Nonprofit helps homeless Southport veteran receive hospital care

SOUTHPORT, NC (WWAY) — Getting oxygen in a Dosher hospital bed isn’t the way 72-year-old Ron Harper imagined spending his Veterans Day, but losses of a loving partner, a job, and an unexpected eviction turned his Jeep into his home.

“When I go to the store to buy food for the month, I eat out of a can,” said Harper. “How would you attempt to stretch across the front seat of your car every night?”

Harper says he served as a Civil Engineer at Griffith’s Air Force Base in the 1970s, and lives on a $1,500 V.A. pension.

It was while Harper was parked near Waterfront Park where he met Lindsey Varnam, whose Facebook post caught the attention of Lyndsy Cushman, who runs the nonprofit Trusthouse — a group that helps get veterans housing and access to support systems.

“For every veteran that is struggling that comes our way, we need to make a difference,” said Cushman.

In addition to helping Harper, Cushman recently helped at Motorsports Carolina, where she put another veteran achieve his dream of driving behind the wheel of a corvette.

“I might be small, but I have a big voice and I’m tired of people being walked over,” said Cushman.

While Cushman helped Harper get admitted to the hospital, he has an end stage respiratory illness and needs donations.

“These are the type of veterans that we want to be able to help,” said Cushman.

You can donate toward Harper’s treatment and further support Trusthouse’s initiatives through their GoFundMe page.