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You Helped Eric Overcome His Depression and Get Back on His Feet
The suicide rate
The Army veteran regained his life after struggling with the sudden death of a loved one.
for veterans is 1.5 times higher than that of the general population.
U.S. Army veteran Eric has always taken care of others. First, he served on the 38th parallel on the border of North and South Korea
to defend our freedom. The military taught Eric to be selfless, so when he returned home to New Orleans, he spent all his time at the side of his dying mother. When she passed away, he had three younger sisters and two younger brothers who needed wisdom and guidance now that
their mother was gone. He didn’t have time to grieve. The caretaking didn’t stop. He provided roundthe-clock care to the parents of the love of his life, Lisa. When they passed away, all Eric had left was Lisa, but her sudden death pushed him over the edge. “She was my world,” Eric says. “My soulmate. I was broken. I felt like I had no reason to live. I needed help.” Eric slid into a deep depression, and that’s when Volunteers of America stepped in. He stayed at the Oscar J. Tolmas Veterans Pavilion on Napoleon Avenue, where he got the help he needed. Eric worked to overcome his depression and helped maintain the facility. He had a purpose again. The VA provides all veterans 24 months of transitional housing as part of their benefits, which meant that Eric could truly work on what he needed to get better. And now, Eric’s story has a happy ending as he recently moved into his own apartment. He’s smiling again. Thanks to your support, veterans like Eric will have a place to call home when they have nowhere else to turn.
The VA provides all veterans 24 months of transitional housing as part of their benefits, which meant that Eric could truly work on what he needed to get better.