Housing helped homeless Veteran discover his inner artist

A monstera plant. A wide-eyed cat. A couple enjoying a day at the beach.

There’s a common thread running through these three very different art subjects, but it’s one you might not expect. They were all painted by Richard Freund, an Army Veteran who once counted himself among the thousands experiencing homelessness.

Today, the former aviation operation specialist spends his time honing his craft in an art studio before heading to a home of his very own. But that stable housing only became a possibility when he took the important step of reaching out to VA and discovering the services available to him and Veterans around the country.

Freund began his military career deploying to Afghanistan as an aviation operation specialist. Reflecting on his time with the military, he enjoyed his experience and wished he could do it again. After his service, however, he confessed to facing a series of struggles he had to overcome.

“I was really ignoring my mental health issues. I think I ignored them because I thought I was going to fix them myself. One day, I just decided to go ahead and get the help I needed,” Freund said.

Reaching out for help

Freund approached the Salvation Army, which was running a program with the VA Central Texas Healthcare System through Health Care for Homeless Veterans Contracted Residential Services.

Eventually, he found housing through Supportive Services for Veteran Families, a program that helps prevent Veterans from losing their homes through case management and supportive services. It also works to rapidly re-house Veterans and their families who are homeless—and might remain homeless—through partnerships with grantees. For Freund, that grantee was Family in Crisis.

In August 2023, Freund was able to attain housing. “I’m actually doing well for myself. Living on my own from being homeless is a huge step. I’m striving very hard to just keep a permanent place for myself,” he said.

In the art studio

Freund now spends a good amount of his time painting. He says art helps keep his mind calm and that the act of painting truly makes him happy.

One of the pieces he’s most proud of is a portrait of his cat, pictured above. It’s a very focused view of his pet’s loyal eye, full of detail and life. But he’s also dabbled with painting different subjects in his portraits and using a more abstract style.  

Although he has several goals, his biggest one is to go back to school for art and focus on oil painting. He hopes to learn more about a field he’s deeply passionate about while continuing to hone his skills and techniques.

Freund was able to find a home as VA was working to achieve its goal of housing 38,000 homeless Veterans in 2023. But his is not a singular story.

Learn about VA programs

If you are a Veteran who is homeless or at risk for homelessness, call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-4AID-VET (877-424-3838).

Visit the VA Homeless Programs website to learn about housing initiatives and other programs for Veterans exiting homelessness.

Check out the Ending Veteran Homelessness podcast to learn more about what VA is doing about Veteran homelessness.

Learn how to get involved with housing homeless Veterans.

For more stories like these, subscribe to the Homeless Programs Office newsletter to receive monthly updates about programs and supportive services for Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness.