Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Multiple people in my family clean my father, are veterans.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Troops that have been to war and now they're back.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
And think and be grateful for their.
Speaker 4 (00:13):
Service, sacrifice, love for their country, just unselfishness, all that
they do for us.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
There are some people in this country who take extraordinary
steps to provide for the freedom and security.
Speaker 5 (00:25):
We forget that those people exist.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
We know them as the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines,
and Coast Guard. They call themselves soldiers, seals, rangers, airmen, sailors, devil.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Dogs, and so much more.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
We call them fathers, brothers, sons and husbands, mothers, daughters,
sisters and wives. We call them friend and neighbor. These
veterans answered the call. Now we answer theirs and today
are the best our country has to offer. And we
(01:03):
love them. Today, we honor them, and we serve this.
David Malsby is your host, and he welcomes you to
this community of veterans. As together we are building the
road to hope, and.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Indeed we are glad to have you along.
Speaker 5 (01:25):
On a Sunday afternoon, those of you listening through the
kPr C the nine to five oh on the AM
dialand Houston, Texas, thank you for joining us. Those of
you who listen through the Magic Podcast, thank you so
much for doing so.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Wherever you get your podcast, just look for Road to
Hope Radio.
Speaker 5 (01:40):
We truly do appreciate it when you hit that'll subscribe button,
and especially when you share it with your friends, enemies, neighbors,
former neighbors, whoever. Thank you for sharing it. We appreciate
everyone you meet could use a little bit of hope today.
So thank you so very very much. Great big thank
you to our sponsors allow us the opportunity to spend
a little time with you each and every week. A
(02:02):
Corey Diamond and Design a c O ri I billion
Connie Stagner two A one four A two forty seven
fifty five had the privilege to spend a little time
within this past week A cory a c ri I
Corey Diamond and Design one. It's time to get that
something special for someone special in your life. Do business
with people that share your values, people that you can trust.
(02:24):
That's Billy and Connie Stagner A Corey Diamond and Design.
And because well, we all have those moments. Oops Steam
dot Com two A one A two two zero five
six one Oops Steam dot Com They do more than
just you know the floors they there. There's so much
that they do, the air ducts in your house, the carpet,
(02:47):
the tile, the wood, floors, all of it. Oops Steam
dot Com. And then when you're ready to buy your
little piece of Texas, Republic Grand Ranch dot Com. Republic
Grand Ranch dot Com. Awesome people, longtime supporters through Texas
Grand Ranch and Republic Grand Ranch. They've been great supporters
of all things Camp Hope. Truly wonderful people. So when
(03:10):
you're ready to build that dream home, you want to
have it in a right spot. That's Republic Grand Ranch
dot Com. All right, we've got a couple of combat
vet's with us here today, one on staff, one that's
in our program at Camp Hope. Want to introduce yourself
(03:30):
to the world again. It's been a minute.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Hello everybody. Linnburgh Freeman, Yellow Face Mentor PTSD Foundation of
America at Camp Hope.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
And where are you from?
Speaker 5 (03:42):
Originally born and raised in New York, New York. We've
got a couple of New York guys here with us today, Branch.
And where you're deployed.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Army deployed to Iraq two thousand eleven, Operation New don okay,
your turn.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
Hey, my name is Mike Faglice. I'm also from New York, Buffalo,
New York. Though I was in the Army. I was
a combat engineer. I served in Afghanistan. Did one tour
over there.
Speaker 5 (04:15):
Okay, and when was that?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
I believe it.
Speaker 6 (04:17):
Was six to nine. I did seventeen.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Months long deployment.
Speaker 5 (04:22):
It was a long deployment. Yeah, gotcha. All right, So
you're from Buffalo. You a Bills fan?
Speaker 4 (04:29):
Not really not, you know, I used to follow when
I was a kid, when I lived there, but it's
too many letdowns. So yeah, all the Buffalonians back home
would probably want to wring my neck. But for saying that.
But I mean, you know, I didn't follow sports too
much growing up. Okay, so I didn't even into my adulthood,
I didn't follow sports too much. I I focused on
(04:52):
other things.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
What were you into as a kid, getting.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
In trouble, running the streets with my friends, riding bikes,
doing what kids do, right, you know, just running through
the neighborhood, yelling at girls, throwing rocks at cars, being
boys playing baseball. Never watched it, but I played a
little bit of baseball of it. Yeah, just with your friends.
Speaker 5 (05:14):
Nothing crazy, okay, yeah, all right, plenburg you a baseball player.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Oh yeah, that was the typical thing in growing up
in New York, you know, playing all sports, any and
every sport that we can figure out, you know, getting
the whole neighborhood of kids together, whether it be street
basketball at the park, finding the field for football. We
had a couple of baseball diamonds in our neighborhood and
we'd get together and playing teams. So yeah, yeah, I
(05:42):
grew up doing pretty much the same thing.
Speaker 5 (05:44):
We're in New York. For you Long Island, ohfer County, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
All right.
Speaker 5 (05:50):
We have a great fundraiser that takes place every year
in New York. It wasn't purchase New York. I can't
remember what town the courts the courses in now that
they've played the last couple of years have moved to
a different course, but absolutely stunningly beautiful, absolutely beautiful. So
(06:12):
looking forward to getting back up there here in a
couple more weeks to attend that event. It's always a
lot of fun and great group of people. Why do
you join the army?
Speaker 4 (06:23):
You know, it's funny story. I really I wanted to
join the marine Corps. As a kid, the commercials you
saw on the TV where he's fighting the dragon with
the sword, that was what was impressive to me, and
it made me a sense of pride, and I always
wanted to do that. I wanted to wear the uniform.
It was about pride for me and honor and country.
(06:45):
And I joined the army instead. I don't know how
that happened, but it happened, and I'm grateful for that.
But it was all about duty and country, and I
just wanted to serve my community and my country. It
was something I felt was necessary.
Speaker 5 (07:00):
Slay any dragons, no, no, no dragons, how about you Land.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
I believe it was just I joined late, so I
was twenty four years old. You know, I didn't I
never finished high school, so I couldn't join like right
after high school.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
But I was a parent early. I was a parent.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
I've been to parent since I was eighteen. My daughter
now was twenty two. But back at that time, I
wanted to do other things and I thought that athletics
were the way for me to do it, and so
I grew up. I was involved in the boxing community,
had a long amateur stint, won everything in the state
of New York except for the Golden Gloves. It's a
(07:42):
long tournament's four months. Yeah, so you know, and then
I turned a professional that didn't work out, but I
had a buddy who was on the Marines team. We
grew up together.
Speaker 5 (07:54):
We'll take a quick break and we'll come back to
that here in a second. This is Road to Hoope, Ri,
it'll be right back.
Speaker 4 (08:03):
Who jes the ground and play so baby, it's their
god time.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Man, and welcome back to Road to Hope. Ray, You're
glad to have you.
Speaker 5 (08:21):
Long gout, Lynnburgh, United States Army VET. Currently, what's your
role at Camp Hope right now?
Speaker 3 (08:27):
What do you do?
Speaker 5 (08:28):
Well?
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Right now?
Speaker 2 (08:28):
I'm a Yellow phase mentor.
Speaker 5 (08:33):
For those driving around sixteen right now? What does yellow
phase mean?
Speaker 2 (08:37):
That is the stage before graduation for our residents. It's
the final two months of the program at Camp Hope
and they come into my Yellow phase block. I have
them for two months and I help them complete the
program and you know, do my best to set them
(08:58):
up for success or when they leave Camp Hope.
Speaker 5 (09:01):
So what are the There's no such thing as a
typical day. There's a Camp Hope. Every day is a
new day around there. But what's what's kind of a
norm for a yellow phase mentors?
