The smell of coffee and the sound of chatter are immediately recognized if one were to walk into American Legion Post 162 on any given Wednesday morning. Those in attendance, in addition to the fact that they are all veterans, share one commonality: they are all searching for community.
“I always call it a non-partisan veterans’ meeting. It’s all about just the camaraderie,” Col. Ted Hodgson said of the weekly coffee talk.
Hodgson is the founder and director of Saint Louis Vets Connect, a local organization that, on top of a variety of other missions, hosts coffee talk each Wednesday. The retired Army colonel was inspired to form the group after he attended a conference with America’s Warrior Partnership focused on suicide prevention amongst veterans. Upon his return home from “the most inspiring conference (he had) ever gone to,” Hodgson first planned to center his new organization around the mental health of younger veterans, though after additional research, he decided to slightly change his tune.
“We started working with the suicide prevention VA (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) folks, and in the course of that discussion, we were talking about the highest suicide rates in this region are all older veterans,” he said. “Their stats (showed) we were … the worst five in the country for suicide rates among older veterans. A lot is isolationism. They’re older. A lot of it is the trauma of the Vietnam War, the whole era where they were treated like crap when they came back.”
Each weekly coffee talk meeting follows the same format. The Pledge of Allegiance is recited, a salute is given to those missing in action and prisoners of war, a veteran’s prayer is read, then those in attendance are asked if they have any prayers for themselves or fellow veterans to share. Next, a military joke of the day is told, the oldest and youngest present are recognized — age often ranges from 90 to 35 years old, though the majority of attendees are over 60 — and if a new member is in attendance, they are asked to introduce themselves. Once a month, a hot breakfast is served in addition to the weekly coffee and donuts.
When asked about the weekly coffee talk and why they keep coming back, those in attendance echoed the same sentiments: good friends and good stories. Not having to explain themselves to those who don’t understand what it’s like to be in the service was also mentioned.
“I love the concept of the balance of suicide is togetherness. This togetherness is helping veterans know that we’re not alone,” Anthony Strauss, a coffee talk attendee and retired member of the Marine Corps, said.
In addition to creating connection through conversation, the group also practices yoga every other week. This was started by Strauss, who began doing yoga following his time in the service.
“It’s just a time for us to be able to sit, meditate and find some ease and peace. The practice is growing — it’s cool, more and more veterans are willing to try it and give it a shot,” Strauss said. “There’s something powerful about veterans coming together, regulating their nervous systems. You can feel the shift; it’s palpable. Everything kind of calms down, and then when we go about our days, it’s in this new, easier way.”
Another large aspect of the coffee talk is connecting veterans to the VA and passing along information on benefits that veterans receive.
“We have a very low participation rate, one of the lowest participation rates of those eligible to use the VA system using it. So that’s a real problem,” Hodgson said. “One of the things I’m really proud of: two years ago, we had the VA come out with this group here. We had 13 of them register with the VA for the first time. Three of them were Vietnam-era veterans, and you can tell they have Agent Orange symptoms, so they got diagnosed and are being treated and are being compensated for it.”
The group gives back by working with Jefferson Barracks and the Fisher House and donating to food pantries. They also work with EverTrue’s hospice program.
“A lot of veterans, when they’re in hospice, one of their last requests is to talk to a veteran,” Hodgson said. “They had a Vietnam veteran who was a waist gunner, and he knows he killed a lot of people, and he was feeling really guilty about it in his dying days. He needed another veteran to come and say, ‘You know what? We followed the orders … you will never be judged for that because that’s what you have to do.’”
Any veteran is eligible to join coffee talk, including reservists and National Guard.
“As long as you’re a veteran, you’re welcome,” Hodgson said. “We’re down to 10% of the U.S. population (being) connected to a military person or somebody that was in the military. Thirty, 40 years ago, it was 40% at least … so you’re kind of losing that factor … If they have that community, they know they can go and talk to each other. Some of those guys, they were very hostile when they first got here, and now, you know, they’re loosening up, they’re not coming in angry every time.”
Because coffee talk has taken off so well, Hodgson is starting a new social group scheduled to meet in the evenings. St. Louis Vets Connect Social will begin on Aug. 13 at American Legion Post 162, 9305 S. Broadway, from 6 to 8 p.m. Those in attendance can play pool, shuffleboard, cornhole and indoor bocce ball, among other similar activities.
