Nonprofit deploys military vets to Detroit

Detroit's East Side

Here's a great idea being put to good use in Detroit.

It should be used in Chicago, also known as Chiraq, too.

From ABC News:

Dozens of military veterans have come to Detroit to rebuild neglected areas of the financially distressed city.

It marks the latest — and largest — effort undertaken by St. Louis, Missouri-based The Mission Continues, a nonprofit that encourages and aids volunteerism by veterans to ease the post-military transition.

Teams of volunteers fanned out Monday to three locations in a neighborhood on the northeast side of Detroit. At a park, Iraq and Afghanistan veteran Ben Eichel, 33, and others picked up trash and built benches.

"When you're not part of something that's bigger than yourself, you lose that identity. You become isolated, and a lot of us tend to go to dark places," said Eichel, of Denver, taking a break from trying to remove a rusted-out fence. "So, The Mission Continues was there and got me involved in the community. It helped me reintegrate in civilian society effectively, because I learned that I'm not just a veteran."

From my post at Da Tech Guy:

I walked its streets--the tragedy of Detroit.