Speaker 3 (09:13):
What are we doing in the course of the day.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
In the course of the day, I am there when
their day starts. Uh, you know, do their checking in
the morning.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
We will do a daily devotional after our check ins,
and then uh we'll start the class day. Like I
teach classes on my own, or we can have outside
resources coming and provide them with classes, whether they depending
on what the residents need. You know, they're trying to
find jobs. We'll get them classes on how to complete resumes,
(09:46):
how to build link LinkedIn profiles, UH, savings and budgeting,
home owner ship, renting a home, and credit repair, things
of that nature, you know, just to try to give
them a basic set of tools and knowledge to take
with them on the outside to know how to rebuild
these things.
Speaker 5 (10:09):
Mike, you mentioned you deployed in six When did you
join the army?
Speaker 6 (10:16):
It was after nine to eleven.
Speaker 5 (10:19):
I wanted is that kind of a prompter for you?
Speaker 4 (10:21):
It was I was. I was working in a palette factory,
believe it or not, making palettes. I had left school early.
I had a child that.
Speaker 6 (10:32):
Was just born.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
I think I was eighteen years old roughly and working
at this palette factory. We had no idea what was
going on. The Twin Towers had gotten hit and everyone
kind of like was going crazy, and I just was
at work building palettes and I just felt like that
(10:53):
that's what I needed to do. I mean, I dropped
out of high school because of my child, and I
was working a day job and I've always still in Buffalo,
and I just was like, I have to do something different.
In the Twin Towers hit and I said, that's it,
I'm going. I've always wanted to, I never had the
courage to do it. I kept getting scared, and then
finally I said, this, this is it. This is the
(11:16):
reason I got to do my part and help defend
our freedoms in our country and wrong the rights and
be a better man.
Speaker 6 (11:25):
That's I joined.
Speaker 5 (11:28):
So you were in for a little while before you
actually deployed.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
A little bit not It wasn't exactly at two thousand
and two thousand and one when I went in.
Speaker 6 (11:35):
I was.
Speaker 4 (11:36):
It was a little bit after, but yeah, So I
did my work up. I went to Fort leonard Wood, Missouri,
and there did basic training there, did oh set. So
I was back to back and then I did my
combat engineer training there as well. But they kind of
like teach you how to find landmines, identify stuff in
(11:58):
the ground, and not anything close to what I did
in the actual army, which is kind of funny. But
I've worked with explosives but not land mines. I left
Fort Leonardwood, I went to Fort Riley, Kansas. I was
part of the seventieth Engineer Battalion. Did our work up there,
(12:21):
went to NTC California, trained there, and then we deployed
to Afghanistan, my entire battalion. Before before I got to Afghanistan,
I was selected to go to a special school for
route clearance. We basically learned how to identify IEDs. This
(12:44):
is what an ID looks like, this is how you
find them. These are some signs that this is what
you see. Pretty crazy stuff, you know, when you learned.
I mean, it's like I did never imagine that I
would be doing that. I was told that I was
going to build things and blow things up. That's what
the recruiter told me, and I was excited for that.
(13:06):
I did not know that I was going to be
the one blowing up. Fast forward a little bit you know,
we I did the school, I got certified. I had
become one of the experts in my battalion on the
route clearance equipment that we used, and I trained a
lot of the soldiers in my battalion how to operate
(13:29):
the equipment. I kind of took it and ran with it.
Speaker 6 (13:31):
You know.
Speaker 4 (13:31):
It was something I was passionate about, and I became
really good at it. I found quite a number of
IED's when I was over in Afghanistan. I was blown
up three times in combat. Most of them are IED's,
the two two of them are I d's. One of
(13:52):
them was a rocket propel grenade RPG. The vehicle that
I was driving was a mind detection vehicle. They were
targeted quite a bit. We were used to find the
roadside bombs, so they tried to eliminate that as much
as possible to try to get to our our guys.
So I took an RPG to the front of the
(14:13):
vehicle one time. I got blown up by some landmines
one time, and then the last one that kind of
halted my career at the time was three anti tank
mines that were stacked on top of each other, and
I ran it over and was blown up.
Speaker 6 (14:30):
So that was quite an experience.
Speaker 5 (14:32):
Yeah, that would get your attention a little bit. Yeah,
A quick reminder as we go through these stories and
share the events of I guess really the source of
the PTSD that some of you guys face, but also
the returning home and the integration issues. We understand that
these can cause triggers for some of those who were listening.
(14:54):
So I'm want to give you a phone number. Please everyone,
get your phone out, put your put this number in
your phone. Even if you're not a vet. You don't
think you'll ever need it, perhaps not, but you may
come across someone that could really use the help. Eight
seven seven seven one seven seventy eight seventy three is
our Combat Trauma Crisis Line. It is answered twenty four
(15:15):
to seven three sixty five by a combat veteran. And
if you ever come across someone struggling, make sure you
let them understand a combat veteran will answer the phone.
That makes all the difference. Eight seven seven seven one
seven seventy eight seventy three. UH and PTSD USA dot org.
(15:36):
PTSD USA dot org for all things PTSD Foundation that
includes Campope, where Mike is currently a resident Linberg is
a graduate of the program and Yellow Phase mentor all
that information. Ptsd USA dot org. Also on social media,
PTSD USA, Facebook, X, and YouTube all are ptsd USA
(16:02):
and on Instagram it is ptsd Foundation of America. Please
follow us, retweet, share the stories there. You never know
who may come across our organization that could use information
about what we do.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
Costume nothing.
Speaker 5 (16:20):
It's absolutely free and it's easy to share, retweet whatever,
So thank you for doing so. All right, So how
long were you When did you get out of the army?
You employed through eight?
Speaker 4 (16:32):
Yeah, so I got back. I think it was two
thousand and nine, actually that I got back. I landed
in the United States on my birthday, May twenty fourth.
I think two thousand and nine is when I landed
in the United States, and I was so excited. I
remember that because I was like, it's my birthday, I
can go out, I can have fun with my friends,
and let's celebrate my birthday. US coming home. We survived
(16:55):
the deployment. I didn't get to go out at all
for my bay. By the time they released US, I
was so exhausted from all of the turning in of weapons,
turning in all the gear. I was just rained physically
and mentally, and I just wanted to go home and
go to bed. Yeah, So we didn't get released until
like I think the twenty fifth, at like seventeen hundred hours.
(17:20):
So it was not a birthday. It was a good
birthday present because I got home.
Speaker 5 (17:25):
Sure back, Yeah, glad you're back, absolutely all right. Just
a reminder PTSDUSA dot org. The Combat Trauma Crisis Line
eight seven seven seven to one, seven seventy eight seventy three.
Eight seven seven seven to one to seven seventy eight
seventy three answered twenty four to seven by a combat
(17:47):
veteran and that will mean the world to anyone who
needs to make that call. Eight seven seven seven one
seven seventy eight seventy three. We're going to take a
quick news break for those of you on the nine
to five OH use it on the listening to the podcast.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
We'll just here a little music.
Speaker 5 (18:04):
We'll be right back with more of Road to Hope Radio.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
And we welcome you back Road to Hope Radio.
Speaker 5 (18:25):
Glad to have you along as you listen on the
nine to five OH the kPr C in Houston, Texas.
Thank you for joining us, those of you listening through podcasts.
Thank you for doing so. And again, wherever you listen
to podcasts, just look for Road to Hope Radio and
if you would hit that subscribe button, we would truly,
truly appreciate that and share with your friends and all
folks in your network. We have heard on a number
(18:47):
of occasions people learned about our programs through these radio
programs that we do more than eight years now of
stories guys that have come through our program. Occasionally we'll
hit on the news. I like to share some of
the stories so that our guys or messages that our
guy send to us that have been through our program
(19:10):
several years ago and updating us on how their life
is going forward. So we love to do that. You'll
hear a lot of those. So if you just hit
that subscribe button, it will automatically download to your devices
every week when the news show drops on Sunday afternoon.
