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The Veterans Memorial Walkway in front of the Malta town complex. Photo by Larry Goodwin.
MALTA – To Renee Farley, every action that helps a military veteran can be compared to a single drop of water being added to Saratoga Lake—the problems that local veterans face are so grand in scale.
On Monday, not long before she was scheduled to give a brief presentation to the Malta Town Board regarding a small project to expand the Veterans Memorial Walkway near town hall, Farley received an alert about a veteran in trouble.
She called him Everett. He reportedly fell in his garage and then refused to call for an ambulance. Farley ended up visiting Everett’s home to ensure that an ambulance was called, and he was later admitted to the hospital.
The alert to help Everett went out by email to several thousand people through the Malta Veteran Appreciation Program (MVAP) network, of which Farley is one of four primary coordinators.
“We just kind of took him under our wing,” she says of Everett, adding that he often gets depressed. His only vehicle was recently repossessed, complicating matters more for him. “He’s had a tough life,” Farley added.
Farley described how another veteran living near the Publik House restaurant and pub on Route 9 was leaning a chair against his refrigerator door to keep it closed. When she went to inspect, Farley said, she noticed that his oven was in equally poor condition.
She promptly made sure the veteran received two new appliances.
With military members in her family, Farley says her determination to help veterans is unwavering. Some days she arranges transportation for them to doctors’ appointments; on other days comforting phone calls may be necessary if, as in Everett’s case, they get admitted to hospitals.
A simple phone call could be the act that prevents a veteran from committing suicide, according to Farley, because it proves to them that people truly care about those who have served their country.
“It’s, basically, whatever they need,” she said. “They’re out there alone.”
The MVAP network’s official motto is “Help Us Locate Our Veterans in Need,” and Farley says her goal is “to keep adding emails” of local individuals who want to assist in that effort. People are welcome to call MVAP anonymously at any time if they are aware of a veteran who needs help, she said. (The network’s website is www.mvap.us.)
On Sunday, Sept. 17, a dedication ceremony has been scheduled between 1 and 3 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Walkway in Malta to formally announce sales of bricks for $100 each to honor local veterans.
The bricks will be installed as complements to the existing memorial, which includes a small piece of steel from the twin towers of the World Trade Center. The veterans’ park was first built in front of the town complex nearly 20 years ago.
Farley informed the town board that unionized bricklayers have already offered to donate their labor for the expansion project.
“We have a long-term plan to grow it slightly in size,” explains Malta Councilman Craig Warner, referring to the existing concrete walkway. Warner has worked closely with Farley on veterans’ outreach since his 2015 election campaign.
The bricks are being manufactured in Florida, according to Warner, and they will be etched with individual names and military units. “When we sell each of them, it will benefit veterans out here substantially,” he said.
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