Pittsburg, PA
“It’s hard to ask for help.” Veterans Leadership Program provides Pittsburgh veterans with the resources they need | KD Sunday Spotlight
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Off of Smallman Street in the Strip District, you’ll find the Veterans Leadership Program. It’s a place where you’ll hear conversation about military service and veterans will know they’re around people who get it.
Walter Chubeck Junior said he served in the Navy from 1983-1986.
“We acted as a hospital ship in Grenada, that’s probably the one thing that gave me nightmares for a little over a year when I got out,” said Chubeck when reflecting on his service.
However, when he got out the reality of civilian life hit him hard.
“When COVID hit, I had lost my job, so I couldn’t work. I was way behind on my rent,” said Chubeck. “I went homeless.”
At his lowest point, Chubeck said he turned to the Veterans Leadership Program. Chubeck told us when he was really desperate, they were right there.
V.L.P. connected him with housing help. Through the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program, V.L.P. provided Chubeck with rental, furniture, moving costs, and food assistance.
Ben Stahl is the non-profit’s C.E.O. He said he served in the Navy too, for ten years.
“Our mission statement at V.L.P is empowering veterans to navigate the transitions of life,” Stahl said.
Now his focus is helping his brothers and sisters in arms. It’s V.L.P’s mission too, since 1982 and it stretches 30 counties throughout western and central Pennsylvania.
“We are a housing first organization, and it’s very intentional because you need somewhere to call your own and we’re very happy we’re able to help veterans gain that for themselves,” said Stahl.
In addition to assisting with housing, the non-profit has programs helping former service members with employment, wellness, and more. It’s changed the lives of more than 7,400 vets in our area, just in 2023.
“Most veterans, myself included, most of the time they need someone reaching out to them because we’re military, independent, we’re used to doing for ourselves. It’s hard for them to ask for help,” said Chubeck.
It’s help from serving in uniform to finding stability in civilian life. This non-profit is empowering our military veterans, driven by those who understand.
“Well V.L.P. will put them in touch with more brothers and sisters, and most of these guys here are vets,” said Chubeck.
The Veterans Leadership Program is funded through donations and grants from the Veteran’s Administration. The non-profit is moving to Braddock in the first quarter of 2025, but the groundbreaking will be on June 14th at 10 a.m. at 1025 Braddock Avenue.
If you want to get involved with V.L.P. click here.
Pittsburg, PA
Man’s body found underneath trailer behind former Shop ‘n Save in Carrick
Pittsburgh Police detectives are investigating after a man’s body was found underneath a trailer behind the former Shop ‘n Save store in the city’s Carrick neighborhood.
Pittsburgh Public Safety said late Monday night that detectives from the Violent Crime division responded to the area of Amanda Street and Wynoka Street in Carrick after a man’s body was found around 8:30 p.m.
Public Safety said the man’s body was found underneath a trailer and that he was pronounced dead by medics at the scene.
A photo provided by Pittsburgh Public Safety shows officers surrounding a taped off area and what appears to be a refrigerated trailer parked at the loading dock along Amanda Street behind the former Brownsville Shop n’ Save, which closed its doors last month.
No details surrounding the circumstances of the man’s death were provided by Public Safety, who said that the cause and the manner of the man’s death will be determined by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The man’s identity has not been released.
Public Safety said the investigation into the man’s death is “ongoing.”
Pittsburg, PA
Record number of peregrine falcons counted in Allegheny County
In the early 1960s, the peregrine falcon population declined so sharply that the raptors weren’t even nesting in Pennsylvania. But now, the National Aviary says a record number have been counted in Allegheny County.
The National Aviary says six peregrine falcons were recorded in the county during the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. The nation’s longest-running citizen science project collects data on bird populations for ornithologists, the aviary says. It also plays a role in guiding conservation action, like what was needed to bring peregrine falcons back from the brink of extinction.
Because of the use of DDT, peregrine falcons were no longer nesting in the state of Pennsylvania by the early 1960s, the aviary said. But after the harmful pesticide, which negatively affects reproduction rates in birds, was banned in 1972, conservation efforts have helped the peregrine falcon rebound. It was removed from the federal endangered species list in 1999 and Pennsylvania’s list in 2021.
The record number of peregrine falcons in Allegheny County is thanks in part to the nest on top of Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning in Oakland. For the past two years, biologists with the Pennsylvania Game Commission have banded chicks born in the nest. Three were banded last year, and two the year before that.
People can watch Carla and Ecco raise their family in the nest on a livestream camera run by the National Aviary. Carla laid her first egg of the breeding season on March 16 last year, so the aviary says the start of another season isn’t too far away.
Pittsburg, PA
Police investigating two late-night McKeesport shootings
Police are investigating two shootings that happened less than 30 minutes apart on Sunday night in McKeesport.
Two men were injured in the shootings that happened at two different locations.
Allegheny County Police said that the department’s Homicide Unit was requested and responded to assist in the shooting investigations.
According to police, officers were first called to the area of Lysle Boulevard and Huey Street, where a man was shot just after 10:30 p.m. on Sunday night.
KDKA’s news crew at the scene saw the outside of the Sunoco gas station along Lysle Boulevard lined with crime tape and what appeared to be blood on the front door of the store.
Police also had an area taped off around the intersection of nearby 5th Avenue and Huey Street. The man who was shot in the area was taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Police said they are also investigating a shooting that happened in the area of an alleyway behind Madison Avenue, where another man was shot Dispatchers said the second shooting happened around 25 minutes after the first.
The two shooting scenes in McKeesport are located around 1/4 of a mile apart.
At the second shooting scene, KDKA’s news crew at the scene saw police taping off an alleyway between Madison Avenue and Petty Street.
Officers at the scene were shining flashlights and looking into a black sedan that had its flashers on. The man who was shot in the area of Madison Avenue was taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Police didn’t specify if the two shootings are believed to be related.
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