POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – Marist English professor Tommy Zurhellen has spent the past 131 days traveling across America on foot to raise awareness for veteran suicide rates as part of the "VetZero" project. The commander of the Poughkeepsie Veterans of Foreign Wars post 170 has walked 22 miles a day to represent the average of 22 veterans who die by suicide on a daily basis.
For 2,866 miles, Zurhellen traveled without lodging, and carried just a 30 pound bag on his back. The "VetZero" project's goal was to create a community with zero homeless veterans and free of suicide. With stops in Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan, the Marist professor has lived the life of a homeless veteran who relies on the kindness of strangers on a daily basis.
Along the way, Zurhellen has raised over $40,387 to benefit veterans through GoFundMe, symbolic of the 40,387 homeless veterans in the U.S., according to a 2015 study. The Marist professor has been featured on various news channels during his journey such as Fox, MSN, NBC and others.
This afternoon, he completed his journey from Portland, Oregon by traversing the Walkway Over the Hudson and finally arriving at Marist College. Members of the Marist athletics community were there to greet him at the gate to the campus, while the men's soccer program accompanied him in the final steps of the journey.
Upon returning to Marist, Zurhellen was presented with the New York State Conspicuous Service Medal, the second-highest New York State National Guard military award given to those who have distinguished themselves with exceptionally meritorious service. He also shared some words with the campus community.
"It's been such an honor to represent Marist these past 4-5 months. People ask me, 'How do you do it? How do you stay alone?' I'm not alone. I have so many people supporting me on social media that I've never felt alone once," stated Zurhellen. "I've learned what it means to be a homeless veteran, and it's not pretty. I'm never going to take what I have for granted ever again... Although this is the end of the walk, this isn't the end of what we're going to be doing for our veterans. Everyone here knows a veteran, so today let's all say 'We can do a better job.'"
