"If we can make one person happy, we did our job."

After spending 22 years in the US Marine Corps, Gunny struggled to transition back into civilian life. The things he had seen and experienced haunted him. He married and had children, but still couldn’t fix the internal turmoil he felt. He says, “I had to go away for a while, that way I didn’t go crazy.”

Gunny found himself homeless for about 9 years. He kept a steady job the whole time, but didn’t want to be around anyone. He kept to himself and realized he needed help. Gunny had been self-medicating with alcohol, but he knew he had to stop. He says that if he kept drinking, he would not be alive today.

Thanks to people like you, Gunny found his way into a program at VOA and began opening himself up to new possibilities. He joined a community of like-minded people who could relate to his struggles.

He was able to work through the moral injury* he felt and heal from his traumas. Today, Gunny is proud to have 18 years of sobriety.

Gunny also recently celebrated 10 years as a full-time employee of VOA. His favorite part of his job is being able to go out and meet people who are going through similar struggles that he went through. He is able to talk to clients and let them know that there is hope for them. He says, “I’m blessed, I really am. It’s where God meant for me to be.”

Thank you for making his journey possible.

*to learn more about moral injury, click here.