Neil Leckman's Blog - Posts Tagged "randy-hughes"
Memorial Day
Originally published in HAC TICS newsletter about a friend of mine. Something I wrote to inspire:
Walking to my cubicle every day, I pass by the silent cubicles of other people, headphones firmly in place, oblivious to everything except the job at hand. It’s not often that you have a chance to get to know someone unless by shear happenchance you meet in the lunch¬room, on break or, after moving several times from cubicle to cubicle, this person sits next to you. In the time I’ve been here, I have heard many stories about the service coworkers do for Veterans and our com¬munity. This is the story about one of those individu¬als who walk among us, silently working at the task at hand, never complaining or asking for anything, because their focus is on serving others on all levels.
The name of this tireless servant is Randy Hughes, just another voucher examiner in section “F”; however, after his day is done here, he works at what he says, “God has called me to do.” It initially started as an effort to help homeless Veterans in Denver, but Randy said the need to serve others was so great he couldn’t say no. Like me, Randy is a Veteran of the Vietnam War, except he suffered a grievous injury that has cost him most of the vision and all sensation on the left side of his face. Some days he endures crippling pain. He also suffers, as many Veterans do, from PTSD, which can often be debilitating in its effects. To take his mind off of his constant pain, he focuses on serving others. He will tell you that this is not about what he goes through on a day-to-day basis, but about the mission he feels he has been called to do. That’s what is important and gives him sustenance to endure and complete his mis¬sion. He prefers that this story be about the plight of the homeless, but I don’t believe it has the same impact without mentioning Randy himself. During voucher examiner training, Dana Williams nicknamed him “Mr. Wonderful,” because of all that he does for others.
When he felt the first inkling of being called to this mission, he did not hesitate or ques¬tion it. He used his own money to start a nonprofit organization called H.O.M.E. (Homeless Outreach Ministry Effort) Inc. He then went out personally to help clothe and feed those who needed it most. Many homeless people turn to alcohol and substance abuse to cope with their situations. “I personally feel there is a great need to help them with this,” says Randy. He believes he is the tool that God implemented to do this work. He has a servant’s heart.
Every Sunday you will find him at Lincoln Park, between 12th and 13th avenues near Broadway, meeting and talking with the people he helps. He talks with them while handing out meals along with some badly needed clothes and maybe a small backpack or sleeping bag. This might be the total of their worldly possessions. Roughly 28 percent of them are Veterans, from every war you can imagine, but they all share the common bond of service to their country. Be it through enlist-ment or draft, when the time came, they answered the call to defend their country, never asking for or expect¬ing anything in return. “I would just like for all of us to be able to look them in the eye and say something positive,” Randy says. Despite what circumstances life might throw at you as a Veteran, the one thing you will always have despite the fact you have no material pos¬sessions is that innate sense of belonging to something bigger than yourself. When you serve, you become part of a family that is informal in nature, yet with bonds as strong, or stronger, than a real family. In combat situa¬tions, these bonds become even stronger because your life ultimately depends upon your fellow serviceman or woman. No matter how many years pass, after all is said and done, this bond is never broken. People that you never knew before that moment will put their life at risk for yours without hesitation. Even after discharge, those bonds remain, and not just for the ones you knew while enlisted, but for all of those who proudly wore the uniform and served or are serving this day. Randy feels a kinship with those he helps and serves, and to them, he is a soft-spoken angel as he does whatever he can to make their lives a little bit easier. He fights once again for freedom, the freedom to have even the basic of human needs, such as food and clothing. “Have you ever wondered why we let our Veterans live like this?” he muses.
As I write this, I wonder how many other silent stewards walk past me in these halls, unsung heroes who step up when called…common men and women like you and me. Many served America when we needed them most, some suffering great loss and sacrifice so we, as a country, remain free. Yet they don’t stop there, because free¬dom isn’t just about being free. It is about being free from hunger, free from suffering the elements and about the freedom to believe in better days to come and to hope. Here in this building where we all work daily for the beneficiaries of those who have paid the ultimate price for that freedom walk those who don’t stop serving at the end of the day. They con¬tinue this journey in humbleness and silence. Their goal is to continue to fight for freedom - freedom from want, freedom from hunger, freedom to dream.
I personally am thankful for people like Randy and the many others I have met here. They go above and beyond, not because it’s expected, rather because it isn’t. They extend the hand of friendship and more. They extend hope, because without hope, what value does free¬dom have? These angels walk among us, sometimes unnoticed and unheard. But their presence brilliantly shines, and their voices sing out to those they serve.