So thank you very very much for doing so. All right,
(19:31):
So home in nine on your birthday mentioned blowing up
a few times during your deployments. When did you get
to Camp Hope.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
So I arrived at Camp Hope about thirty days ago.
I think it's a little bit over like thirty five days.
Maybe it is when I came here, so I don't
even know what today is either. Yeah, I've been here
for about thirty days.
Speaker 5 (20:03):
Okay, so sixteen year span. What happened when you got
home besides a long day once on the actual day.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
You know, I struggled a lot. I was married at
the time, and my marriage kind of like was on
the fritz.
Speaker 6 (20:24):
I was.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
I was angry a lot. I was struggling. I wasn't
sure how to cope with what was going on. I
didn't actually know what was going on. That was the
crazy part I was. I thought everything was normal, and
I wasn't aware, if you will, of my actions and
how I was behaving because I didn't know my wife
(20:48):
at the time. She ended up leaving, went back home,
we separated, divorced, you know, got into more trouble with myself,
not knowing how to deal with things, getting in and
out of trouble. I was in and out of the
(21:10):
hospital a few times because of my anger, a lot
of outbursts, a lot of not knowing how to react
to things I was. I was taught to react, and
that's what I did. I reacted to things, whether it
was right or wrong. I just reacted and then I
(21:31):
dealt with the consequences later. I never really faced them
head on and thought rationally that kind of happened for
a long time. When I first got home, I started
a business building custom motorcycles.
Speaker 6 (21:49):
I would I built sport bikes.
Speaker 4 (21:51):
I would take something somebody bring me in and I
would customize it for them, and I would do all
kinds of crazy fun things, from spinner wheels, nitrous tanks,
drag bikes, big tire kits. I did that for probably
six years, and then the economy kind of went downward
for a while, and then I closed up that shop
and went to work back again with my family doing
(22:13):
masonry restoration work. Complete opposite, but it was there, it
was steady, it was whatever I wanted. Did that for
a few years, still struggling. I kind of developed some
substance abuse problems during that time as well. I found
that that was an easier way for me to cope
with a lot of the issues that I was having,
(22:35):
which in retrospect now I know was the wrong way
to handle things. But I spun got out of control.
I didn't know how to handle and I turned to
that as a way to escape.
Speaker 5 (22:47):
So, now having been diagnosed with PTSD and you look back,
what were some of the things you talked about some
of the issues, But what were those issues for you?
Was it high provisions of sleep.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
Yeah, yeah, both or all of them all. So I
was always on edge. I was always watching where I was,
what was the surrounding, what was going on. Loud noises
was a big trigger for me. Crowds. I couldn't do
crowds very well. Anytime there was a loud sudden noise,
I would have panic attacks. My heart would start racing,
(23:23):
I would start sweating, and then I would just get
overwhelmed with emotion.
Speaker 6 (23:27):
It would scare me.
Speaker 4 (23:29):
I mean most people get scared with you can hear
a loud thud or a loud noise, but it would
put me into like this extra I don't know what
it was it was. I was just I had to
know what was going on, and it would put me
on edge and then I wouldn't be able to come
out of.
Speaker 6 (23:41):
It for a while.
Speaker 5 (23:43):
Did that start after coming home or did you experience
some of that while you were still deployed.
Speaker 4 (23:48):
You know, honestly, I I experienced some of it while
I was there. I didn't let it show, because you know,
you got a job to do. You don't want to
admit it that you're having these problems because then they
people judge. And it's sad to say, but it happens.
But I experienced the most significant problems were when I
was home, because people don't realize that a lot of
(24:10):
US veterans and active duty service members, we were aware
and we try not to trigger other people. We're cognizant
of what's happening around us so that we don't set
somebody over the edge. In the regular civilian world, they
don't know that that's not the issue.
Speaker 6 (24:26):
We don't.
Speaker 4 (24:28):
They don't go out of their way to make sure
there's no balloons that could pop at an event, So
when it happens, it's overwhelming and it's crippling.
Speaker 5 (24:38):
Remember what were some of the symptoms you were dealing with?
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Some that more similar to him. You know, One that
was very uh sudden and that I didn't understand until recently,
was that, you know, no crowds was a trigger for
me as well. You know, I've been in a situation
where in a situation where there was no crowd and
nobody on the street, there was no sound, no children laughing,
(25:06):
no no people talking, and you know, then something would happen,
and you know we have to react to whatever. You know,
attack was coming at us. So that was something I've
recently come to understand, and you know, it really like
(25:26):
explained a lot of my isolation and you know why
I'm listening, you know, and watching everyone that's around me.
You know, still can't sleep often. You know, I came
back from Iraq with sarcoidosis which started my lung and
(25:46):
then spread throughout my body and went autoimmune. So I
still deal with that as well. You know, that was
a career ender, just like how PTSD speaking about having
symptoms of PTS while you're still in service or in
civil service as a federal civilian, that could end your
career as well. You know, you come home to a
(26:09):
lot of stigma and people think that you're just ticking
time bomb, when really most of us are just trying
to figure out what happened. You know, what happened? Why
am I thinking about things and remembering things this way?
And then you know, it took some time, but once
I was able to compartmentalize and put things in their
(26:32):
proper box, you know, it's manageable.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
You know.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
It doesn't go away. My lifetime and my life experiences
don't go away, but I can manage to move forward.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
Sure.
Speaker 5 (26:47):
And I think it was around twenty fourteen the Pentagon
was trying to kind of overcome that stigma, and they
were using some gunerals sharing some of their stories about
PTSD symptoms and such PTSD diagnosis.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
But as I.
Speaker 5 (27:07):
Talked to guys coming home, always found there was just
this great disconnect.
Speaker 3 (27:12):
You know.
Speaker 5 (27:12):
It was great that these generals are talking about it,
but the guys that are actually in country and needing
to fulfill missions, like they didn't want to hear it
because they still had to fulfill the mission. So it
almost backfired. It almost probably sent guys further into the
(27:37):
withdrawing and trying to cover up than it was trying
to get.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
That absolutely absolutely, like the officer's side is not the
enlisted side of the military, you know. And I started out,
I deployed as a PFC, came back pretty much a sergeant.
You know, my first stars and my commander were calling
me sergeant at the end of that. And I had
no interaction with an officer above a captain, you know,
(28:03):
so like for generals to tell their story and what
they experience was not going to happen down on my level,
you know, right, Yeah.
Speaker 5 (28:13):
So it's I guess someone in a you know, a
dark hallway in the Pentagon. I thought it was a
good idea, and you know, you know, I guess better
to try than not try it all. The stigma is
continues to be a major issue there. There's I think
through the years, particularly maybe the last four or five years,
(28:35):
we've had a little bit of movement toward people understanding
what PTSD actually is versus what they kind of heard
on the local news when someone shut up a mall
or something like. That's not PTSD. They may have PTSD,
but they also wearing a brown belt and have green hair.
I mean, it's just, you know, it has nothing to
do with what they're doing.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
All right.
Speaker 5 (28:54):
We're going to take a quick break and be right
back with more of Road to Hope Radio with Lindbergh
and Mike to help you guys both with us. A
couple of army that's with us today.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
And were welcome you back Road to Hope Radio. A
few minutes left, but.
Speaker 5 (29:28):
I'd like to hear from both of you guys, how
whenber We'll start with you, how did you first hear
about CAMPO.
Speaker 3 (29:32):
What was that first connection?
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Yeah, looking back out on it now, it's kind of
weird to say, but I was actually homeless. I was
homeless at that point in time, trying to figure things out.
And uh so in Washington State there's this place called
Catholic Community Center and they had a like a meeting,
(30:00):
you know, for people to come by that were experiencing
homelessness at the time, to come by and get resources.
