Why we need VA resource centers at HCC
Aug 18, 2014
Quietly, after all the speeches had been made and the ceremonial ribbon cut, William Stegall took a seat on the front row of molded-plastic chairs to rest. He had already joined the endless stream of guests who squeezed in and out of the new Veterans Resource Center at HCC Central this steamy August morning, and was delighted by what he saw. "I can't think of another thing they will need in there for veterans," he says. "It's just about perfect."
This was a serendipitous moment for Stegall, a happy fluke. Stegall was on foot, wearing his snappy, black-and-red backpack, and heading to the campus library to study math and read the paper. He saw the crowd and the festivities was curious. Someone mentioned "veterans" and he was immediately drawn in.
A dozen years ago, Stegall would have been the type of person who would have needed this new center. He was a Lance Corporal in the Marines and an Army veteran. And while he just missed being on the front line in Viet Nam, Stegall suffered a head injury in the Army in 1982 that left him with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, and other woes.
In 1996, the self-described "military brat" and former truck driver from South Carolina was homeless in Arizona trying to put his marriage back together. In 2005, he came to Houston as a homeless vet. But Stegall went to US Vets on Main Street in Midtown for help. A staff member he'll never forget named Ms. Assi Watts placed him into a six-month sobriety program. Stegall also entered another six-month program at Houston's VA hospital.
The combination of help clicked; Stegall got a place to live and treatment. He successfully graduated from both programs, and has celebrated being clean and sober ever since.
Yet Stegall's personal renaissance doesn't end there. It just begins.
While in recovery, Stegall realized one interesting and immutable fact: "I found out I can learn," he says, wearing an amazed look. "I found out I can obtain stuff, and I liked that I was learning. I took the bomb out of my life."
That knowledge led him to enroll in HCC. "I wanted to do something for my community and do something for people."
These days, Stegall, who lives in a veterans' housing complex on Travis Street, is working on completing his A.A.S. degree in the Paralegal Technology program at HCC Central. He has only two or three classes to go before graduating 2015.
After that, Stegall has more ambitious plans. The 57-year-old plans to attend UHD for his Bachelor's degree, then either UH, South Texas College of Law or Texas Southern University to become a lawyer.
"This (VA) center represents the unselfish service of people. It came together as a community," Stegall says, looking at the people gathered for the grand-opening event. "Veterans will be giving back to the community with this being here. They'll be able to raise families and be home... be home for real."
Stegall looked toward the VA resource center's doors, took a sip of his bottled water and wiped his tear-filled eyes.
"This (center) will change lives," he says. "This place will change veteran's lives for life."