Following the loss of her mother, a heart surgery, and challenges finding sustainable employment, life reached a point for Angela in which gas bills and rent payments became a monthly uncertainty.
“I was in a dark, dark place,” Angela reflected, fighting tears, “But even though I was in a bad situation, I was also struggling with being a person who never really asked for help.”
She ultimately made the decision, though, to come to Veterans Community Project (VCP). That, she said, is when everything started to change, “I just showed up asking for a bus pass… and they took me in.”
This was back in 2017 in the early days of VCP when the organization was preparing to break ground on its then-inaugural-and-now-signature Village of 240-square-foot homes for Veterans in need.
As the VCP founders were literally building that Village, they helped Angela stay afloat with emergency assistance—made possible by community support—to keep her housed. Then, shortly after the Village opened, she moved in with Cluck.
“I brought a pile of clothes and a dog kennel,” she said, “because they told me that’s all I would need.”
At VCP Village, each home is stocked with around 125 donated items that become the property of the Veteran resident during their time in the transitional program and then later when they move out into permanent housing. To that end, the lounge chair in her apartment remains a favorite resting spot for Cluck today.
Like many Veterans, Angela refused to ever part ways with her canine companion. And that’s why welcoming pets is one aspect that intentionally sets VCP apart from many emergency shelters and nonprofit organizations serving people experiencing homelessness. “It was either this, or the two of us would’ve been under a bridge together,” she said.
Over their two years in the Village, Angela and Cluck found not only housing stability but also community. She loves to cook and would often share that passion with her Veteran neighbors through impromptu potluck dinners. She still keeps in touch with many of them today, saying,
“They’re good people who were in similar situations… there was never any judgment.”
Living in the Village also led to improvements in existing relationships. Angela explained that relationships with her two adult children had become strained amid housing instability. But at VCP, “Finally, we had a place where we knew the utilities would always be on.” Sunday dinners became a thing again, she said.
She also built a lifelong friendship with VCP Veteran Resource Coordinator Jamie Dohlman. Angela lights up with a smile when talking about her, saying, “Jamie is a godsend… I know when I am talking to her that she is listening from her heart. I never felt like she was helping ‘just because of her job,’ you know?”
Jamie, conversely, returned the sentiment, “Aw, she said that? Of course, I’m here because I believe in this mission—and in Angela. She’s someone with such a kind heart, a kind soul.”
The pair still talks and sees each other regularly, whether casually or when Angela comes by VCP for something like help navigating the VA benefits system—a longtime source of frustration since she was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1995.
So, although she now lives around 15 minutes away at St. Michael’s Veterans Center, an affordable housing apartment complex for Veterans, she remains deeply connected to the organization.
“VCP is not just a place to live—it’s a life-changer,” she said. “I’d recommend it to any Veteran in need... and I do.”
Although health challenges have continued to pose some employment obstacles, Angela has recently found work she loves as an in-home caregiver to other Veterans. It’s a job she found by way of initially just helping others out from the goodness of her heart.
On a similar front, she often cooks and bakes for her apartment neighbors just like she did at VCP Village (and using that same set of donated pots and pans). Her meatloaf, pot roast, and cheesecake are so good that dinner guests have been imploring her to start a catering business.
So, a lot’s changed in her life since Angela first visited VCP. But of course, one thing hasn’t. As she talked about her journey, Cluck sat beside her fittingly chowing down a few heart-shaped dog treats on the morning of February 14. This evening, Angela plans to read a book while he likely takes up his usual resting spot on her shoulder.
Cluck’s name was given to him by a local animal shelter, who had to perform surgery to remove chicken bones from his stomach after a previous owner had abandoned him. Like Angela, gaining shelter was just the beginning of a new life for Cluck.
“I don’t know what it was that day I met him, but he was just like, ‘You are not leaving here without me,’” she laughed. “And we’ve been together ever since.”
Then adding, “I’m blessed to have had a place in VCP where I could take him with me.”
She extends that gratefulness to the people who support its mission to fix Veteran homelessness.
“If you have supported VCP,” she said, “know that you helped someone.”