So I ran into a gentleman named Larry Turk who
was in charge of the outreach chapter in Tacoma, and
I sat down with his team and they explained to
me what Camp Hope was. And this was in twenty eighteen,
(30:24):
and I met Larry a former starn major named Mariah Sidwell,
I believe also, and they just explained to me, you know,
what it was where Camp Hope was what I could
receive in terms of the time and the ability to
(30:46):
go through, you know, some counseling for PTSD and things
of that nature. And I put it in my back pocket
and didn't really make a decision for a year. And
when I came to Camp hope first time in twenty
nineteen December twenty nineteen.
Speaker 3 (31:03):
How long were you homeless?
Speaker 2 (31:07):
So from two thousand about six to eight months. You know,
it wasn't like I was on the streets for years
or anything. About six eight months I was.
Speaker 5 (31:19):
And the only reason I mentioned I think that's it
comes as a surprise to a lot of people. That's
so many of our post nine to eleven veterans found
themselves homeless at some point in time for some length
of time. You mentioned six to eight months. Justin was
homeless in Houston for six and a half years, which
(31:42):
is absolutely I don't even know how you survived that.
I just don't even know how you how do you
do that? But man, that's people need to understand that's
what has happened. That's what is happening, and it's and
I remember hitting the streets in two thousand and I
was meeting guys that were twenty three and twenty four
(32:02):
years old and they were already homeless after having been
to to Iraq or Afghanistan in the very early part
of the Wars. It was shocking to me. But our
people have to understand. Our community needs to understand that
they need to understand why there's a need for a
place like Camp Hope. And I hated that it took
(32:25):
you so long to get there, but I'm glad you did.
How did you hear about Camp Mike?
Speaker 4 (32:30):
I was at a residential program in Salisbury, North Carolina.
Speaker 5 (32:35):
Are you doing in North Carolina? I ended up barbecues terrible?
Why in the world in North Carolina? Felt Lake Home?
Speaker 3 (32:41):
You know?
Speaker 6 (32:42):
I visited some family there, gotcha?
Speaker 4 (32:44):
And when what brought me originally was I was I
was awarded a mortgage free home through a military nonprofit.
Speaker 5 (32:51):
Because of your injuries from because of my injuries.
Speaker 4 (32:53):
So I have a purple heart. And I was also
given a bronze star, so they gave me a home.
That's what brought me there. But I was to Camp Hope.
I was at a program at the VA Hospital and
one of the representatives there said that they heard of
this program that they think will really much in North Carolina.
(33:13):
They thought that this place called Camp Hope would help
me tremendously because of the stuff that I struggled with.
She's I think her exact words were that she's never
seen somebody as decorated as me with so many problems
and nowhere to go.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
Now.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
I didn't know anything about Camp Hope. I got on
the website and I looked at it and I said,
this place looks amazing.
Speaker 6 (33:40):
This is they hit it on all the things.
Speaker 4 (33:42):
And I think it was the video of you talking
about what Camp Hope was and how it can help
other veterans and that this was the tough guys that
struggle the most and they get the most benefit out
of it. And I thought to myself, I thought it
couldn't be true. I really truly did not believe it.
(34:03):
I've been in a lot of programs that say that
they're there to help veterans, and they really don't. Fortunately,
they don't stand up to the bar. They they really
kind of fall short. It's good intention, but they just
it falls short. And it's usually because of resources aren't there.
I applied on Camp Hope's website uh mill or PTSDUSA
(34:25):
dot org and I got a phone call the next
day and I could I was I was literally shocked.
I was like, Wow, this is crazy. A gentleman from
Outreach called me and he said that he told me
who he was, where he was from, what branch he was.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
In.
Speaker 4 (34:41):
Turns out, the gentleman and I were in the same
part of Afghanistan on the same task force, and he
knew exactly who I was, Like he had seen my vehicle.
I had my name written on the vehicle. It's called
Pug's Life. They stopped that after our deployment because we
were getting targeted too much. But so the gentleman remembered
who I was and he knew what my mission was.
Speaker 3 (35:03):
There, so he.
Speaker 6 (35:07):
Walked me through the process.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
And like I think it was two weeks later, they
saw the need that I had, I guess, and they
flew me down within I mean within a matter of
two and a half to three weeks tops, and it
was fast. They got me down here to Houston, Texas,
and I've I don't know, it's just an amazing opportunity
(35:30):
to be with other veterans that are struggling with the
same issues. I mean, it's every day. It's it's awakening,
it's I see it. I see myself and other veterans,
and it that's what helps the most. I think everyone
hears a veteran. Everyone here has lived the life, has
walked the walk. They know what I'm going through, they
(35:51):
know the struggles that I feel.
Speaker 5 (35:55):
I was in a meeting this week, and that kept
bubbling back to this top of the conversation. Through the years,
we've obviously strengthened the program, added to the program, brought
a lot of different things into the program, like we've
had art therapy, we've had equine therapy, and you know,
(36:20):
grateful that we're able to bring all those things in.
But it always always always comes back to the peer
to peer side. That's always it's huge. Yeah, So day
one for you coming in from North Carolina having been
in the VA for a while. I guess what was
Dave one like for you? Because you've seen it on
(36:43):
a on a website, which is one thing. But yeah,
now all of a sudden, here you are. So let's
put this good thing is if you've been here in
thirty days, it was nice and cool when you got here.
Speaker 6 (36:52):
That was cool. Oh my gosh, it was hot when
I got here.
Speaker 3 (36:56):
So our eight months of summer.
Speaker 4 (36:58):
Yeah yeah, so let's paint this picture for you. I
got off the airport, off the airplane, and I was
picked up by the PTSD USA Camp Hope van, red
white and blue van. I mean, nothing more welcoming than
Camp Hope. You know, it's this big red, white and
blue van that's talking. It's PTSD USA, get help.
Speaker 6 (37:20):
They drive me.
Speaker 4 (37:21):
First of all, he gives me the biggest talk I've
ever gotten in my life. I tried to shake his
hand and he says, we don't do that, and he
gives me a hug. And the both gentlemen that were
in the van, they greeted me with smiles and hugs.
Speaker 6 (37:33):
And I was like, wow, this is weird.
Speaker 4 (37:35):
Okay, that's different, but okay, so I rode with it.
Speaker 6 (37:39):
They drove us back to.
Speaker 4 (37:41):
The camp and somebody opened the door when I got
there and they said, give me a hug, and I'm like,
yet now it's it's yeah. Now, if you're not hugging,
something's wrong, you know. So it's there's no handshakes here
most of the time. If you try to shake someone's hand,
they'll slap your hand out of the way and they
just bear hug you. And that's the normal now. And
(38:03):
I told that to my daughter when I talked to her,
and she said, Dad, that makes my heart so happy.
She's twenty two right now. She just turned twenty two
in February.
Speaker 5 (38:13):
Well, unfortunately, our time is done. I hate this clock.
This is the fastest hour of my entire week, every
single week. But glad you're here.
Speaker 6 (38:21):
I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 5 (38:23):
Keep doing the work. Yes, for your family, but mainly
for you.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
You deserve.
Speaker 5 (38:29):
You deserve the very best life you can live. The
same for you, lindbergh Y, So thanks for having me.
Grateful for you, Grateful for what you do every single
day to serve those who come into our program at
Camp Hope. We want everyone that steps foot on our campus,
whenever it is they step out to go live their life.
We want them to live the very best life that
they possibly can, whatever that looks like. We don't get
(38:50):
to choose that, but we want to expose to as
much as we can while you're here. So thank you, Linmber,
appreciate it. Mike, thanks for sharing some of your story.
Thank you for having me join us again next week
for more of Road to Hope Radio.
Speaker 3 (39:01):
Have great week, everybody,
Multiple people in my family clean my father, are veterans.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Troops that have been to war and now they're back.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
And think and be grateful for their.
