MICHAEL S. WIRTZ / Inquirer Staff Photographer
Karen Riggins, 41, a formerly homeless Army veteran, in her efficiency apartment in Eastwick, with photos of herself in the Army and family photos.
Homeless in Philadelphia: First of three parts
'I felt like Super Woman in the military. Out here, I felt like zero.'
One in four homeless people is a military veteran.
Karen Riggins, 41, had every intention of making the Army a career when she enlisted after graduating from Olney High School.
She planned to stay at least 20 years.
She made it to 15 years and one month.
Riggins was stationed in Heidelberg, Germany, as a staff sergeant, making maps for troops in the field.
On Feb. 17, 2001, she was discharged for medical reasons. Asthma that began to develop 10 years earlier, after a stint in the Saudi Arabian desert, became more severe.
“It was a shock,” Riggins recalls. “I loved the military. It killed me. I had dreams.”
Without her job, her title, her band of soldier-friends, her world collapsed.
After being discharged, Riggins moved to Dothan, Ala., to be near a military base. She got an assembly-line job packing peanuts.
“I felt like Super Woman in the military,” Riggins says. “Out here, I felt like zero.”
Depressed, she started drinking and fighting too often. Low on funds, she bounced from one friend to another, ending back in Philadelphia in 2006.
Riggins sought help for her drinking at a VA medical center in Coatesville, but didn’t last. She lived in her car and shelters.
On the eve of her birthday, Riggins plotted to drive her car off a bridge or into a train. “I didn’t want to reach 40,” she says.
But her car was repossessed, her plot foiled.
Her mother took her to the Philadelphia VA Medical Center for depression and alcohol abuse. There, she heard about Impact Services, a local nonprofit agency that works with homeless vets.
In January 2007, Riggins moved into the Impact residence in West Kensington. She shared an apartment and was assigned a caseworker to help her refocus her life.
That led to classes at the Community College of Philadelphia. In another big step last fall, Riggins moved into her own studio apartment.
After five chaotic years, her goal now is to get a degree in geographic information services and maybe work overseas.
“When I was out there sleeping in my car, I just needed someone to give me hope,” Riggins says. “Don’t give me a freebie and just walk away. I needed someone to talk to, I needed someone to be positive.”
She planned to stay at least 20 years.
She made it to 15 years and one month.
Riggins was stationed in Heidelberg, Germany, as a staff sergeant, making maps for troops in the field.
On Feb. 17, 2001, she was discharged for medical reasons. Asthma that began to develop 10 years earlier, after a stint in the Saudi Arabian desert, became more severe.
“It was a shock,” Riggins recalls. “I loved the military. It killed me. I had dreams.”
Without her job, her title, her band of soldier-friends, her world collapsed.
After being discharged, Riggins moved to Dothan, Ala., to be near a military base. She got an assembly-line job packing peanuts.
“I felt like Super Woman in the military,” Riggins says. “Out here, I felt like zero.”
Depressed, she started drinking and fighting too often. Low on funds, she bounced from one friend to another, ending back in Philadelphia in 2006.
Riggins sought help for her drinking at a VA medical center in Coatesville, but didn’t last. She lived in her car and shelters.
On the eve of her birthday, Riggins plotted to drive her car off a bridge or into a train. “I didn’t want to reach 40,” she says.
But her car was repossessed, her plot foiled.
Her mother took her to the Philadelphia VA Medical Center for depression and alcohol abuse. There, she heard about Impact Services, a local nonprofit agency that works with homeless vets.
In January 2007, Riggins moved into the Impact residence in West Kensington. She shared an apartment and was assigned a caseworker to help her refocus her life.
That led to classes at the Community College of Philadelphia. In another big step last fall, Riggins moved into her own studio apartment.
After five chaotic years, her goal now is to get a degree in geographic information services and maybe work overseas.
“When I was out there sleeping in my car, I just needed someone to give me hope,” Riggins says. “Don’t give me a freebie and just walk away. I needed someone to talk to, I needed someone to be positive.”
