GI Java offers side order of caring

Linda Jacquot and her husband David, both Army veterans, plan to open G.I. Java and Veterans Center in Coeur d’Alene’s Midtown neighborhood. (Kathy Plonka/SR photo)

A free cup of coffee can be a first step toward sharing and understanding. And getting much-needed help.

Linda Jacquot hopes that’s how it will work. She and her husband, both retired from the Army, have spent this year preparing to open a coffee shop in Coeur d’Alene with a unique mission.

G.I. Java will double as a place for military veterans to get together and talk about their struggles with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or other war-related trauma, substance abuse and other issues.

“What this is all about it helping those vets who have fallen through the cracks with PTSD. There’s not enough services,” Jacquot said. “A lot of these homeless guys that are wandering around out there, and even some homeless females, are vets. There’s nothing in place for these guys. It’s a national shame.”

The vet center and volunteer-run coffee house will operate under a nonprofit group, the Veterans Relief Fund, in a rented storefront next to Ace Hardware in the Midtown neighborhood/ Scott Maben , SR. More here.