Speaker 4 (00:13):
Service, sacrifice, love for their country, just unselfishness, all that
they do for us.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
There are some people in this country who take extraordinary
steps to provide for the freedom and security.
Speaker 5 (00:25):
We forget that those people exist.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
We know them as the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines,
and Coast Guard. They call themselves soldiers, seals, rangers, airmen, sailors, devil.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Dogs, and so much more.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
We call them fathers, brothers, sons and husbands, mothers, daughters,
sisters and wives. We call them friend and neighbor. These
veterans answered the call. Now we answer theirs and today
are the best our country has to offer. And we
(01:03):
love them. Today, we honor them, and we serve this.
David Malsby is your host, and he welcomes you to
this community of veterans. As together we are building the
road to hope, and.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Indeed we are glad to have you along.
Speaker 5 (01:25):
On a Sunday afternoon, those of you listening through the
kPr C the nine to five oh on the AM
dialand Houston, Texas, thank you for joining us. Those of
you who listen through the Magic Podcast, thank you so
much for doing so.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Wherever you get your podcast, just look for Road to
Hope Radio.
Speaker 5 (01:40):
We truly do appreciate it when you hit that'll subscribe button,
and especially when you share it with your friends, enemies, neighbors,
former neighbors, whoever. Thank you for sharing it. We appreciate
everyone you meet could use a little bit of hope today.
So thank you so very very much. Great big thank
you to our sponsors allow us the opportunity to spend
a little time with you each and every week. A
(02:02):
Corey Diamond and Design a c O ri I billion
Connie Stagner two A one four A two forty seven
fifty five had the privilege to spend a little time
within this past week A cory a c ri I
Corey Diamond and Design one. It's time to get that
something special for someone special in your life. Do business
with people that share your values, people that you can trust.
(02:24):
That's Billy and Connie Stagner A Corey Diamond and Design.
And because well, we all have those moments. Oops Steam
dot Com two A one A two two zero five
six one Oops Steam dot Com They do more than
just you know the floors they there. There's so much
that they do, the air ducts in your house, the carpet,
(02:47):
the tile, the wood, floors, all of it. Oops Steam
dot Com. And then when you're ready to buy your
little piece of Texas, Republic Grand Ranch dot Com. Republic
Grand Ranch dot Com. Awesome people, longtime supporters through Texas
Grand Ranch and Republic Grand Ranch. They've been great supporters
of all things Camp Hope. Truly wonderful people. So when
(03:10):
you're ready to build that dream home, you want to
have it in a right spot. That's Republic Grand Ranch
dot Com. All right, we've got a couple of combat
vet's with us here today, one on staff, one that's
in our program at Camp Hope. Want to introduce yourself
(03:30):
to the world again. It's been a minute.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Hello everybody. Linnburgh Freeman, Yellow Face Mentor PTSD Foundation of
America at Camp Hope.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
And where are you from?
Speaker 5 (03:42):
Originally born and raised in New York, New York. We've
got a couple of New York guys here with us today, Branch.
And where you're deployed.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Army deployed to Iraq two thousand eleven, Operation New don okay,
your turn.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
Hey, my name is Mike Faglice. I'm also from New York, Buffalo,
New York. Though I was in the Army. I was
a combat engineer. I served in Afghanistan. Did one tour
over there.
Speaker 5 (04:15):
Okay, and when was that?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
I believe it.
Speaker 6 (04:17):
Was six to nine. I did seventeen.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Months long deployment.
Speaker 5 (04:22):
It was a long deployment. Yeah, gotcha. All right, So
you're from Buffalo. You a Bills fan?
Speaker 4 (04:29):
Not really not, you know, I used to follow when
I was a kid, when I lived there, but it's
too many letdowns. So yeah, all the Buffalonians back home
would probably want to wring my neck. But for saying that.
But I mean, you know, I didn't follow sports too
much growing up. Okay, so I didn't even into my adulthood,
I didn't follow sports too much. I I focused on
(04:52):
other things.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
What were you into as a kid, getting.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
In trouble, running the streets with my friends, riding bikes,
doing what kids do, right, you know, just running through
the neighborhood, yelling at girls, throwing rocks at cars, being
boys playing baseball. Never watched it, but I played a
little bit of baseball of it. Yeah, just with your friends.
Speaker 5 (05:14):
Nothing crazy, okay, yeah, all right, plenburg you a baseball player.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Oh yeah, that was the typical thing in growing up
in New York, you know, playing all sports, any and
every sport that we can figure out, you know, getting
the whole neighborhood of kids together, whether it be street
basketball at the park, finding the field for football. We
had a couple of baseball diamonds in our neighborhood and
we'd get together and playing teams. So yeah, yeah, I
(05:42):
grew up doing pretty much the same thing.
Speaker 5 (05:44):
We're in New York. For you Long Island, ohfer County, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
All right.
Speaker 5 (05:50):
We have a great fundraiser that takes place every year
in New York. It wasn't purchase New York. I can't
remember what town the courts the courses in now that
they've played the last couple of years have moved to
a different course, but absolutely stunningly beautiful, absolutely beautiful. So
(06:12):
looking forward to getting back up there here in a
couple more weeks to attend that event. It's always a
lot of fun and great group of people. Why do
you join the army?
Speaker 4 (06:23):
You know, it's funny story. I really I wanted to
join the marine Corps. As a kid, the commercials you
saw on the TV where he's fighting the dragon with
the sword, that was what was impressive to me, and
it made me a sense of pride, and I always
wanted to do that. I wanted to wear the uniform.
It was about pride for me and honor and country.
(06:45):
And I joined the army instead. I don't know how
that happened, but it happened, and I'm grateful for that.
But it was all about duty and country, and I
just wanted to serve my community and my country. It
was something I felt was necessary.
Speaker 5 (07:00):
Slay any dragons, no, no, no dragons, how about you Land.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
I believe it was just I joined late, so I
was twenty four years old. You know, I didn't I
never finished high school, so I couldn't join like right
after high school.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
But I was a parent early. I was a parent.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
I've been to parent since I was eighteen. My daughter
now was twenty two. But back at that time, I
wanted to do other things and I thought that athletics
were the way for me to do it, and so
I grew up. I was involved in the boxing community,
had a long amateur stint, won everything in the state
of New York except for the Golden Gloves. It's a
(07:42):
long tournament's four months. Yeah, so you know, and then
I turned a professional that didn't work out, but I
had a buddy who was on the Marines team. We
grew up together.
Speaker 5 (07:54):
We'll take a quick break and we'll come back to
that here in a second. This is Road to Hoope, Ri,
it'll be right back.
Speaker 4 (08:03):
Who jes the ground and play so baby, it's their
god time.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Man, and welcome back to Road to Hope. Ray, You're
glad to have you.
Speaker 5 (08:21):
Long gout, Lynnburgh, United States Army VET. Currently, what's your
role at Camp Hope right now?
Speaker 3 (08:27):
What do you do?
Speaker 5 (08:28):
Well?
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Right now?
Speaker 2 (08:28):
I'm a Yellow phase mentor.
Speaker 5 (08:33):
For those driving around sixteen right now? What does yellow
phase mean?
Speaker 2 (08:37):
That is the stage before graduation for our residents. It's
the final two months of the program at Camp Hope
and they come into my Yellow phase block. I have
them for two months and I help them complete the
program and you know, do my best to set them
(08:58):
up for success or when they leave Camp Hope.
Speaker 5 (09:01):
So what are the There's no such thing as a
typical day. There's a Camp Hope. Every day is a
new day around there. But what's what's kind of a
norm for a yellow phase mentors?
