FORT WAYNE, Ind. — A local nonprofit that has quietly become a lifeline for veterans battling addiction just received a six-figure check that will keep its doors open and its mission growing.
The Shepherd’s House, a dry recovery home for men in the heart of Fort Wayne, is one of twelve local organizations sharing $471,761 in the second round of the city’s opioid settlement funds, Mayor Sharon Tucker announced Thursday morning.
For the men who live there, many of them veterans carrying wounds you can’t see, the money means more than new paint or repaired roofs. It means second chances that might not have existed otherwise.
From Rock Bottom to House Manager: Van Ryan’s Story
Walk through the halls of The Shepherd’s House on a quiet afternoon and you’ll likely run into Van Ryan.
Six years ago he arrived under court order, facing two felonies, addicted and broken.
Today he is the residential house manager, the man who now holds the keys and the hope for dozens of others.
Ryan served as a mechanic in the Indiana National Guard from 1985 to 1993. When he came home, the same demons that follow so many veterans followed him.
“Once I started, I couldn’t stop,” Ryan said. “It escalated and got worse and worse and worse.”
He ended up homeless in spirit long before he was homeless in fact. Seven surgeries later, all of them made possible because he finally had a safe place to land, Ryan has been sober since 2019.
“I got my life back,” he said simply. “And now I help other guys get theirs.”
How the Money Will Be Used
The Shepherd’s House received $75,000 of the latest round, according to city documents.
Executive Director Mike Whitten said every dollar stays in-house.
The funds will cover operational costs, keep the lights on, and allow the staff to continue offering the strict structure and daily accountability that veterans say saved their lives.
The house runs on a simple rule: stay clean, follow the program, and you can stay as long as you need. Some men stay six months. Some stay six years. A few, like Ryan, never really leave; they just change roles.
Veterans and the Opioid Crisis in Indiana
The numbers remain brutal.
Indiana saw 2,146 overdose deaths in 2023, according to the Indiana Department of Health, with opioids involved in nearly 80 percent of them.
Veterans die by overdose at twice the rate of the general population, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reports.
In Allen County alone, 139 people died of overdose in 2023.
That is why city leaders say the opioid settlement money, expected to total more than $50 million for Fort Wayne through 2038, is being directed straight to the organizations on the front lines.
A Growing Network of Recovery
The other eleven recipients in this round include well-known names like the Rescue Mission, Park Center, and Amani Family Services, plus smaller faith-based and peer-led groups.
Together they treated thousands of Fort Wayne residents last year.
Mayor Tucker called the grants “an investment in people who have already been written off by too many.”
She added: “These organizations prove every day that recovery is possible, and we are going to keep funding them until the crisis is behind us.”
More Than a Check: Hope You Can Touch
Back at The Shepherd’s House, the impact is measured in quieter ways.
A new resident who finally slept through the night without using.
A veteran who called his kids for the first time in years.
A graduate who moved out, got a job, and now volunteers on his day off.
Van Ryan sees it all.
He still attends recovery meetings every single day. He still tells anyone who will listen the same thing he needed to hear when he had nothing left.
“The dumbest question is the one you don’t ask,” he said. “Ask for help. Somebody here will answer.”
The opioid settlement funds will keep flowing into Fort Wayne for the next fourteen years.
For the men at The Shepherd’s House, and for the veterans still fighting on the streets tonight, that money just became the difference between giving up and getting up one more morning.
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, help is available right now. Call the Shepherd’s House at (260) 387-6192 or the national veteran crisis line at 988 (press 1).
Tell us in the comments: have you seen recovery change a life in your family or neighborhood? Share your story. We’re listening.
