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For almost 20 years, Rob Slaughter, a Marine Veteran, lived homeless and addicted on the streets of Los Angeles. His story highlights the harsh reality of veteran homelessness and addiction, but also the hope that rehab and treatment programs can bring.
After being discharged from the military after less than four months and losing both of his parents, Slaughter had no home, no family, and no future. Then he found help–and a reason to live.
Hitting Rock Bottom
Slaughter’s addiction led him to the Skid Row district of LA and he found himself contemplating suicide. “People wanted me dead. I wanted me dead. I needed another reason to live,” he said.
Slaughter was a construction worker and carpenter for 15 years after leaving military service, despite his addiction. He said that in 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.”
Things started to shift for Slaughter, and he had a “God moment,” he said. That eventually landed him at New Directions, where the structured program was what he needed to get his life on track.
Slaughter enrolled in the New Directions for Veterans at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center campus. The specialized program offers transitional housing and addiction recovery. Slaughter rebuilt his life while earning his sobriety, and now he’s a successful tradesman and a leader on the historic campus.
Helping Veterans Heal
Slaughter says he feels honored and privileged to live on the property where he and other Veterans can find hope and a future. Slaughter and his colleagues work hard to ensure that the campus remains a healing and safe sober living space for everyone who lives there. “We have to maintain our honor, and I have to fight for that,” he said.
He said enrolling in treatment at New Directions marked the first time in his adult life that he knew himself sober and was able to ask himself, “What do I really like? What are my real interests? I found I did like me.”
Slaughter was able to secure an apartment on the West LA VA campus through the help of the Department of Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program (HUD-VASH).
At that point, he had to make some choices about his career. He could work as a tradesman painting new houses for other Veterans on the campus, or he could work as a security guard at a nightclub. He understood that working in the nightclub could lead him to make some poor choices. He took the painting job instead. He thought taking that job was a chance, but it ended up blessing him.
Slaughter wants other Veterans at the end of their rope to understand that they can overcome addiction and other issues like he did, saying, “To the guy that is desperate, done, tired, sick, crazy, crying to himself – it can stop. Call upon God to show you the way and start trusting.”
As the West LA campus evolves, Slaughter is planning to remain as a leader and continue showing other Veterans their possibilities.
He wants other Veterans to know there is a path to recovery and healing, but you have to be willing to trust. “Don’t do it your way for once,” he says, “Do it someone else’s way. Give yourself a chance.”
If you’re a service member or part of a military family and you’re struggling with alcohol or drug dependency, help is available.
You can find addiction recovery programs tailored to the unique needs of military personnel and their families on Rehabs.org.
Find a treatment center today or call
800-914-7089
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