LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — U.S. Army veteran Tim Hall of Pleasant Mount filled his cooler with groceries after stopping by CARE at Camp Freedom.
The new program is hosted at the nonprofit's location near Carbondale, where members provide support for disabled veterans, first responders, and Gold Star families.
"All the programs they have are of AAA good, good benefit for, ah, most veterans, and a lot of them don't make good use of it," said Tim Hall, U.S. Army veteran.
"We saw four people, then maybe seven people. Fast forward to last month. And we had about 47-48 people come in at 10. So it's grown every single time, and it's just been tremendous," said Matt Gaedes, Camp Freedom Executive Director.
Executive Director Matt Gaedes says the CARE program is all about bringing different kinds of offerings from groceries and care organizations directly to veterans and first responders under one roof, "None of us do everything. And so when we partner together, if our goal and our objective is really care for these heroes for vets and first responders, we're going to be better together than we are separate."
JoAnna Van Tine works with the National Alliance on Mental Illness, an organization that deals specifically with Mental Illness awareness, and soon will offer courses for families with members in the armed forces.
"I wish I had it 15 years ago because it would have helped me tremendously with my loved one, who served in the Marine Corps and had his own mental health struggles," said Van Tine, NAMI Northeast Region.
Melissa O'Brien and her father, George Wildenstein, say it's their first time at the camp.
"It means the world to me because I didn't; I didn't even know it existed," said George.
An experience they hope other veterans and families can take advantage of.
"I'm very impressed. I think it's awesome here. There's lots to do, and they help the veterans in a big way," said Melissa O'Brien, Mount Pleasant.
The next CARE at Camp Freedom event is on October 4th. For more information, click here.