Afghanistan veteran from combat to the abyss of homelessness

Veterans offer compelling stories at Miami outreach event
BY DAVID OVALLE
Miami Herald

After eight years in the military and a traumatic tour of duty in Afghanistan, Dustin Lewis drifted onto the streets of Fort Lauderdale and into an abyss of cocaine and marijuana.

His wife left him. He hasn’t seen his two children in years. But in recent months, Lewis has gotten clean, moved into a veterans’ transition home and, on Saturday, found himself enjoying a simple pleasure: a haircut.

Lewis, 36, grinning broadly, sat in the chair courtesy of the Florida Barber Academy, which gave free haircuts to a line of veterans at Saturday’s outreach event at the American Legion Hall in Miami’s Upper Eastside.

For dozens of veterans such as Lewis, the event organized by the Veterans Affairs administration offered small tokens of appreciation: a dental check-up, free shoes, some strong coffee and a bagel.

But the event also provided bigger glimmers of hope: leads for jobs and housing placement, mental health counseling and help ironing out government benefits.

“I just want to work. I’ve been destructive for a very long time,” Lewis said. “I want to pay bills. I want to pay taxes. I don’t want to be become rich. I just want to do the right thing.”

Saturday’s Homeless Veteran Stand Down comes against the backdrop of the 10-year anniversary of the war in Iraq. Most of the veterans who attended, however, hail from earlier generations stretching back to the Korea and Vietnam conflicts.
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