LAFAYETTE PARISH — Veterans Day is still a few months away, but the giving has already begun as Acadiana Area for Veterans prepares care packages for local veterans, retired firefighters and police officers living in nursing homes across the area.
At Avanti Senior Living, Vietnam veteran Thomas “Tom” Peters has seen firsthand what it means when people take the time to recognize and support veterans.
“Just seeing them and coming here for us, that's wonderful because we can't get out and a lot of us can't get around,” Peters said.
Peters has called Avanti Senior Living home for two years. The facility has a strong community of veterans, giving residents an opportunity to connect with others who share similar experiences.
“For someone coming in thanking us and everybody gets out there and sits and watches it, it makes everybody stop and think,” Peters said.
Hope LeCompte, a life design curator at Avanti, has watched those moments unfold and said the impact can be felt throughout the facility.
“I have God bumps all over me because it's just, it's not a feeling you can explain. It's something you have to be present for to experience, but it's so powerful. It's like it just lights up the whole room,” LeCompte said.
LeCompte said Avanti’s community of veterans gives residents a chance to support one another while adjusting to a new chapter of life.
“Anybody that first comes here, your whole life has changed. Usually your spouse is not here and alone you're by yourself trying to make it, you know. And then when you come here you ended up, you have to have an estate sale. Everything you've done all your life it has to go,” LeCompte said.
That makes the care packages more than just a collection of useful items. Each package can include items such as lap blankets, socks, hats, shampoo, soap, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, lotion, ChapStick and other personal hygiene products.
For Peters, knowing someone is thinking about him makes those gestures especially meaningful.
“It is, because that's other people that's doing something for us, thinking about us, you know, say, ‘hey’, it's, it's just nice to have that,” Peters said.
Acadiana Area for Veterans plans to deliver care packages to approximately 28 nursing homes across the area. Physical donations will be accepted beginning September 4 at several locations, including Ride Elementary, Gordy Automotive on Fillmore Road next to Judice Elementary, the Acadiana Area for Veterans location and NuNu’s in Scott.
The organization can also be reached at acadianaareaveterans@gmail.com.
