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| "I can now
review the past without fear of the future and tomorrow start a new
beginning." - A Homes for the Brave
Resident | |
Men come to Homes for the Brave for many reasons.
All of our residents struggle with mental illness and/or histories of substance abuse.
While they live at Homes for the Brave, usually for 6 months to 2 years, residents
work to find employment, pursue additional job training and educational goals, develop daily
life skills, and learn coping skills that help minimize symptoms of mental illness and
remain clean and sober.
Homes for the Brave residents help each other through difficult times in their lives.
They form bonds of friendship that are often long-lasting and provide support as they
move forward in their journeys of recovery. Residents attend sporting events, movies, and
concerts together and organize outings to the beach and barbeques. One of the missions of
Homes for the Brave is to enable residents to enhance their quality of life through
supportive relationships and positive recreational activities.
| "The good
relationships that I have with other residents at Homes for the Brave has been very
important to me. The camaraderie with other residents has made this environment
very supportive." - A Homes for the Brave
Resident | |
 was
raised in a single parent household in
New Haven, CT and enlisted in the Army when he was eighteen years old. He served in
the US Army from 1975 to 1978, when he received an honorable discharge. After leaving
the army, RD struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction for many years and was
incarcerated for a total of thirteen years.
In 2004, RD found himself unemployed and sleeping in his car. He called the VA and
asked for help with his substance abuse problem and completed a 21 day substance abuse
treatment program at the Errera Community Care Center at the VA Hospital in West Haven.
After completing the program, RD lived in several emergency shelters. He left a
shelter to enter the transitional housing program at Homes for the Brave in July of
2004. When RD came to Homes for the Brave, his only source of income was from a small
Social Security Disability pension. Soon, however, RD reentered the workforce and
began to work part-time in construction. He then began to work full-time and gave up
his disability pension. RD began to work for Homes for the Brave in maintenance, and
because of his excellent work ethic and responsibility soon accepted a full-time
position as a House Manager. In this position, he was able to help other residents
and to share his experiences with them as they worked to recover from substance abuse
and mental illness.
RD moved into permanent supportive housing at Waldorf House after being at Homes
for the Brave for about a year. While living there, RD demonstrated his ability to
responsibly pay his rent, maintain his apartment, and to remain free of drugs and
alcohol. He was able to maintain close ties with Homes for the Brave through his job
and by participating in house activities. RD frequently donated his time to come and
take the residents at Homes for the Brave to weekend activities and to cook meals for
them. He demonstrated an excellent ability to budget his money and saved enough to
purchase a more reliable car.
After being at Waldorf for a year and a half, RD moved to his own apartment. His
record of sobriety, steady employment, and responsibility with his rent payments at
Waldorf helped overcome the obstacles he faced in obtaining housing due to his criminal
record. RD remains clean & sober today, and has maintained a steady job that he
enjoys and where he can make a difference in the lives of other men who are facing
what he has been through. Inspired by his love for his work and by his own experiences,
RD is preparing to go back to school to study Human Services.
 is a 55-year-old veteran who
was admitted to Homes for the Brave with a history of alcohol and cocaine use and
after being diagnosed as experiencing post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He was
treated at the West Haven, CT, VA Medical Center and remained in treatment until he
was admitted to Homes for the Brave. Upon admission, JM was characterized as being
depressed, withdrawn and reserved. Those symptoms began to improve shortly after he
was admitted. He attended all of his scheduled meetings with his case manager and
vocational specialist, and participated in creating a plan for his treatment. In
addition, he continued his treatment program at the VA medical center and attended
Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in the community. After
six months, JM was offered a part-time position at Homes for the Brave as a house
manager. His success in that position eventually led to his full-time employment as a
resident manager, and he was able to move into his own apartment. He is now employed
full-time as a counselor for other veterans at the VA Errera Community Care Center. His
progress serves an inspiration for other residents who are admitted into Homes for
the Brave.
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