Walking to my cubicle every day, I pass by the silent cubicles of other people, headphones firmly in place, oblivious to everything except the job at hand. It’s not often that you have a chance to get to know someone unless by shear happenchance you meet in the lunch¬room, on break or, after moving several times from cubicle to cubicle, this person sits next to you. In the time I’ve been here, I have heard many stories about the service coworkers do for Veterans and our com¬munity. This is the story about one of those individu¬als who walk among us, silently working at the task at hand, never complaining or asking for anything, because their focus is on serving others on all levels.
The name of this tireless servant is Randy Hughes, just another voucher examiner in section “F”; however, after his day is done here, he works at what he says, “God has called me to do.” It initially started as an effort to help homeless Veterans in Denver, but Randy said the need to serve others was so great he couldn’t say no. Like me, Randy is a Veteran of the Vietnam War, except he suffered a grievous injury that has cost him most of the vision and all sensation on the left side of his face. Some days he endures crippling pain. He also suffers, as many Veterans do, from PTSD, which can often be debilitating in its effects. To take his mind off of his constant pain, he focuses on serving others. He will tell you that this is not about what he goes through on a day-to-day basis, but about the mission he feels he has been called to do. That’s what is important and gives him sustenance to endure and complete his mis¬sion. He prefers that this story be about the plight of the homeless, but I don’t believe it has the same impact without mentioning Randy himself. During voucher examiner training, Dana Williams nicknamed him “Mr. Wonderful,” because of all that he does for others.
When he felt the first inkling of being called to this mission, he did not hesitate or ques¬tion it. He used his own money to start a nonprofit organization called H.O.M.E. (Homeless Outreach Ministry Effort) Inc. He then went out personally to help clothe and feed those who needed it most. Many homeless people turn to alcohol and substance abuse to cope with their situations. “I personally feel there is a great need to help them with this,” says Randy. He believes he is the tool that God implemented to do this work. He has a servant’s heart.
Every Sunday you will find him at Lincoln Park, between 12th and 13th avenues near Broadway, meeting and talking with the people he helps. He talks with them while handing out meals along with some badly needed clothes and maybe a small backpack or sleeping bag. This might be the total of their worldly possessions. Roughly 28 percent of them are Veterans, from every war you can imagine, but they all share the common bond of service to their country. Be it through enlist-ment or draft, when the time came, they answered the call to defend their country, never asking for or expect¬ing anything in return. “I would just like for all of us to be able to look them in the eye and say something positive,” Randy says. Despite what circumstances life might throw at you as a Veteran, the one thing you will always have despite the fact you have no material pos¬sessions is that innate sense of belonging to something bigger than yourself. When you serve, you become part of a family that is informal in nature, yet with bonds as strong, or stronger, than a real family. In combat situa¬tions, these bonds become even stronger because your life ultimately depends upon your fellow serviceman or woman. No matter how many years pass, after all is said and done, this bond is never broken. People that you never knew before that moment will put their life at risk for yours without hesitation. Even after discharge, those bonds remain, and not just for the ones you knew while enlisted, but for all of those who proudly wore the uniform and served or are serving this day. Randy feels a kinship with those he helps and serves, and to them, he is a soft-spoken angel as he does whatever he can to make their lives a little bit easier. He fights once again for freedom, the freedom to have even the basic of human needs, such as food and clothing. “Have you ever wondered why we let our Veterans live like this?” he muses.
As I write this, I wonder how many other silent stewards walk past me in these halls, unsung heroes who step up when called…common men and women like you and me. Many served America when we needed them most, some suffering great loss and sacrifice so we, as a country, remain free. Yet they don’t stop there, because free¬dom isn’t just about being free. It is about being free from hunger, free from suffering the elements and about the freedom to believe in better days to come and to hope. Here in this building where we all work daily for the beneficiaries of those who have paid the ultimate price for that freedom walk those who don’t stop serving at the end of the day. They con¬tinue this journey in humbleness and silence. Their goal is to continue to fight for freedom - freedom from want, freedom from hunger, freedom to dream.
I personally am thankful for people like Randy and the many others I have met here. They go above and beyond, not because it’s expected, rather because it isn’t. They extend the hand of friendship and more. They extend hope, because without hope, what value does free¬dom have? These angels walk among us, sometimes unnoticed and unheard. But their presence brilliantly shines, and their voices sing out to those they serve.
