It took one major life event for Coast Guard Veteran Teresa Bowser to lose everything she had built and become homeless, practically overnight.
In a happy twist of fate, it also took just one event to turn Bowser’s life back around.
While sleeping in her vehicle, Bowser was approached by a police officer who started up a conversation, realized she was a Veteran, and suggested she connect with VA’s homeless programs.
Bowser has now been housed through the Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program for the last five years.
“I love it. I’m not going anywhere. It’s just a lovely place to live,” she shared.
Taking to the skies
Bowser joined the Coast Guard because she wanted to fly. After college, she became an emergency medical technician and then a paramedic, but she yearned to be on a Life Flight crew.
Since crews were heavily male dominated in the mid-1970s, Bowser went to nursing school to help her break into the field. It didn’t give her the leg up that she needed, so in 1983 she joined the Coast Guard and was stationed with a flight rescue crew on the West Coast.
Flight rescue was as thrilling and exciting as she thought it would be and she called it the best job she ever had. When Bowser fell in love with a man who ran his own business and couldn’t move around as the Coast Guard required she made the difficult decision to leave in 1988.
After the Coast Guard, Bowser joined her husband’s general contracting business and later started her own in-home nursing business.
When her husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, Bowser quit her job to take care of him. By the time he passed away three years later, they had run through their savings, which is how Bowser ended up sleeping in her truck.
Getting back up again
After the officer helped Bowser connect with the VA Northern California Healthcare System, she applied for the HUD-VASH program. She was approved to move into project-based housing where services and case management are brought directly to Veterans so they can age comfortably in place.
It’s an active community and Bowser enjoys living with others her age. She gets assistance with the little things that can make life harder as you age, such as transportation. Though she can’t garden anymore, admiring the community garden right outside her door brings her peace.
“It seems like I’m always busy. I’m just laid back and trying to enjoy the rest of my life. My goal is to stay as healthy and comfortable physically as I can and look for the joy,” she said.
Learn about VA programs
- If you are a Veteran who is homeless or at risk for homelessness or need to connect with a Veterans justice outreach specialist, call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-4AID-VET (877-424-3838).
- Visit the VA Homeless Programs website to learn about housing initiatives and other programs for Veterans exiting homelessness.
- Check out the Ending Veteran Homelessness podcast to learn more about what VA is doing about Veteran homelessness.
- Learn how to get involved with housing homeless Veterans.
- Subscribe to the Homeless Programs Office newsletter to receive monthly updates about programs and supportive services for Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
