LOVELAND, Ohio — There’s a clearing in the trees back behind the VFW post in Loveland. In a small fire pit, there's a log and remnants from a tent. Chris Gonzalez meets a lot of veterans, but the former detention officer in Guantanamo Bay won’t soon forget the one who used to live out here.
“He had no job, no home, no nothing,” Gonzalez said.
Michael Harrahil, an aircraft mechanic, had fallen on hard times. He’d gotten divorced, lost his job and spent a year living on the streets. He called Gonzalez asking if he could camp behind the VFW so he wouldn’t get arrested.
“When me and Mike first talked, I asked him where he wanted to be,” Gonzalez said. “He said not here.”
Learn more about Harrahil's — and Gonzalez's — story in the video below:
Through his nonprofit — NXTSep Vets — Gonzalez helped Harrahill sign up with the VA, where the Navy vet started getting help for untreated mental health issues.
“It’s extremely stressful,” Harrahill said about living outside. "You’re bathing in a river or creek. It’s difficult. You spend your day looking for food. But thanks to this guy and the VA, I’m crawling out from underneath that rock I was under.”
The most recent available data from the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs shows 589 unhoused veterans in Ohio. Nationally, 32,000 veterans experienced homelessness last year. That’s down from previous years.
Harrahill is just one of the vets Gonzalez is helping. Through his nonprofit, the man most call "Gonzo" connects veterans with job opportunities, a chaplain and transportation from people who've been through the same things.
“I did have a mental health problem I didn’t address for a lot of years,” Gonzalez said. “Myself, I have attempted suicide twice.”
But his work with people like Harrahill helps give him purpose. A reason to share his story and work so hard. A reason not to give up.
“It’s almost like church,” Gonzalez said. “It’s bringing folks together and making your own home.”
These days, he often picks up Harrahill from work and takes him back to the VFW. The two talk about an upcoming court date and how he pays child support. Then, they play a game of darts until more people show up.
“I’ve really got no family,” Harrahill said. “So until he came into my life, I was alone. Without him, I’d be on the street.”
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For more information about NXTStep Vets, click on this link.
