{"id":9980,"date":"2023-05-11T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-11T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=9980"},"modified":"2023-05-12T06:49:45","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T06:49:45","slug":"after-hurricane-and-street-drugs-veteran-is-a-volunteer-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=9980","title":{"rendered":"After hurricane and street drugs, Veteran is a Volunteer of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marine Corps Veteran James Logwood is a Red Coat Ambassador at Overton Brooks VA<\/a> and its Volunteer of the Year for 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Confidence and experience resonate across his face and in his eyes. He wears clean crisp clothes, a sharp hat and a bright red vest adorned with service pins.\u00a0At a glance, you can tell that he\u2019s a Veteran.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In his youth, Logwood was headed down the path of either going to jail or getting killed on the streets.\u00a0It was his aunt who asked him a simple question that put him back on track: \u201cWhat are you going to do with yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n

In response, he joined the Marine Corps in March 1975.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoot camp was a challenge, it was rough. At first, I thought I couldn\u2019t adjust.\u00a0I wasn\u2019t used to people hollering and screaming at me with all that kind of foolishness.\u00a0They would get all in your face and even put their hands on you.\u00a0I made it.\u00a0Everyone needs that discipline,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Logwood was stationed on Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii at the Marine Corps\u2019 Echo Company 23, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines. \u201cI was infantry, but we called it being a grunt. You are a foot soldier and you will always be a foot soldier,\u201d he said. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMarines taught me to be more responsible.\u201d\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Corporal Logwood left the Marine Corps in March 1977.\u00a0\u201cI enjoyed my time in. I did what I had to do.\u00a0I got my GED.\u00a0 The Marines taught me to be more responsible.\u00a0I did good from the time I got in till the time I got out. I don\u2019t regret it at all,\u201d he reminisced.<\/p>\n

Logwood moved to New Orleans in 1979.\u00a0He stayed in the Big Easy until hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.\u00a0Like many others, he evacuated north, back to his hometown of Monroe.\u00a0In 2010, he started receiving his health care with VA at the Monroe Community Based Outpatient Clinic<\/a>.\u00a0When his wife passed, his life took a dark turn. He started self-medicating with drugs.<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

He found himself in the same position he was in before joining the Marines\u2026 going to jail or getting killed on the streets.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

In January 2015, he made the lifesaving decision of asking VA for help.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He left Monroe in a DAV van<\/a> to Overton Brooks VA in Shreveport.\u00a0\u201cWhen I got to Shreveport, everything was already set up for me.\u00a0They checked me in, I was detoxed for a week and began the substance use disorder program,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Volunteer got his life back on track<\/h2>\n

As soon as he finished the program, VA helped him get off the streets by finding him residence with Volunteers of America.\u00a0He was able to have a safe home, get healthy, build relationships and independence, and get the care and attention he needed to get his life back on track.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Logwood then entered the incentive therapy program that provides Veterans help transitioning into the work force.\u00a0 Each participant has an individual treatment plan and case manager.\u00a0\u201cIf you want to get your life right, this is a true gift. It helped me with my therapy and motivated me.\u00a0I was dealing with depression and all kinds of stuff.\u00a0The program put me in a place that helped me grow and heal,\u201d he said. \u201cOverton Brooks showed me love.\u00a0Once I finished the program, volunteering was a calling for me.\u00a0Anything I can do to help Veterans when they come here, they get my undivided attention.\u00a0I was given a gift, and I just want to give back and help.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

James Logwood has now been volunteering for seven years.\u00a0He helped bring volunteering back after the pandemic restrictions.\u00a0He selflessly gives his time, compassion, experience and Veteran love to all.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Word of advice from Overton Brook\u2019s Volunteer of the Year: \u201cThe programs here work and help, but it is up to the Veteran to want to use them.\u00a0I can give the message, but it is up to the Veteran [to use them].\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Marine Corps Veteran James Logwood is a Red Coat Ambassador at Overton Brooks VA and its Volunteer of the Year for 2023.\u00a0 Confidence and experience resonate across his face and in his eyes. He wears clean crisp clothes, a sharp hat and a bright red vest adorned with service pins.\u00a0At a glance, you can tell […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":9982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,116,271],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-va-volunteers","category-volunteer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9980"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9983,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9980\/revisions\/9983"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}