Speaker 3 (09:13):
What are we doing in the course of the day.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
In the course of the day, I am there when
their day starts. Uh, you know, do their checking in
the morning.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
We will do a daily devotional after our check ins,
and then uh we'll start the class day. Like I
teach classes on my own, or we can have outside
resources coming and provide them with classes, whether they depending
on what the residents need. You know, they're trying to
find jobs. We'll get them classes on how to complete resumes,
(09:46):
how to build link LinkedIn profiles, UH, savings and budgeting,
home owner ship, renting a home, and credit repair, things
of that nature, you know, just to try to give
them a basic set of tools and knowledge to take
with them on the outside to know how to rebuild
these things.
Speaker 5 (10:09):
Mike, you mentioned you deployed in six When did you
join the army?
Speaker 6 (10:16):
It was after nine to eleven.
Speaker 5 (10:19):
I wanted is that kind of a prompter for you?
Speaker 4 (10:21):
It was I was. I was working in a palette factory,
believe it or not, making palettes. I had left school early.
I had a child that.
Speaker 6 (10:32):
Was just born.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
I think I was eighteen years old roughly and working
at this palette factory. We had no idea what was
going on. The Twin Towers had gotten hit and everyone
kind of like was going crazy, and I just was
at work building palettes and I just felt like that
(10:53):
that's what I needed to do. I mean, I dropped
out of high school because of my child, and I
was working a day job and I've always still in Buffalo,
and I just was like, I have to do something different.
In the Twin Towers hit and I said, that's it,
I'm going. I've always wanted to, I never had the
courage to do it. I kept getting scared, and then
finally I said, this, this is it. This is the
(11:16):
reason I got to do my part and help defend
our freedoms in our country and wrong the rights and
be a better man.
Speaker 6 (11:25):
That's I joined.
Speaker 5 (11:28):
So you were in for a little while before you
actually deployed.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
A little bit not It wasn't exactly at two thousand
and two thousand and one when I went in.
Speaker 6 (11:35):
I was.
Speaker 4 (11:36):
It was a little bit after, but yeah, So I
did my work up. I went to Fort leonard Wood, Missouri,
and there did basic training there, did oh set. So
I was back to back and then I did my
combat engineer training there as well. But they kind of
like teach you how to find landmines, identify stuff in
(11:58):
the ground, and not anything close to what I did
in the actual army, which is kind of funny. But
I've worked with explosives but not land mines. I left
Fort Leonardwood, I went to Fort Riley, Kansas. I was
part of the seventieth Engineer Battalion. Did our work up there,
(12:21):
went to NTC California, trained there, and then we deployed
to Afghanistan, my entire battalion. Before before I got to Afghanistan,
I was selected to go to a special school for
route clearance. We basically learned how to identify IEDs. This
(12:44):
is what an ID looks like, this is how you
find them. These are some signs that this is what
you see. Pretty crazy stuff, you know, when you learned.
I mean, it's like I did never imagine that I
would be doing that. I was told that I was
going to build things and blow things up. That's what
the recruiter told me, and I was excited for that.
(13:06):
I did not know that I was going to be
the one blowing up. Fast forward a little bit you know,
we I did the school, I got certified. I had
become one of the experts in my battalion on the
route clearance equipment that we used, and I trained a
lot of the soldiers in my battalion how to operate
(13:29):
the equipment. I kind of took it and ran with it.
Speaker 6 (13:31):
You know.
Speaker 4 (13:31):
It was something I was passionate about, and I became
really good at it. I found quite a number of
IED's when I was over in Afghanistan. I was blown
up three times in combat. Most of them are IED's,
the two two of them are I d's. One of
(13:52):
them was a rocket propel grenade RPG. The vehicle that
I was driving was a mind detection vehicle. They were
targeted quite a bit. We were used to find the
roadside bombs, so they tried to eliminate that as much
as possible to try to get to our our guys.
So I took an RPG to the front of the
(14:13):
vehicle one time. I got blown up by some landmines
one time, and then the last one that kind of
halted my career at the time was three anti tank
mines that were stacked on top of each other, and
I ran it over and was blown up.
Speaker 6 (14:30):
So that was quite an experience.
Speaker 5 (14:32):
Yeah, that would get your attention a little bit. Yeah,
A quick reminder as we go through these stories and
share the events of I guess really the source of
the PTSD that some of you guys face, but also
the returning home and the integration issues. We understand that
these can cause triggers for some of those who were listening.
(14:54):
So I'm want to give you a phone number. Please everyone,
get your phone out, put your put this number in
your phone. Even if you're not a vet. You don't
think you'll ever need it, perhaps not, but you may
come across someone that could really use the help. Eight
seven seven seven one seven seventy eight seventy three is
our Combat Trauma Crisis Line. It is answered twenty four
(15:15):
to seven three sixty five by a combat veteran. And
if you ever come across someone struggling, make sure you
let them understand a combat veteran will answer the phone.
That makes all the difference. Eight seven seven seven one
seven seventy eight seventy three. UH and PTSD USA dot org.
(15:36):
PTSD USA dot org for all things PTSD Foundation that
includes Campope, where Mike is currently a resident Linberg is
a graduate of the program and Yellow Phase mentor all
that information. Ptsd USA dot org. Also on social media,
PTSD USA, Facebook, X, and YouTube all are ptsd USA
(16:02):
and on Instagram it is ptsd Foundation of America. Please
follow us, retweet, share the stories there. You never know
who may come across our organization that could use information
about what we do.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
Costume nothing.
Speaker 5 (16:20):
It's absolutely free and it's easy to share, retweet whatever,
So thank you for doing so. All right, So how
long were you When did you get out of the army?
You employed through eight?
Speaker 4 (16:32):
Yeah, so I got back. I think it was two
thousand and nine, actually that I got back. I landed
in the United States on my birthday, May twenty fourth.
I think two thousand and nine is when I landed
in the United States, and I was so excited. I
remember that because I was like, it's my birthday, I
can go out, I can have fun with my friends,
and let's celebrate my birthday. US coming home. We survived
(16:55):
the deployment. I didn't get to go out at all
for my bay. By the time they released US, I
was so exhausted from all of the turning in of weapons,
turning in all the gear. I was just rained physically
and mentally, and I just wanted to go home and
go to bed. Yeah, So we didn't get released until
like I think the twenty fifth, at like seventeen hundred hours.
(17:20):
So it was not a birthday. It was a good
birthday present because I got home.
Speaker 5 (17:25):
Sure back, Yeah, glad you're back, absolutely all right. Just
a reminder PTSDUSA dot org. The Combat Trauma Crisis Line
eight seven seven seven to one, seven seventy eight seventy three.
Eight seven seven seven to one to seven seventy eight
seventy three answered twenty four to seven by a combat
(17:47):
veteran and that will mean the world to anyone who
needs to make that call. Eight seven seven seven one
seven seventy eight seventy three. We're going to take a
quick news break for those of you on the nine
to five OH use it on the listening to the podcast.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
We'll just here a little music.
Speaker 5 (18:04):
We'll be right back with more of Road to Hope Radio.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
And we welcome you back Road to Hope Radio.
Speaker 5 (18:25):
Glad to have you along as you listen on the
nine to five OH the kPr C in Houston, Texas.
Thank you for joining us, those of you listening through podcasts.
Thank you for doing so. And again, wherever you listen
to podcasts, just look for Road to Hope Radio and
if you would hit that subscribe button, we would truly,
truly appreciate that and share with your friends and all
folks in your network. We have heard on a number
(18:47):
of occasions people learned about our programs through these radio
programs that we do more than eight years now of
stories guys that have come through our program. Occasionally we'll
hit on the news. I like to share some of
the stories so that our guys or messages that our
guy send to us that have been through our program
(19:10):
several years ago and updating us on how their life
is going forward. So we love to do that. You'll
hear a lot of those. So if you just hit
that subscribe button, it will automatically download to your devices
every week when the news show drops on Sunday afternoon.
