KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Story courtesy of WVLT) – Operation Vet Rescue has opened a warming center for homeless veterans at Operation Vet Rescue in Knoxville.
The center will operate any day that temperatures drop below 32 degrees. Due to limited capacity, pre-registration is strongly encouraged.
Stephen Roche, CEO for Operation Vet Rescue, said he wanted to give homeless veterans a place to go and feel safe because no one should have to be exposed to the cold weather.
“We fought in battles and so forth. We have some hardened army Marines. They will not go into certain shelters, which I’m like, if you’ve been deployed to Vietnam and so forth, this is a walk in the park. It’s just a stepping stone, is what we tell them. But a lot of them will not, they’ll refuse and they’ll stay outside. So that’s why we were really interested and very concerned about trying to help our veterans,” Roche said.
To qualify, veterans must present either a DD214 or a valid ID indicating veteran status.
Roche said there is limited space as they test out the warming center. He said capacity could grow more in the future if the need continues to grow.
You can get information on how to register at https://www.ovrtn.org/ .
You can also call 865-205-5912 or go to CareCuts for more information.
