Coffee and company help these veterans confront trauma, keep loneliness at bay

Three days every week, the veterans of Hancock Manor gather for coffee around a table in the house’s main space, which used to be the building’s gymnasium when it was still the YMCA.

It’s a makeshift arrangement; there’s usually a coffee carafe or pot, mismatched paper cups, and sweetener packets — whatever they can find. At the center of the table is an empty coffee can, where the vets drop dollars or change to buy more supplies.