Struggles & Success

The struggles and successes of a Veteran are dynamic, diverse, never the same, and there is always a personal story to be told so that organizations can better understand the journey and find ways to improve interacting with this unique population.  Each Veteran has a past which led them into the military, the tales of the time they served, and reasons they departed. For most, this is just the beginning of a journey in which new challenges are faced after reintegrating back into society. Many struggle with mental health issues, some struggle with addictions, but overall the choice lies with the Veteran regarding the moment his or her personal commitment to succeed is employed. Along with the Veteran’s commitment to evolve, organizations are responsible in developing community relationships and evolving in order to introduce the Veteran to services and programs that support the Veteran for potential transformation and success.

Peter Potaczek is a US Army Veteran who joined after his father shot his mother three times and then committed suicide when he was 17 years old. This event left him without a clear future in Wisconsin, therefore the Veteran moved in with his sister on the east coast. Shortly after meeting up with his sister, he chose to go into the Army as a cannon crew member, artillery specialist, and spent four years on active duty in Alaska. Unfortunately, the active duty service member became involved with drugs and received an Other than Honorable discharge and was sent back into the world.

The Veteran spoke about the challenges he faced with the searing memory of his father killing his mother and then committing suicide. This struggle has led him down a path of drug use as self-medication to cover up and numb emotional trauma. In addition, he committed many criminal, felony burglary offences to support his habit. Every time he was released from prison, he had another brush with the law regarding possession or burglary offenses related to supply his addiction.  His family disowned him due to his numerous incarceration stints, and the Veteran found himself alone and homeless many times. The Veteran faced years of struggles in “the system”, as he calls it, including continual bouts with the justice system leading to revocations and parole violations creating more time served.

Now, at this time, Pete is 56 years old and has spent most of his adult life behind bars because of a Vicodin and Oxycodone addiction and need to self-medicate. A couple of years ago, Pete dedicated his life to sobriety and decided to work on personal competency. The Veteran stated there was no particular reason he made this change, except the words “Survival and Success”. He began working at a factory making $23.00 per hour; he got his first apartment, a Chevy Trailblazer, and was promoted twice within 9 months at his new job. Then, one Thanksgiving day, he invited a sketchy character from the family over to his hotel for the holiday dinner.  His visitor decided to polish off a fifth of vodka under the table without his knowledge.  He stated the individual became unquestionably intoxicated within moments of his understanding, slipped and busted his head open on the coffee table. The ambulance came, and policed arrested Pete because of the event. Because he was a felon, the Veteran’s parole officer required him to be detained while there was an investigation of the incident.  He lost his job at the factory as a result of spending a week in jail.

For the following months after the investigation, the Veteran starting losing hope because of his criminal record and the complications of finding work.  Pete had fought hard to get an apartment, car, and fulltime job after his last stint in jail and was about to lose it all again. Pete was sitting at home drowning in his frustration of being unemployed, and he received a call from Garske’s Veteran Services asking if he needed help finding employment. This call was completed by an Employment Specialist using a referral list reaching out to potential homeless Veterans. The Veteran stated, “I have been praying to God for His help in order for me to come out of this situation. I really feel this call is an answer to prayer”. Within a couple weeks of working with the Employment Specialist, the Veteran had a new resume built, substantial motivation, and renewed vigor for employment potential. By the help of the employment specialist, numerous encouraging conversations, within a couple of months the Veteran had a part-time job and was going to school fulltime to get a CDL license.

As far as the CDL license, the employment specialist used the contacts he had made while visiting WIOA on an outreach to get the Veteran enrolled in a CDL class.  WIOA ultimately paid for his two month Truck Driving School and over $2500.00 of repairs on his Chevy Trailblazer. This additional help with the Veteran’s vehicle assisted in delivering pizzas for Pizza Hut while he went to school.  The ES also worked with the Veteran by providing contacts at SSVF for housing, DVOP located in his county for additional Veteran assistance, and the local job center in Wausau, Wisconsin for application assistance.

In fact, just recently, the Veteran stated he completed 160 hours of truck driving training while working at Pizza Hut to pay his bills. He is currently working toward multiple hauling certifications on his own to increase employability as a truck driving candidate. The Veteran states he has been able to maintain his apartment, his three cats, and vehicle through this unemployment struggle. Although he has worked at Pizza Hut part-time, his commitment to achievement and assistance from organizations like Garske’s Veteran Services and WIOA is moving him toward a career path.

Pete has clearly shown through his actions, which is a strong testament to others, he is committed to battle against homelessness.  In addition, his choice to sobriety was a strong step in moving towards his recent achievements. Also contributing, a peer understanding of addictive struggles provided synergy to the Veteran’s pledge to sobriety. The Veteran’s demonstration to continue on the path of sobriety and strength to pursue success, not giving up, has been steadfast and contributes to his movement forward.

In conclusion, with the help of organizations like VRSI and WIOA, Veterans struggling with years of destructive and disparaging patterns can be brought out of entrenched homelessness shown in this Veteran’s success story. Once an individual in this population chooses survival and success, makes a commitment, and reaches out for help, organizations must be prepared in community relations and networks to assist the Veteran as he or she climbs out of homelessness. This can only be provided by meeting the individual where he is at. One story of a Veteran’s success should be a call to action to continue to build and construct an atmosphere that is inviting success and be prepared to meet this challenge with a strong network of organizations to accomplish this task.

*Pete Potaczek