For five years, Roosevelt Thompson, Jr., was homeless on the mean, unforgiving streets of Washington, D.C. Once honored by his nation as a protector of freedom, he was plagued by horrible memories of Vietnam, which left his life without direction, his spirit badly damaged and without initiative.

Mr. Thompson served more than two years in Germany and volunteered to serve our nation in Vietnam. There he served proudly, but was changed like so many other men. "I could not fathom some of the sights that I saw, and I developed a substance abuse problem while serving that I brought back home with me.", he said. "I lost everything, my self respect, my self esteem."

The Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust works everyday to help make homeless veterans like Roosevelt Thompson whole and return them to productive lives. One example is the Charitable Service Trust's financial support for the Washington, D.C., VA Medical Center's Health Care for Homeless Veterans Program.

Mr. Thompson used these VA services which ended his drug dependency and put him to work as a copy center worker in the VA's Compensated Work Therapy Center, attracting the attention of Xerox Corporation executives. Today, Mr. Thompson is an Account Associate for Xerox Corporation.

The DAV Charitable Service Trust is there to help return once proud homeless veterans like Roosevelt Thompson to productive lives. He is an example of why the Trust is needed and how it builds better lives for America's veterans.