So thank you very very much for doing so. All right,
(19:31):
So home in nine on your birthday mentioned blowing up
a few times during your deployments. When did you get
to Camp Hope.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
So I arrived at Camp Hope about thirty days ago.
I think it's a little bit over like thirty five days.
Maybe it is when I came here, so I don't
even know what today is either. Yeah, I've been here
for about thirty days.
Speaker 5 (20:03):
Okay, so sixteen year span. What happened when you got
home besides a long day once on the actual day.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
You know, I struggled a lot. I was married at
the time, and my marriage kind of like was on
the fritz.
Speaker 6 (20:24):
I was.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
I was angry a lot. I was struggling. I wasn't
sure how to cope with what was going on. I
didn't actually know what was going on. That was the
crazy part I was. I thought everything was normal, and
I wasn't aware, if you will, of my actions and
how I was behaving because I didn't know my wife
(20:48):
at the time. She ended up leaving, went back home,
we separated, divorced, you know, got into more trouble with myself,
not knowing how to deal with things, getting in and
out of trouble. I was in and out of the
(21:10):
hospital a few times because of my anger, a lot
of outbursts, a lot of not knowing how to react
to things I was. I was taught to react, and
that's what I did. I reacted to things, whether it
was right or wrong. I just reacted and then I
(21:31):
dealt with the consequences later. I never really faced them
head on and thought rationally that kind of happened for
a long time. When I first got home, I started
a business building custom motorcycles.
Speaker 6 (21:49):
I would I built sport bikes.
Speaker 4 (21:51):
I would take something somebody bring me in and I
would customize it for them, and I would do all
kinds of crazy fun things, from spinner wheels, nitrous tanks,
drag bikes, big tire kits. I did that for probably
six years, and then the economy kind of went downward
for a while, and then I closed up that shop
and went to work back again with my family doing
(22:13):
masonry restoration work. Complete opposite, but it was there, it
was steady, it was whatever I wanted. Did that for
a few years, still struggling. I kind of developed some
substance abuse problems during that time as well. I found
that that was an easier way for me to cope
with a lot of the issues that I was having,
(22:35):
which in retrospect now I know was the wrong way
to handle things. But I spun got out of control.
I didn't know how to handle and I turned to
that as a way to escape.
Speaker 5 (22:47):
So, now having been diagnosed with PTSD and you look back,
what were some of the things you talked about some
of the issues, But what were those issues for you?
Was it high provisions of sleep.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
Yeah, yeah, both or all of them all. So I
was always on edge. I was always watching where I was,
what was the surrounding, what was going on. Loud noises
was a big trigger for me. Crowds. I couldn't do
crowds very well. Anytime there was a loud sudden noise,
I would have panic attacks. My heart would start racing,
(23:23):
I would start sweating, and then I would just get
overwhelmed with emotion.
Speaker 6 (23:27):
It would scare me.
Speaker 4 (23:29):
I mean most people get scared with you can hear
a loud thud or a loud noise, but it would
put me into like this extra I don't know what
it was it was. I was just I had to
know what was going on, and it would put me
on edge and then I wouldn't be able to come
out of.
Speaker 6 (23:41):
It for a while.
Speaker 5 (23:43):
Did that start after coming home or did you experience
some of that while you were still deployed.
Speaker 4 (23:48):
You know, honestly, I I experienced some of it while
I was there. I didn't let it show, because you know,
you got a job to do. You don't want to
admit it that you're having these problems because then they
people judge. And it's sad to say, but it happens.
But I experienced the most significant problems were when I
was home, because people don't realize that a lot of
(24:10):
US veterans and active duty service members, we were aware
and we try not to trigger other people. We're cognizant
of what's happening around us so that we don't set
somebody over the edge. In the regular civilian world, they
don't know that that's not the issue.
Speaker 6 (24:26):
We don't.
Speaker 4 (24:28):
They don't go out of their way to make sure
there's no balloons that could pop at an event, So
when it happens, it's overwhelming and it's crippling.
Speaker 5 (24:38):
Remember what were some of the symptoms you were dealing with?
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Some that more similar to him. You know, One that
was very uh sudden and that I didn't understand until recently,
was that, you know, no crowds was a trigger for
me as well. You know, I've been in a situation
where in a situation where there was no crowd and
nobody on the street, there was no sound, no children laughing,
(25:06):
no no people talking, and you know, then something would happen,
and you know we have to react to whatever. You know,
attack was coming at us. So that was something I've
recently come to understand, and you know, it really like
(25:26):
explained a lot of my isolation and you know why
I'm listening, you know, and watching everyone that's around me.
You know, still can't sleep often. You know, I came
back from Iraq with sarcoidosis which started my lung and
(25:46):
then spread throughout my body and went autoimmune. So I
still deal with that as well. You know, that was
a career ender, just like how PTSD speaking about having
symptoms of PTS while you're still in service or in
civil service as a federal civilian, that could end your
career as well. You know, you come home to a
(26:09):
lot of stigma and people think that you're just ticking
time bomb, when really most of us are just trying
to figure out what happened. You know, what happened? Why
am I thinking about things and remembering things this way?
And then you know, it took some time, but once
I was able to compartmentalize and put things in their
(26:32):
proper box, you know, it's manageable.
Speaker 3 (26:36):
You know.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
It doesn't go away. My lifetime and my life experiences
don't go away, but I can manage to move forward.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
Sure.
Speaker 5 (26:47):
And I think it was around twenty fourteen the Pentagon
was trying to kind of overcome that stigma, and they
were using some gunerals sharing some of their stories about
PTSD symptoms and such PTSD diagnosis.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
But as I.
Speaker 5 (27:07):
Talked to guys coming home, always found there was just
this great disconnect.
Speaker 3 (27:12):
You know.
Speaker 5 (27:12):
It was great that these generals are talking about it,
but the guys that are actually in country and needing
to fulfill missions, like they didn't want to hear it
because they still had to fulfill the mission. So it
almost backfired. It almost probably sent guys further into the
(27:37):
withdrawing and trying to cover up than it was trying
to get.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
That absolutely absolutely, like the officer's side is not the
enlisted side of the military, you know. And I started out,
I deployed as a PFC, came back pretty much a sergeant.
You know, my first stars and my commander were calling
me sergeant at the end of that. And I had
no interaction with an officer above a captain, you know,
(28:03):
so like for generals to tell their story and what
they experience was not going to happen down on my level,
you know, right, Yeah.
Speaker 5 (28:13):
So it's I guess someone in a you know, a
dark hallway in the Pentagon. I thought it was a
good idea, and you know, you know, I guess better
to try than not try it all. The stigma is
continues to be a major issue there. There's I think
through the years, particularly maybe the last four or five years,
(28:35):
we've had a little bit of movement toward people understanding
what PTSD actually is versus what they kind of heard
on the local news when someone shut up a mall
or something like. That's not PTSD. They may have PTSD,
but they also wearing a brown belt and have green hair.
I mean, it's just, you know, it has nothing to
do with what they're doing.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
All right.
Speaker 5 (28:54):
We're going to take a quick break and be right
back with more of Road to Hope Radio with Lindbergh
and Mike to help you guys both with us. A
couple of army that's with us today.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
And were welcome you back Road to Hope Radio. A
few minutes left, but.
Speaker 5 (29:28):
I'd like to hear from both of you guys, how
whenber We'll start with you, how did you first hear
about CAMPO.
Speaker 3 (29:32):
What was that first connection?
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Yeah, looking back out on it now, it's kind of
weird to say, but I was actually homeless. I was
homeless at that point in time, trying to figure things out.
And uh so in Washington State there's this place called
Catholic Community Center and they had a like a meeting,
(30:00):
you know, for people to come by that were experiencing
homelessness at the time, to come by and get resources.
