Legion post shines as veterans resource center

As a new facility assisting disabled people was launched in Prescott Valley, Ariz., American Legion Post 140 finally had a place to call home.

“The concept of getting this post together was to purposefully not have a bar, or restaurant, and to not have a Legion post that our fathers and grandfathers grew up in,” said Sean Kriner, commander of Post 140 Veterans Resource Center, as it’s known. “With that concept in mind, we reached out to our community and our partners who have things to offer to veterans and those with disabilities to foster those relationships and work together. That’s where the title ‘Veterans Resource Center’ comes in after Post 140.”

The post, now in its fifth year, worked with New Horizons Disability Empowerment Campus on a 16-month project to provide the community a place where disabled people, including veterans, could find the services they need. On April 6, more than 100 people attended the grand opening of New Horizons in rural northwest Arizona, about a 90-minute drive from Phoenix.

“This was a perfect fit for us,” said David Seigler, executive director of New Horizons and a disabled veteran. “It’s going to give post members a comfortable home. It’s going to bring in a lot of traffic for us. Veterans — a lot of whom are disabled, and also those who aren’t — come in contact with those who are. An American Legion group comes in contact with people in need. And we can satisfy a lot of those needs.”

Seigler describes the 9,400-square-foot facility as an independent living center, but it is not residential. “It is run and organized by those with disabilities to help others with disabilities to live the most independent lives possible,” he said. “Independent living means living independently.”

New Horizons provides assistance to disabled people by matching them with staff and volunteers who coach them on computer classes, physical therapy, nutritional guidance and more. “We don’t have staff and volunteers to do things for you. But we do have staff and volunteers who can teach you how to do things for yourself.”

The nonprofit center also connects disabled persons with in-home health care, transportation assistance, job searches and peer support groups.

“If you had a stroke today, tomorrow you would be confused about what your future holds,” Seigler said. “Your doctors would tell you all kinds of things. But what you really need is peer perspective — somebody who has walked down the same exact road recently. They can tell you what to expect. That will help illuminate a lot of dark corners.”

Legion Post 140 has been a strong supporter for New Horizons, working with Seigler and others to make it a community-wide project. “The partnership is a win for the Legion,” he said. “It’s a win for us. But best of all, it’s a win for the clients we serve.”

Kriner said the post sees its mission as a way to serve its community.

“We firmly believe our mission is not only veterans and their families, but interacting with this community,” he said. “That’s the primary goal. This community is extremely patriotic and extremely supportive of all veterans. We’re very lucky to live where we do and fundraise and form partnerships because they are so receptive.”

Post member Sherie Mercier said the post’s involvement is part of its commitment to the Legion's four pillars.

“I want to see the continuation of this,” said Mercier, who left a nearby post to join Post 140 and the project with New Horizons. “We are about the four pillars. We probably have one of the youngest American Legion posts in Arizona. We are very young, service-oriented.”

Mercier is a member of the post’s Auxiliary unit and Riders chapter; a Sons of the American Legion squadron is progressing.

The post’s community presence “not only recruits younger members, but it attracts older members who want to get involved but don’t want to get involved in a place where alcohol is served,” she said, noting the post is only a couple of members shy of its 100 percent goal. “You find that people with the problems of PTSD, TBI, etc. really don’t need to be in the presence of a bar. Yet they want to contribute something to the community, to the veterans, to the veterans families. Our post is focused in that direction.”

The post’s involvement in New Horizons began with volunteer hours for tasks like ripping out drywall. The hours were counted and given to the post as credit toward its rent. Now with the center fully operational, the post’s work is far from done.

“Success would be for other people to step up to the plate, carry on the vision, continue the post growth as far as membership goes, and continue to work in the community on the four pillars,” Mercier said. “Those programs that are so important. I am looking to see our family, the American Legion Family, grow and continue to do everything we need to do for our community.”

Other community participants included the Prescott Valley office of US VETS. Students in the culinary program prepared and delivered all the food at the grand opening ceremony.

Full Throttle Biker Church, now in its 10th year, was also instrumental in bringing New Horizons to reality. Joe Dugan is a Full Throttle pastor, New Horizons board member and Post 140 chaplain. Dugan calls the New Horizons teamwork a 99 percent plan.

“If a veteran walks in with a problem, between all of our groups, we have a 99 percent chance of being able to provide the support that veteran needs,” he said. “You’re not going to find that at any one veterans service organization. But by working together, we can create that here.”

Roughly 85 percent of those who attend Full Throttle Biker Church are veterans. Dugan says they are more comfortable attending his church than others where they may be stereotyped because of their choice of dress and transportation. And by connecting with them at his church, the veterans may be more likely to see help they need from New Horizons.

“A lot of the guys who come here have reservations about VA and veterans service groups," Dugan explained. “But we can help persuade them to go to the places they need to go. We are there with them. And for a lot of these guys, that’s what it takes.”

Jaye Lene Long is co-founder and director of Hope Fest Arizona, another community organization that assisted New Horizons. Hope Fest helps connect organizations such as New Horizons and Post 140 with those who need assistance.

“Our veterans are important,” said Long, who recently became a Gold Star Mother. “We have an investment too. While our kids are off serving and being deployed. With my family and three boys deployed, it was always one deployment after another.”

Her son’s suicide has emboldened Long to become even more driven to help veterans.

“We’re even more passionate about getting information and resources out,” she said, adding that while Hope Fest is a one-day annual event, it serves as a springboard to providing help year-round. “Our connection with The American Legion has been that we have a face in the community for them. We serve alongside them.

“We have to be there for each other today because we don’t know what tomorrow holds.”