About Hero’s Corner Grand Rapids

Hero's Corner is dedicated to bringing our community "A place where Veterans feel at home" We serve our hero's by joining together to create a sober drop in stress-free help zone on a weekly basis. Promoting inclusion, diversity, continued support and social fellowship amongst veterans from all branches and their families.

 Reggie Howard
Founder, Hero’s Corner Grand Rapids
U.S. Navy Veteran (1980–1991)

I served in the U.S. Navy from 1980 to 1991. After returning to civilian life, I struggled with alcohol, drug use, and mental health challenges. In 2007, I was admitted to the Battle Creek VA Medical Center, and that’s where my life began to change. Through support and recovery, I found hope — and a new purpose.

In 2008, I became a Certified Peer Support Specialist and started working with other veterans who were going through the same struggles I had faced. I saw how many of us felt alone, without a safe, sober place to go for support, healing, and connection. I heard their pain, and I felt it — because I had lived it.

That’s why I started Hero’s Corner in 2022: a place where veterans can come as they are, find community, and work on their recovery in a clean and sober environment. I built Hero’s Corner to make sure no veteran ever feels like they have to go through it alone.

Joan Wallace  

Director of SHero’s Corner Grand Rapids

US Army

1988-1999

I’m Joan Wallace, a 100% disabled African American female combat veteran, and the Director of SHero’s Corner Grand Rapids. My journey has been shaped by courage, survival, and an unwavering sense of purpose.

I served proudly in the U.S. Army for 11 years, deploying to Desert Storm and Bosnia. My career in logistics demanded resilience, especially as I balanced military service with being a mother. But when I left the military, I found myself carrying invisible wounds—mental health struggles that I kept buried while trying to navigate a civilian world that didn’t fully see or understand me.

Eventually, those unspoken battles caught up with me. I hit a low point—homeless, unsupported, and without a space where I could just be. But in that season of brokenness, I found clarity. I realized I wasn’t alone, and more importantly, I wasn’t meant to just survive—I was meant to rise and help others do the same.

That’s why I created SHero’s Corner Grand Rapids. It’s the space I wish I had when I needed it most—a safe, sober, inclusive haven designed specifically for women veterans. SHero’s Corner is more than a drop-in center; it’s a one-stop hub for wraparound support: mental health services, peer connections, job readiness, and most of all, community.

This mission is personal to me. I know what it feels like to be overlooked and unheard. That’s why I’m committed to building spaces for us, by us—places where women warriors can heal, grow, and thrive together. Through SHero’s Corner, I’ve turned my pain into purpose—and created a home where no SHero has to walk alone.