Garden at Wheaton veterans' shelter gives place to relax, reflect

When veterans arrive on the doorstep of the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans' transitional home in downtown Wheaton, they know they have a long road ahead.

For roughly the next eight to 10 months, the men who are given a bed at the home search for jobs, learn life skills, attend substance abuse meetings if they are struggling with an addiction and take turns making dinner for each other.

They learn how to interview for a job, improve their resume, get a better grip on their finances and prepare for a new life, in a new home, with a new job.

"It's not that easy," the shelter's co-founder, Bob Adams said. "There's a lot of requirements."

For years, the backyard of the transitional home at 119 N. West St. has been a grassy patch that got muddy when it rained and held a picnic table and a few chairs.

"It just was not conducive to a great, relaxing time, and they need that," Adams said.

But now, thanks to a donation from the Doyle Family Fund, the veterans have a new garden retreat in the yard, where they can go to enjoy each others' company or "sit, reflect and relax" on their own, Adams said.

"They specified this is what they wanted," Adams said, referring to the Doyle Family. "They weren't giving that amount of money for anything we wanted to use it for. They came to us with this idea and they're very pleased."

A deck on the back of the house steps down onto a new brick patio in the center of the yard. Memorial bricks stamped with the names of veterans whose families donated money to the garden in their name line a new sidewalk.

There are several rock and brick benches for the veterans to sit on, in the shade or in the sun, where they can admire roses, hydrangeas and other colorful flowers. A birdbath and bird feeder add to the peace of the area and a line of trees on the far edge of the backyard and new fencing provide some privacy.

"We're not trying to wall people off, but it's really so much more peaceful with that fence there, not having folks come down the alley and looking in," Adams said.

While the garden is simple and small, Adams said it provides veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and addictions a much-needed quiet, and beautiful, oasis.

"It's not something, honestly, that I would have imagined or asked for," he said. "It has worked out so wonderfully. They're already out here using it virtually every night."

Anyone interested in seeing the garden and supporting the organization is welcome to a ceremony at 3 p.m. on Sept. 12, when a monument to the shelter's other co-founder, Dirk Enger, will be dedicated.

"Gratitude doesn't exactly say what I really feel for all the people who helped make this thing possible," Adams said. "The people of Wheaton and DuPage County and the surrounding areas put their money into action. They make a real difference in the lives of these veterans every single day."

Donations - which the Doyle family has agreed to match, up to $5,000 - are still being accepted to help pay for the garden. For information or to donate, visit www.helpaveteran.org or call (630) 871-8387.