LIBERTY — He'd always found a way to work it out. He'd made a living with his hands all his life, long after serving in the Army and National Guard.

“I'm used to being by myself,” he resolutely shared. “I don't need nobody.”

But then the rheumatoid arthritis hit, and suddenly this 65-year-old veteran couldn't hold anything anymore, completely halting the outdoor employment that had sustained him for years.

“Once the winter gets cold, you can't work,” he said, his eyes flicking down at his fingers. “The pain is bad. I couldn't hardly walk. The doctor told me I have to get out of this cold weather.”

But without funds, the longtime Sullivan County resident couldn't go anywhere - couldn't even afford his rent.

So he reached out for help, and his caseworker led him to Begin Again Transition Services (BATS), an outreach ministry of the Liberty-based New Beginnings Community Worship Center.

They had a just-renovated veterans transitional home ready for him. Would he be willing to be its first resident?

Temporarily, replied this proud, hardworking man.

That's the idea, said BATS - to help veterans young and old transition from challenging situations to better lives. This space - created by endless donations of time, skill and money over the past two years - is finally able to do just that.

“Before, we were just an idea to people; now, we are a real transitional home,” affirmed Hailey Butler, a key volunteer who handles promotion and outreach for BATS. “It's amazing!”

This first veteran is helping BATS refine its policies and procedures, in order to create a safe, positive, life-altering experience for what will be up to eight residents at any given time.

That includes keeping their own room clean.

“We want this to be their home, to have pride in it and take care of it,” Hailey explained.

House Manager Dan Sutton is currently doing the cooking (and taking the veteran to chiropractic, job training and case management appointments), but eventually a longer-term resident will likely be the manager, and veterans will do their own cooking.

“We're continuously working on recruiting people,” said Hailey.

That doesn't just include residents but volunteers, who are desperately needed.

“On any level they're capable or interested: gardening, administrative, events, fixing odds and ends,” she explained.

Monetary support is welcome, too, with BATS' third annual fundraiser slated for this Saturday at 6 p.m., including a silent auction, at the Eagle's Nest in Bloomingburg.

Tickets and more info are available at batsforvets.org or by calling Hailey at 845-705-9065.

A 5K run is planned for June 3, by which time BATS hopes to have a full (or at least “fuller”) house on Dixon Avenue in Liberty.

The current resident may be in Florida by then - thanks to the transition assistance BATS is now rendering - but he hopes for the same.

“A place like this,” he nodded, “will be perfect for the guys coming back [from service].”