For nearly two decades, Marine Corps Veteran Rob Slaughter lived in the shadows on the streets of LA. After losing both parents and being discharged from military service after less than four months, he found himself without a family, home or future.
Eventually, addiction and homelessness led him to Skid Row, where suicide started to seem like the only way out. “People wanted me dead. I wanted me dead. I needed another reason to live,” he shared.
But Slaughter found a different path, one that would lead to a life he now sees as “a miracle.”
After enrolling in the New Directions for Veterans transitional housing and recovery program on the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center campus, Slaughter earned his sobriety and rebuilt his life from the ground up. Now he’s a resident, leader and successful tradesman on the historic campus.
For Slaughter, living on the property is an honor and a privilege, and it’s up to him and other Veterans to maintain a safe, healing space for all who reside there. “We have to maintain our honor,” he said. “I have to fight for that.”
‘A God moment’
For 15 years after leaving the service, Slaughter earned his living as a carpenter and construction worker, even while being addicted. “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,” he said.
That was when things started to shift for him. “I had a God moment,” he said. The path eventually led him to New Directions. The program’s structure was exactly what he needed to get his life back on track.
“For once in my adult life I was getting to know myself sober,” he said. “What do I really like? What are my real interests? I found I did like me.”
Making the right choices
Through the Department of Housing and Urban Development–Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program, Slaughter secured his own apartment on the West LA VA campus.
Soon, Slaughter was faced with a career choice: work security at a nightclub or as a tradesman painting new housing for Veterans on campus. He went with the painting job, knowing that a nightclub environment could lead him astray. “I took a chance, and it blessed me,” he said.
As the founder of the peer-led Veteran Council in his building, Slaughter is helping to create a standard of safety and behavior for Veteran residents as the campus population continues to grow. “I’ve graduated to this level that I can take on this responsibility to do something for other people,” he said.
‘It can stop’
For other Veterans who are at the end of their rope, Slaughter brings the message that they can overcome just as he did. “To the guy that is desperate, done, tired, sick, crazy, crying to himself—it can stop,” he said. “Call upon God to show you the way and start trusting.”
Slaughter plans to continue to show other Veterans what’s possible and remain a leader as the West LA campus evolves.
Ultimately, he wants other Veterans to know that there is a path to healing and recovery if they’re willing to trust. “Don’t do it your way for once, do it someone else’s way,” he said. “Give yourself a chance.”
