Veterans Helping Veterans
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Veterans Helping Veterans
'I’ll be working with veterans until I die’: Milton veteran vows - July 15, 2019
Third annual golf tournament fundraiser set for Aug. 29
Veterans Helping Veterans founder Fred Smith had been sidelined with health issues for much of the past years, but he's back to helping veterans, soldiers and their families coast to coast. He's also getting set for the non-profit's largest fundraiser the third annual Veterans Helping Veterans golf tournament on August 29, at Granite Ridge Golf Course. Here, he takes a break with his beloved service dog Eylet. - Julie Slack
It was Fred Smith’s lifelong dream to buy a house that overlooked his grandma’s home in Parsoboro, N.S.
So two years ago, when that opportunity presented itself, he did just that.
Unfortunately, the universe — apparently — was not pleased with him leaving his Milton home, knocking him off his feet several times before he relented and returned home, recently.
Now he’s back, down more than 65 pounds from the ordeals he’s been through.
Despite his health issues, the founder of the non-profit group Veterans Helping Veterans is in full swing, planning the third annual golf tournament to be held at Granite Ridge Golf Course in Milton on Thursday, Aug. 29. Lunch and registration is at 11:30 a.m., with a 1 p.m. tee off time.
Smith, 64, says there are a lot of surprises and special events set for the event, including a potential flyover by the Canadian Forces Snowbirds.
He said he’s back to helping the homeless who call the streets home in both Hamilton and Brampton. Smith is aided by his therapy dog, and beloved companion Eylet — a National Service Dog specifically placed with Smith to help him deal with the PTSD he suffers as a result of years of abuse and the horrors of war. Smith was 24 when he was deployed as part of the Peacekeeping Forces to the Golan Heights.
The trips downtown to help the homeless — many of whom are veterans — are taxing for him considering his health, but he said he believes it’s the one reason he was born.
Veterans Helping Veterans, which he founded nine years ago, helps those suffering mental-health and substance-abuse issues.
Smith has been assaulted on the streets numerous times. None of them quite as bad as one particular night in N.S., that left him beaten, in the hospital, and robbed of all his possessions and cash.
He said he should have known the day he was to leave for N.S., and he stepped on a roofing nail in his backyard two years ago, that it was his call to stay in Milton.
The wound became infected so badly that when he arrived in N.S., the pain prevented him from standing to unpack.
After seven rounds of antibiotics refused to heal his foot, Smith finally got relief when a doctor cut out a large portion of a callous on his foot. Being an addict, he wasn’t able to have any sedation; instead, he placed Eylet on his chest, and squeezed her as hard as he could. Luckily it worked, and his foot healed.
Finally feeling better, he went for a ride on his Harley — yet another bad idea. The next day, he woke up and couldn’t get up — sciatica.
Sidelined again, he ended up returning to Milton for pain relief from his local doctor. A brief stint of good health, and he decided he’d give the east coast one more try.
It wasn’t long before he was touring the Atlantic province in a motorhome, heading to CFB Gagestone to visit with soldiers and veterans. During the trip he had to take a detour that led down a narrow stretch of road. He said someone driving the opposite direction crowded the centre lane, forcing him six feet down in a ditch — trailer on its side. Needless to say he was seriously injured; fortunately, Eylet was OK.
But being down and out left Smith feeling the same darkness and isolation that’s been a part of his adult life.
“Pain and isolation is a wicked circle you have to work through, and it’s a miracle to get through it,” said Smith who’s a recovering alcoholic and former drug addict. “I’ve seen a lot more death than recoveries.”
He returned to Ontario, and though he’s currently looking for a place to live, he’s back to helping veterans and anyone else he can.
He said there’s never a day goes by that he doesn’t have a veteran on the phone who wants to talk.
“Guys from all over Canada … I always take the time to listen.
“Happily ever after is out there,” he said. “I’ll be working with veterans until I die.
“I’m completely convinced my job is to help others. And I’m not finished until ‘He’ is ready for me to be. ‘He’s’ made it perfectly clear he doesn’t want me in N.S.”
He’s also selling Mary Kay men’s products, he chuckled.
Tickets for the golf tournament are $200 each, $800 for a foursome or $75 dinner for non-golfers. Call 905-455-002 or mgoodvhv@gmail.com. Please bring underwear, socks and toiletries for the homeless.
by Julie Slack
Julie Slack is a general assignment reporter for InsideHalton.com and its sister papers. She is an award-winning, 30-year veteran of community journalism who enjoys beats such as community profiles, crime and courts, and arts and entertainment. Reach her at jslack@metroland.com.
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