INDIANAPOLIS — On Monday afternoon, employees at Volunteers of America put together a special lunch for the veterans they serve.
“Our veterans here love to eat and we love to feed them so we all pitched in and we did a taco bar for them,” said Yalonda Campbell, the program director for veteran services.
The organization works with homeless vets. They have 24 beds and help them find housing, jobs and work on mental health.
“Leaving the military, it’s kind of weird because you spend years of them telling you what to do, when do it, how to do it,” said Brandon Williams, a Navy veteran. “When you come out, you have to transition into doing all of that by yourself and sometimes it's difficult.”
A block away, dozens lined the sidewalk for the Veterans Day parade.
“My niece, nephew and my two youngest,” that’s who Hannah Nilsen brought to the parade.
While most kids are in school, Nilsen says hers are in a hybrid homeschool program and this was a field trip for them.
“I think it would be great for all the kids to experience this, if all the schools were closed they could come. There's so much to experience," Nilsen said.
“We like to use it as an education opportunity,” said Brigadier General Stewart Goodwin.
Goodwin spent 37 years in the Air Force and he’s now the executive director of the Indiana War Memorials. He also helps organize Veterans Day events.
“We refer to it at the War Memorial as the 90/10 rule. We think it's time for the 90% to learn about what the 10% did so we can all live free,” said Goodwin.