So I ran into a gentleman named Larry Turk who
was in charge of the outreach chapter in Tacoma, and
I sat down with his team and they explained to
me what Camp Hope was. And this was in twenty eighteen,
(30:24):
and I met Larry a former starn major named Mariah Sidwell,
I believe also, and they just explained to me, you know,
what it was where Camp Hope was what I could
receive in terms of the time and the ability to
(30:46):
go through, you know, some counseling for PTSD and things
of that nature. And I put it in my back pocket
and didn't really make a decision for a year. And
when I came to Camp hope first time in twenty
nineteen December twenty nineteen.
Speaker 3 (31:03):
How long were you homeless?
Speaker 2 (31:07):
So from two thousand about six to eight months. You know,
it wasn't like I was on the streets for years
or anything. About six eight months I was.
Speaker 5 (31:19):
And the only reason I mentioned I think that's it
comes as a surprise to a lot of people. That's
so many of our post nine to eleven veterans found
themselves homeless at some point in time for some length
of time. You mentioned six to eight months. Justin was
homeless in Houston for six and a half years, which
(31:42):
is absolutely I don't even know how you survived that.
I just don't even know how you how do you
do that? But man, that's people need to understand that's
what has happened. That's what is happening, and it's and
I remember hitting the streets in two thousand and I
was meeting guys that were twenty three and twenty four
(32:02):
years old and they were already homeless after having been
to to Iraq or Afghanistan in the very early part
of the Wars. It was shocking to me. But our
people have to understand. Our community needs to understand that
they need to understand why there's a need for a
place like Camp Hope. And I hated that it took
(32:25):
you so long to get there, but I'm glad you did.
How did you hear about Camp Mike?
Speaker 4 (32:30):
I was at a residential program in Salisbury, North Carolina.
Speaker 5 (32:35):
Are you doing in North Carolina? I ended up barbecues terrible?
Why in the world in North Carolina? Felt Lake Home?
Speaker 3 (32:41):
You know?
Speaker 6 (32:42):
I visited some family there, gotcha?
Speaker 4 (32:44):
And when what brought me originally was I was I
was awarded a mortgage free home through a military nonprofit.
Speaker 5 (32:51):
Because of your injuries from because of my injuries.
Speaker 4 (32:53):
So I have a purple heart. And I was also
given a bronze star, so they gave me a home.
That's what brought me there. But I was to Camp Hope.
I was at a program at the VA Hospital and
one of the representatives there said that they heard of
this program that they think will really much in North Carolina.
(33:13):
They thought that this place called Camp Hope would help
me tremendously because of the stuff that I struggled with.
She's I think her exact words were that she's never
seen somebody as decorated as me with so many problems
and nowhere to go.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
Now.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
I didn't know anything about Camp Hope. I got on
the website and I looked at it and I said,
this place looks amazing.
Speaker 6 (33:40):
This is they hit it on all the things.
Speaker 4 (33:42):
And I think it was the video of you talking
about what Camp Hope was and how it can help
other veterans and that this was the tough guys that
struggle the most and they get the most benefit out
of it. And I thought to myself, I thought it
couldn't be true. I really truly did not believe it.
(34:03):
I've been in a lot of programs that say that
they're there to help veterans, and they really don't. Fortunately,
they don't stand up to the bar. They they really
kind of fall short. It's good intention, but they just
it falls short. And it's usually because of resources aren't there.
I applied on Camp Hope's website uh mill or PTSDUSA
(34:25):
dot org and I got a phone call the next
day and I could I was I was literally shocked.
I was like, Wow, this is crazy. A gentleman from
Outreach called me and he said that he told me
who he was, where he was from, what branch he was.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
In.
Speaker 4 (34:41):
Turns out, the gentleman and I were in the same
part of Afghanistan on the same task force, and he
knew exactly who I was, Like he had seen my vehicle.
I had my name written on the vehicle. It's called
Pug's Life. They stopped that after our deployment because we
were getting targeted too much. But so the gentleman remembered
who I was and he knew what my mission was.
Speaker 3 (35:03):
There, so he.
Speaker 6 (35:07):
Walked me through the process.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
And like I think it was two weeks later, they
saw the need that I had, I guess, and they
flew me down within I mean within a matter of
two and a half to three weeks tops, and it
was fast. They got me down here to Houston, Texas,
and I've I don't know, it's just an amazing opportunity
(35:30):
to be with other veterans that are struggling with the
same issues. I mean, it's every day. It's it's awakening,
it's I see it. I see myself and other veterans,
and it that's what helps the most. I think everyone
hears a veteran. Everyone here has lived the life, has
walked the walk. They know what I'm going through, they
(35:51):
know the struggles that I feel.
Speaker 5 (35:55):
I was in a meeting this week, and that kept
bubbling back to this top of the conversation. Through the years,
we've obviously strengthened the program, added to the program, brought
a lot of different things into the program, like we've
had art therapy, we've had equine therapy, and you know,
(36:20):
grateful that we're able to bring all those things in.
But it always always always comes back to the peer
to peer side. That's always it's huge. Yeah, So day
one for you coming in from North Carolina having been
in the VA for a while. I guess what was
Dave one like for you? Because you've seen it on
(36:43):
a on a website, which is one thing. But yeah,
now all of a sudden, here you are. So let's
put this good thing is if you've been here in
thirty days, it was nice and cool when you got here.
Speaker 6 (36:52):
That was cool. Oh my gosh, it was hot when
I got here.
Speaker 3 (36:56):
So our eight months of summer.
Speaker 4 (36:58):
Yeah yeah, so let's paint this picture for you. I
got off the airport, off the airplane, and I was
picked up by the PTSD USA Camp Hope van, red
white and blue van. I mean, nothing more welcoming than
Camp Hope. You know, it's this big red, white and
blue van that's talking. It's PTSD USA, get help.
Speaker 6 (37:20):
They drive me.
Speaker 4 (37:21):
First of all, he gives me the biggest talk I've
ever gotten in my life. I tried to shake his
hand and he says, we don't do that, and he
gives me a hug. And the both gentlemen that were
in the van, they greeted me with smiles and hugs.
Speaker 6 (37:33):
And I was like, wow, this is weird.
Speaker 4 (37:35):
Okay, that's different, but okay, so I rode with it.
Speaker 6 (37:39):
They drove us back to.
Speaker 4 (37:41):
The camp and somebody opened the door when I got
there and they said, give me a hug, and I'm like,
yet now it's it's yeah. Now, if you're not hugging,
something's wrong, you know. So it's there's no handshakes here
most of the time. If you try to shake someone's hand,
they'll slap your hand out of the way and they
just bear hug you. And that's the normal now. And
(38:03):
I told that to my daughter when I talked to her,
and she said, Dad, that makes my heart so happy.
She's twenty two right now. She just turned twenty two
in February.
Speaker 5 (38:13):
Well, unfortunately, our time is done. I hate this clock.
This is the fastest hour of my entire week, every
single week. But glad you're here.
Speaker 6 (38:21):
I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 5 (38:23):
Keep doing the work. Yes, for your family, but mainly
for you.
Speaker 3 (38:28):
You deserve.
Speaker 5 (38:29):
You deserve the very best life you can live. The
same for you, lindbergh Y, So thanks for having me.
Grateful for you, Grateful for what you do every single
day to serve those who come into our program at
Camp Hope. We want everyone that steps foot on our campus,
whenever it is they step out to go live their life.
We want them to live the very best life that
they possibly can, whatever that looks like. We don't get
(38:50):
to choose that, but we want to expose to as
much as we can while you're here. So thank you, Linmber,
appreciate it. Mike, thanks for sharing some of your story.
Thank you for having me join us again next week
for more of Road to Hope Radio.
Speaker 3 (39:01):
Have great week, everybody,
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!