At nearly 60-years old, James Obermesik has lived through more than most. He served four years in the Air Force, endured dozens of surgeries and weathered the pain of a fractured family.\u00a0For a time, his spirit broke under the weight of it all. But today, he\u2019s still standing, still fighting and slowly learning how to live again, discovering, perhaps for the first time, that he deserves to.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because, since his teenage years, smoking and drinking was his vice of choice, and they had taken a toll.<\/p>\n
Substances crept more into his hands as Obermesik returned from service with an honorable discharge and an injured back. He spiraled into drugs, into deeper depression, into survival mode.<\/p>\n
Despite his longing for a clean way forward, he spiraled into darkness after service, constantly chasing the next high.<\/p>\n
Today, Obermesik is clear-eyed and candid, sitting in the safety of the VA Medical Center. \u201cIf it weren\u2019t for this place,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019d be dead. No question.\u201d<\/p>\n
From 1995 to 2023, Obermesik was misdiagnosed, mis prescribed and misunderstood. It was not until 2024 that he received a proper mental health diagnosis: bipolar disorder.<\/p>\n
With the right treatment, everything changed. \u201cIt was like a miracle,\u201d he said. \u201cSuddenly, the impulses weren\u2019t winning anymore. For the first time in decades, I had control.\u201d<\/p>\n
Obermesik had cycled through shelters, psychiatric hospitals and temporary programs for years. But nothing stuck, not until a social worker at Fort Pierce VA Clinic asked a simple question: \u201cAre you a Veteran?\u201d<\/p>\n
That moment triggered a chain of events that led Obermesik to the West Palm Beach VA and to the Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans program.\u00a0<\/p>\n