{"id":575058,"date":"2025-08-07T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=575058"},"modified":"2025-08-07T15:31:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T15:31:08","slug":"give-yourself-a-chance-veteran-overcomes-addiction-and-homelessness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=575058","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Give yourself a chance\u2019: Veteran overcomes addiction and homelessness"},"content":{"rendered":"

For nearly two decades, Marine Corps Veteran Rob Slaughter lived in the shadows on the streets of LA. After losing both parents and being discharged from military service after less than four months, he found himself without a family, home or future.<\/p>\n

Eventually, addiction and homelessness led him to Skid Row, where suicide started to seem like the only way out. \u201cPeople wanted me dead. I wanted me dead. I needed another reason to live,\u201d he shared.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Slaughter found a different path, one that would lead to a life he now sees as \u201ca miracle.\u201d<\/p>\n

After enrolling in the\u00a0New Directions for Veterans<\/a>\u00a0transitional housing and recovery program on the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center<\/a> campus, Slaughter earned his sobriety and rebuilt his life from the ground up. Now he\u2019s a resident, leader and successful tradesman on the historic campus.<\/p>\n

For Slaughter, living on the property is an honor and a privilege, and it\u2019s up to him and other Veterans to maintain a safe, healing space for all who reside there. \u201cWe have to maintain our honor,\u201d he said. \u201cI have to fight for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018A God moment\u2019<\/h2>\n
\n
<\/a>
Marine Corps Veteran Rob Slaughter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

For 15 years after leaving the service, Slaughter earned his living as a carpenter and construction worker, even while being addicted. \u201cIn 2018, I was at my lowest point and had nowhere to go. I was living in a van with my cat and my tools, still making a living,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

That was when things started to shift for him. \u201cI had a God moment,\u201d he said. The path eventually led him to New Directions. The program\u2019s structure was exactly what he needed to get his life back on track.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFor once in my adult life I was getting to know myself sober,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat do I really like? What are my real interests? I found I did like me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making the right choices<\/h2>\n

Through the Department of Housing and Urban Development\u2013Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program<\/a>, Slaughter secured his own apartment on the West LA VA campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Soon, Slaughter was faced with a career choice: work security at a nightclub or as a tradesman painting new housing for Veterans on campus. He went with the painting job, knowing that a nightclub environment could lead him astray. \u201cI took a chance, and it blessed me,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the founder of the peer-led Veteran Council in his building, Slaughter is helping to create a standard of safety and behavior for Veteran residents as the campus population continues to grow. \u201cI\u2019ve graduated to this level that I can take on this responsibility to do something for other people,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018It can stop\u2019<\/h2>\n

For other Veterans who are at the end of their rope, Slaughter brings the message that they can overcome just as he did. \u201cTo the guy that is desperate, done, tired, sick, crazy, crying to himself\u2014it can stop,\u201d he said. \u201cCall upon God to show you the way and start trusting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slaughter plans to continue to show other Veterans what\u2019s possible and remain a leader as the West LA campus evolves.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, he wants other Veterans to know that there is a path to healing and recovery if they\u2019re willing to trust. \u201cDon\u2019t do it your way for once, do it someone else\u2019s way,\u201d he said. \u201cGive yourself a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For nearly two decades, Marine Corps Veteran Rob Slaughter lived in the shadows on the streets of LA. After losing both parents and being discharged from military service after less than four months, he found himself without a family, home or future. Eventually, addiction and homelessness led him to Skid Row, where suicide started to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":575060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,601,147],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-575058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-homelessness","category-rehabilitation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=575058"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":575064,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575058\/revisions\/575064"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/575060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=575058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=575058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=575058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}