When Bobby and Peggy Crutsinger donated a RV to a homeless Vietnam veteran in April, it made 185 total donations since the Weatherford couple started Operation Texas Strong in 2021.
Now that number is up to 191 RV's donated. But the Crutsingers do much more than provide living quarters for homeless veterans.
Peggy Crutsinger, 43, said she and her husband own a resale shop to help offset costs associated with running their 501(c)3 nonprofit, and said the ultimate objective for their organization is much loftier.
"Our goal is to finish up with an RV park of our own," Peggy said. "Everything can be on site. We'll be able to help them with the things they will need to learn to live their best lives and have people come in for things like suicide prevention and employment.
"We'd like to help them get more of their benefits and make more of a little community. And everything would be self-sustainable — the food would be grown on the land. We'd have our own water wells and produce our own electricity. We'd like to do that because we don't want to burden anybody. We're just wanting to help."
The Crutsingers were inspired to start their charity because both have relatives who served, and the donation process includes other assistance.
"All of the RVs go into parks for six months," Bobby Crutsinger, 45, said. "They have to pay the RV spot, the veteran does, so we make sure they are affordable spots. The Lone Star 23 is the best one we use. They are a very good park and they work with us, and they make it affordable for the veterans. We want them to have money so that not all of their income is going to rent.
“The RV's are free to the veterans after six months when we give them the titles. We do this to help them get their benefits in order, make sure they have food, make sure they have clean clothes and make sure we do the whole works and not just say, 'Okay, here you go, bye-bye.'"
The Crutsingers also help stock the Warrior Food Pantry and Little Free Farm Stand in Weatherford, which serve roughly 400 people weekly.
Peggy said Operation Texas Strong addresses a critical need among homeless veterans.
"If you are a homeless veteran or just a homeless person, the one thing people need is a place to lay their head," Peggy said. "They need a good night's sleep. You cannot do that if you're sleeping on the streets, because you are constantly worried if the cops are going to come and move you out or the city will move you out, or if other homeless people are going to come and take your stuff.
“Once we can get that problem taken care of, it takes care of a lot of other things. It lets them know they have a place to lay their head and get air conditioning and it builds them back up. Now they can go get a job and do what they need to be to be a productive part of the community."
Peggy's father served in Vietnam, and she said she had a first-hand account of the effects of combat.
"For me, I learned and watched my dad," Peggy said. "The way that I was raised, we didn't go out to eat a lot. When we did, we sat in the back of the restaurant facing the door. We didn't go to the movies much because my dad couldn't handle loud noises. I lived that life because I watched my father, and I said I didn't want that."
The charitable work, which Peggy calls "God's work,” however, is not without its difficulties.
"The most challenging thing is that we need more RVs because we don't have funds to buy them," Bobby said. "People donate what they can. The RVs need to be ready to go, but a lot of them are not. Because more and more people know what we are doing, more and more people are reaching out, but we have requirements because the last three years we have learned what works and what doesn't work."
And it can be expensive.
"One day we went and got tires, and were not able to get used tires," Peggy said. "It cost me almost two grand for six tires. We were like, 'Whoa!' But it had to be done. It had to be moved. So it gets expensive after a while, and we are trying to prove that you can help people and make a big impact without putting strain on the taxpayers money."
Operation Texas Strong is in need of donations and will actually host a Turkey and Dressing cook-off just in time for Thanksgiving on Nov. 16 where trophies will be awarded.
"We love it when our donors reach out to us so we can talk to them," Peggy said. "They have good stories, too. A lot of our people who donate are veterans. It is such a help."
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