LYNDORA — Working with animals has provided one veteran with a way to reconnect with people.

Steven Cram, 28, a New Hampshire native now living in Lyndora, served as an Army heavy vehicle operator in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010.

Cram said after he suffered brain trauma in an IED explosion he was discharged from the military at the end of 2012.

An alcohol addiction and mental health issues relating to post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury rendered him homeless for nearly 18 months.

After a run-in with the law early in 2016, Cram lived at the Domiciliary, a 56-bed residential facility on VA Healthcare's main Butler campus for veterans who are dealing with addiction, as well as other issues such as homelessness, mental health and unemployment.

Cram said he has now moved into his own house and is working at both helping the homeless through clothing and food drives and trying to get more veterans in the Domiciliary to volunteer at the Butler County Humane Society's animal shelter at 1015 Evans City Road in Renfrew.

Cram started working at the animal shelter in August as part of a court-ordered 50 hours of community service stemming from Cram's breaking into a cabin in March 2016.

“We broke into an empty cabin looking to get warm,” said Cram who was homeless at the time. “Someone saw us and called the cops on us.”

Cram said he did more than his 50 hours at the shelter.

He said the animals at the shelter helped him greatly from a therapeutic standpoint.

Cram said, “A lot of veterans, we cannot connect with people when we get back from Iraq or Afghanistan or other war zones. We have PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) or anxiety or depression.”

“We come back feeling nobody understands us,” he said.

“But dogs are happy to see you. They don't judge you. They don't ask what you did over there,” Cram said.

“Working with animals is an avenue that goes to peace of mind,” Cram said. “You can start to get close to something again.”

In fact, Cram credits his emotional support animal, Winter, a Husky he got from a Greensburg Husky rescuer for “helping me stay connected.”

“He's a big dog that requires a lot of attention and exercise. I can't sit in the house and be depressed,” he said.

Cram believes so strongly in the benefits of being around animals, he is arranging to have other veterans in the Domiciliary work at the shelter.

Miranda Steiner, a kennel worker at the Humane Society shelter, said “Steve has been the in-between guy on everything in getting veterans here at the shelter.”

Speaking of veterans from the VA, Steiner said, “I wouldn't say we get a lot of them, but we get a few every couple of weeks. They work with the animals, socialize with the cats, walk the dogs, and get away from the VA.”

And with 25 dogs and 60 cats available for adoption, Steiner said the shelter needs all the workers it can get.

“The veterans need help but the animals need just as much help,” she said.

Steiner said the Humane Society is working to set up a formal arrangement with VA Healthcare to bring in veteran volunteers but nothing has been settled as yet.

Steiner said anyone wanting to volunteer at the shelter can fill out an application online at butlercountyhs.org or call 724-789-1150.