Claude Chatman, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq, returned home in 2009 carrying invisible wounds. Haunted by PTSD, his life began to unravel. Apartments came and went, abandoned as quickly as they were rented. Homelessness became a cycle, and addiction to alcohol and drugs tightened its grip. Over time, Claude lost more than just shelter—he lost direction, purpose, and ultimately, hope. After multiple stints in jail, he emerged with nothing. No home. No possessions. No plan. Just rock bottom.

It was at that lowest moment that Claude did something powerful—he asked for help. The VA connected him with The Transition House, where his journey toward healing began. What he found there was more than a place to stay—it was a lifeline. A structured, two-year residential program offered him comprehensive support: counseling, addiction recovery, financial literacy, life skills, and above all, dignity. Claude calls it “the spark that lights the flame of faith, compassion, success, courage, and perseverance.”

Today, Claude is 17 months sober and thriving. After nine months in the program, he has repaired his credit, qualified for a VA home loan, and is studying to become a licensed real estate agent. He’s no longer surviving—he’s building a future.

“I’m an honest, sober, clear-minded, responsible, happy, successful man,” he says. His transformation hasn’t gone unnoticed. “That’s my son. That’s the man I knew,” his family says with pride.

Claude now sees his life not as something broken, but as something reborn. “I was spiritually dead,” he reflects. “The Transition House helped me relearn how to become human again. They showed me there is life after addiction.”