Volunteers help local veterans nonprofit increase capacity

Five Star Veterans Center expanding to serve nearly 40 at once

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville nonprofit will now be able to help more homeless veterans thanks to local volunteers and donations.

The Five Star Veterans Center celebrated its five-year milestone with a special renovation project and new partnership.

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Wednesday, it was all hands on deck as Home Depot volunteers renovated the Five Star Veterans Center. It's an expansion that will allow the program to serve nearly 40 veterans at a time, providing services like housing, food, counseling and more.

"This place means everything to me because if it wasn't for them, I'd be on the streets," said Chaderic Childers, a former resident of the center.

After his service in the Army, Childers spent nearly two years in and out of Five Star. The center gave him a temporary place to live and helped him cope with issues he was facing after two deployments.

“PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) got ahold of me again and I started drinking heavily,” Childers said. "I've talked about stuff that I went through when I was overseas and that's been the turning point for me."

Now he's sober with a full-time job and has his own home. Something Army veteran Ron Speakman is working towards.

"I was basically down to a suitcase and the clothes on my back when I got here. I've been through some extraordinarily difficult circumstances," Speakman said. “"The guys here, it's like a brotherhood. We lean on each other a lot; get a lot of support from each other."

Speakman is now living at Five Star and said working with other veterans helps him deal with physical and mental challenges.

He's been able to save up for a car and start a moving business. He'll soon be back on his feet and living on his own with plans to help other veterans.

Five Star Veterans Center also announced a new partnership with the Eisenhower Center to address and help treat veterans with traumatic brain injuries.