House helps veterans fight addiction

[Dan]

Williamstown facility has been home to more than 100
By Scott Stafford, Berkshire Eagle Staff
Article Last Updated: 02/11/2008 11:00:38 AM EST

WILLIAMSTOWN — Between the alcoholism, addiction, severe depression and other maladies, the nine housemates at Turner House, a living center for veterans in Williamstown, have plenty of stories to tell.

But mostly, they're trying to get through the day and to find enough stability — financially and emotionally — to dive back into the real world.

Along with the emotional issues, such as depression and posttraumatic stress disorder, there also are physical challenges many of the Turner House residents are facing. One is facing back surgery, another is being treated for carpal tunnel syndrome.

But in this bunch, the physical ailments may not be the toughest challenge.

Addiction is the big one. And breaking their addictions seems to be the mission underlying everything else they are trying to achieve.

John P. Galli, an Army veteran who served in the mid-1970s, has been a resident of Turner House for 16 months. He hopes to start receiving retirement benefits from his former employer in the railroad industry in New Jersey.

He also has been dealing with a heroin addiction for years.

But the addiction became even more severe in 2004 after he was involved in a multicar collision in which his father and a number of others lost their lives.

His voice slightly breaking with emotion, Galli explained that at the time his father was killed, he was trying to keep the chain-reaction accident from escalating by directing late-night highway traffic around the crash with a flashlight. One of the cars went out of control, and his father lost his life.

"I received an honorable discharge and a good conduct medal from the Army," he recalled. "But after I saw my father get killed, I really went on a tear with drugs and alcohol. I was on a suicide run."

He is dealing with his addiction, undergoing counseling, seeking retirement from his job and hoping to be able to find a house when he is ready to leave Turner House.

"I've had it with drugs and alcohol — sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet," he said.

Turner House is a 220-year-old structure that was left to American Legion Post 152 by World War II veteran Ferman Turner in 1992. Post 152 raised funds and renovated the house, installed a basement and reopened the building in 1996, turning it over to Turner House Living Center for Veterans Inc., which owns and operates the facility.

Funded by the U.S. Veterans Administration and the Massachusetts Department of Veterans Services, it has been a home for 104 veterans. Most of them, 60 percent to 70 percent, moved on to better things, according to program director David Cullen.

"It's great work that we do," Cullen said, noting that residents can stay for up to two years.

Cullen, having served in the Army in Vietnam, said prospective residents are referred to Turner House from service centers such as the VA hospital or Barton's Crossing Shelter in Pittsfield.

"The overall philosophy," he said, "is to try to resolve the issues that cause homelessness."

Those issues can include physical ailments, emotional hurdles and financial setbacks.

"We hook them up with medical care, counseling, and some of them are attending MCLA or BCC, so they can start working," Cullen said, referring to Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and Berkshire Community College.

Galli said he likes it at Turner House, and that he is hopeful for his future.

"A good bunch of guys live here, and the staff is great," he said.

The house is homey, and the basement, which has a pool table and a piano, is the setting for weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. And the new flooring project in the basement is almost completed.

There is a full-time staff of three case workers, and residents pay 30 percent of their income to contribute to upkeep and food costs, Cullen explained.

David Climenhaga, 52, is a Navy veteran and has been an alcoholic for 37 years.

He arrived at Turner House in July from a veterans' shelter in Buffalo, N.Y.

"I'm just taking it day by day," he said. "And one of these days, I'll be able to get out on my own; hopefully get back to working again."