Be the Story

Suffering mental health illness while homeless. While it is cliché to say, ‘that this too shall pass,’ it really will pass.

Suffering Mental Health While Homeless

Timothy Pena

September 11, 2023

In 1980, while serving with the Navy Seabees and attached to an amphibious assault ship USS San Bernadino (LST-1189) in the Persian Gulf during the Iranian Hostage Crisis, Marine Pfc. Bradley Johnson received a bad letter from home, obtained an M-16 from the armory sentry, and committed suicide if front of us. While the suicide was bad enough, the helicopter blew Johnson’s brain matter and blood all over the deck and gear providing a stark reminder for the rest of the WESTPAC.

Following years of struggling with PTSD, mental illness, and suicide ideation, a total mental health breakdown after an arrest for DUI and marijuana possession in October 2014 was the turning point but it wasn’t until 2015 that I got into treatment at the Phoenix VA Hospital. In 2016 I filed a claim for VA Disability, and in 2017 was awarded a 70% VA Disability rating for PTSD. After years of DUI’s resulting in years of jailtime and prison, the diagnosis provided me with some answers to what I was suffering and that the struggles I encountered over the past 35 years were real. The diagnosis also provided a path to mental health success and as a result, provided me an avenue of healing and treatment still to this day at the Manhattan VA Hospital.

A part of that path for me was walking away from Phoenix and recreating myself in New York City in July 2022. It wasn’t enough to simply change locations, it was about reinventing myself. Within five days of arriving to NYC, I was placed at the Borden Ave. Veterans’ Residence in Long Island City on Queens with another 250 veterans from all branches of the military, all types of discharges, and all levels of mental illness.

As a member of the Military Veterans in Journalism, it was a series of articles I wrote called, ‘Be the Story’ about my experiences during the five months I resided at Borden Ave and the abhorrent living conditions there. Those articles and my testimony in front of the New York State Assembly on Department of Veterans Affairs precipitated being placed in my own apartment in Chelsea. In addition, I was invited to join the NYC Veterans Task Force which has provided me with an insight into how the lack of access to resources and wellness increases the likelihood of drug/alcohol abuse and other risky behaviors including veteran suicide.

For the transitioning veteran new to NYC, consider that the process for obtaining sustainable housing through the NYC HUD/VASH program is one of the longest in the country so plan your mental health accordingly. It is imperative for the veteran to realize the challenges ahead and that mental health most likely be taxed during the process. It’s also okay to acknowledge these breaks for what they are. And while it is cliché to say, ‘that this too shall pass,’ it really will pass. Move through the process deliberately and purposely while understanding that these incidents can happen and to keep your eye on the prize of sustainable housing.