Former homeless veteran’s success story proof a post can Be the One

The American Legion’s Be the One veteran suicide prevention program is aimed at getting individuals to ask how a veteran is doing, as well as encouraging veterans in crisis to feel OK asking for help.

But at Neal Thomas Jr.-Centennial Post 209 in Colorado Springs, Colo., the proof of concept is that Be the One can also a team effort. And that proof is found in the 10-year success story of U.S. Navy veteran John Andrews, who was helped long before Be the One came into existence but remains a textbook case for how it can work.

In 2014, Andrews had recently gotten off his heroin addiction but was still without a job and felt he was at-risk of falling back into his old habits.

But meeting a group of Chapter 209 American Legion Riders changed Andrews’ life. He found employment, has stayed clean, enrolled in college and has become an active member of Post 209.

“John has repeatedly told us the Post 209 family literally saved his life,” said Past Department of Colorado Commander Jay Bowen, who shared Andrews’ story. “There were times when he first left the streets that he considered ending his life. But the Post 209 family would call to check on him and that call gave him reassurance his life meant something.”

Andrews speaks with complete candor when he talks about Post 209’s influence in turning his life around. “I was able to make some serious headway and get out of the darkness that I was in,” he said. “The time was right. It was that beautiful intersection where grace and truth meet. And out of that, there’s a lot of success and a lot of healing.”

Andrews had been addicted to heroin and was homeless when he decided to try to change his life. “I’d been struggling in a dark place with substance abuse pretty seriously,” he said. “Addicted to heroin and was using it in a very, very bad way, and had been for about 10 or 11 years. I’d been on the street.”

Andrews reached out to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs when he decided he wanted to kick his addiction in 2012; he was subsequently placed on a waiting list for a VA Supportive Housing (VASH) voucher.

He spent a year living in his truck trying to avoid falling back into using heroin. He did get approved for a VASH voucher and stayed clean for around two years. He also was assigned a VA counselor, who suggested he attend a Post 209-supported homeless veterans stand down, telling him the benefits of not only the physical items, such as clothing and dishes, but also, “the connection to resources in the community,” Andrews said.

Andrews attended the 2014 stand down, where he connected with Andy Gilbert, a member of Post 209 and its Legion Riders chapter founder and director.

“At the end of that day, I think Andy saw something, that I was serious about changing my life,” Andrews said. “That I was kind of hanging in the air there, and that a strong breeze would knock me back over.

“I’m going to be struggling with addiction the rest of my life. I’m an addict, and I always will be. I know that when I stick another needle in my arm … that will be the last time. So, this was serious business, and I think Andy saw that I was ready.”

Gilbert owned a few properties and offered Andrews a job, which he did for around 18 months. During that period, Gilbert invited Andrews to come to Post 209. The visit made an impression.

“I was just so overwhelmed,” Andrews said. “All the love there. All the people that were so supportive and just accepting. That’s what I needed, and I was able to recognize that. That was the beginning.

“One thing led to another, and one thing led to another. And just like when you stack bad decisions end on end, they have a consequence that grows and grows, I found that stacking good decisions end on end also grows. And that’s exactly what happened.”

With Post 209’s help, Andrews found a place to live through its Transitional Housing Initiative. Andrews also was introduced to an American Legion veterans service officer, who was able to get a couple of VA claims approved.

He also earned his Commercial Driver’s License and got a job as a CDL instructor at a truck driving school. He also was approved for VA assistance to pursue post-secondary education and is 75 percent of his way toward a history degree.

Andrews serves as Post 209’s Outdoor Facility Manager, which is paid a stipend and includes general repairs and maintenance around the grounds, mowing the lawn, snow removal from the parking lot and walkway, and taking care of the trees and shrubbery around the post. But whatever wages he earns he donates back to a post program.

That led to Post 209 recently awarding Andrews with a Paid-Up-For-Life membership. “It was a blow. It was a tremendous blow,” he said. “It almost brought me to tears. It meant that I was surrounded by people who every day man the walls on the ramparts of freedom and redemption, and that it’s unconditional. It meant to me that these people have my back and this love is real.”

Andrews praises the entire Post 209 Legion Family for embracing him but singled out Gilbert, who he calls, “a stalwart man. A hero. He’s phenomenal. And he continues his mission, which is to put his arm around every veteran he finds.”

Bowen, a member of Post 209 who now serves as National Veterans Employment & Education Commission, believes that Andrews’ success story epitomizes the success that Be the One can, whether it be an individual or an entire post attempting to be the one.  

“Be The One has become a program of The American Legion. It is a mantra repeated by many at all levels,” Bowen said. “We are told that we, too, can Be The One. This is also true not just as individuals, it also can and should be the call for all posts and Legion families.

“We need to continue working individually to Be The One, but we should also work together as a post family to be part of the solution and Be The One. Together, we can change lives, and save lives.”

Andrews agrees. “This how you do it: save one brother at a time, one veteran at a time,” he said. “I’m just doing what I was shown. I’m just doing what these wonderful people down there do every day. I’m just following the model.

“It is a success story of The American Legion and the camaraderie The American Legion has for its veterans. I was the recipient of that.”