In 1999, Army veteran Edgar Lopez-Colorado was on the right track following his military service. He would finish school and begin a promising career in computing technology.

He was impressed with the Army field computer technicians. “When my laptop would fail, they would open the case and almost always get it working again,” Lopez-Colorado explains.

He tested well in technology and began to take classes in computer networking. After graduating, Lopez-Colorado, who was 29 years old at the time, served an internship with the computer firm, Unysis.  He subsequently became a contractor and was assigned a project with the Los Angeles County Department of Social Services. While other contractors were let go at the end of the first phase of project, Lopez-Colorado was retained and was given new assignments. However, a challenge came up when he was asked about his IT certification.

He lacked the required certification which meant he could no longer represent Unysis to the L.A. County client. Nevertheless, Unysis retained him for another year working in the warehouse, but let him go when the final phase of the project ended. His career launch in IT had come to an unexpected full strop. Disappointed but finding that he still had GI benefits left, he decided to return again to school to get the additional certifications he would need.

“In IT, you can get a Bachelors Degree or you can get certified, I earned my CCNA (Cisco Network Associate), my MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer), and so on.”

Once he was certified, Lopez-Colorado was a very marketable technician. He was soon hired to be a Senior Engineer with OnPoint. He supervised a staff of fifteen technicians. Because of his outgoing personality and technical proficiency; he was additionally asked to participate in support of the sales team when they called on clients.     

Storm Clouds Gather in the Distance

At OnPoint, he was rapidly promoted and became the “go to guy” when it came to resolving technical issues. Increasingly, he would support installation and sales efforts with new accounts. He was issued a company credit card used specifically to entertain clients.

“At first, when potential clients came into town, my boss and I would take them out for lunch as well as dinners,” Lopez-Colorado explains.  “We would go out to a restaurant and my boss asked everyone what they wanted to drink. He ordered a round for everybody. I thought, hey, this is pretty cool, sure I’ll have a beer.”

It wasn’t long before Lopez-Colorado was regularly hosting new clients on his own and enjoying drinks with them on an increasingly frequent basis.

“That’s when my drinking got out of hand. I would drink at work. I was drinking day and night. It was not unusual for me, for example, to consume a 12-pack of beer on the weekend.”

His drinking and resulting behavior when intoxicated created a number of severe problems in his personal life. “It messed up my relationship with my wife and my kids.”

Despite his heavy drinking, he was able to keep his job. “I was a functioning alcoholic. I hired and fired staff.  My reports were always handed in on time. If a server went down, I was able to troubleshoot the problem and fix it. I felt at the time, despite my heavy drinking, that everything on the job was under control and nothing could go wrong.”

The Storm

Then, two unanticipated events, in close proximity, took place. He was caught by the police driving while intoxicated and given a DUI. Then, he was shocked to learn that the company needed to cut back on staffing to adjust to a business downturn. He was being laid off.    

“It all happened so fast. I lost my job, then I lost my apartment, my ex-wife kicked me out and I was homeless, living in my car.”

Despite his bad situation and critical feedback from those around him, Lopez-Colorado was unable to be in touch with the root of his problems.

“My family and friends all told me I had a drinking problem. But I thought I knew better. I was in denial for the most part.”

Undaunted by his life situation, Lopez-Colorado continued to drink and would crash on the couches of friends’ places for a period of seven months. He continued to look for work without success.

Wearing His Lucky Army Hat

“One day, I found my old Army hat stuck under a pile of stuff in the back seat of my car. I put it on. It reminded me of better days and cheered me up. I decided to go over to the Work Source Center to look for a job. Maybe it was that hat that got me noticed. Maybe wearing that hat changed my destiny.”

Kenneth Hammond, a Social Service Tech was visiting the center and looking for veterans who might be eligible so that he could share a presentation explaining the VA benefits which they were entitled. Hammond noticed a young man wearing an Army hat and asked if he was a vet. When Lopez-Colorado answered, “Yes sir,” Hammond persuaded him to sit in on the VA benefits presentation.

“When the subject of recovery programs for homeless vets and vets struggling with substance abuse was mentioned, the words kind of rang a bell. I had the DUI court case pending, my life was a mess and so decided to accept Mr. Hammond’s offer to personally take me to the WLA VA and be considered for entry into the Haven program. The possibility of getting into a program gave me something I was not feeling at the time… ‘hope.’”     

Shelter, Recovery and a Ray of Hope

“They screened me, and told me that I as accepted into the Haven program in Building 212. That was good because, for the first time in a long time, I had a roof over my head and could now eat three meals a day!”

While appreciative of his new surroundings, Lopez-Colorado was not initially in touch with the level of commitment - on his part - that would be involved. Putting his life back on track would take time, discipline and introspection.

“I really didn’t know what I was signing up for,” Lopez-Colorado smiles at the recollection and how naïve he was. ”I said to myself, I’ll just go through the motions until I find a job. I wasn’t initially sincere or serious about being in this program.”

But, as he sat in groups of vets working through very similar substance abuse issues, he had an awakening. He began also to resolve to do something positive to change the course of his life.

“I immediately had a connection with the other vets and how they grew up under similar circumstances. I was an alcoholic, my dad was an alcoholic…I recognized a pattern that I was repeating. I began to see myself more clearly, maybe for the first time in my life. As months passed, I reached the point where I was able to admit out loud that I have a drinking problem.

“During my stay at Haven, working with my case manager, Ronnie Jackson, I learned how to use the tools the program provided to be sober. Mr. Jackson helped me to get my drinker’s ego out of the way and confront the reality of my situation.”

Seeing others graduate from the program and then come back because they had relapsed was a lesson not lost on Lopez-Colorado.

“Wow, they just left and they’re already back. It was a shock. It showed me just how powerful a substance addiction is.”

The Return to Work Program proved to be a wonderful and supportive experience for Lopez-Colorado. “I am grateful to Paul-Michael, Anne, Melva and Lisa. Those people are angels who helped me through every phase of my job search.

Today, Lopez-Colorado is employed by the IT department at the VA as a computer maintenance specialist. Taking a VA class in anger management, he is working on rebuilding his relationships with his ex-wife and his children. It is a work in progress.

“Getting my kids to trust and relate to me as a good father is not going to happen overnight. But I want to make every effort I can to get them back into my life.”  

The Salvation Army Haven Program is privileged to serve veterans in their journey toward recovery, greater self determination and an independent life. It is located on the West Los Angeles VA Campus in Buildings 207 and 212.  Haven offers emergency housing for veterans. More specifically, Haven caters to the needs of veterans struggling with a complex set of obstacles including:

• A shortage of affordable housing

• Low employability

• Chronic medical problems and mental illnesses such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD)

• Substance abuse

• Lack of social support networks.