Navy Veteran Finds His Way
If you stop by the popular Nashua restaurant Martha’s Exchange, chances are you’ll find Marty in the kitchen making food on the broiler or prepping for the next service. Marty says he has the skills to pick up just about anything they throw at him.
This confidence on the job is something he’s carried over into his personal life recently. Marty, a U.S. Navy veteran, lives at Dalianis House, a 40-unit apartment complex run by Harbor Care that houses male veterans who have experienced or are at risk of homelessness. He’s saving up to buy a car and he’s got a good group of friends. Marty’s philosophy is to appreciate the little joys in life—good conversation, the weather on a beautiful day—and for the first time in a long time, he’s thinking about his future.
“I’m happy and that’s all that matters,” Marty said.
Life wasn’t always going well for Marty. Not long ago, he was living in a hotel, essentially homeless, and abusing drugs and alcohol.
“Life sucked. It was bad,” said Marty. “I got into trouble. I was in bad relationships. I did everything from crack cocaine to meth. It was a horror show with all the chaos and all the drama.”
Three years ago, Marty decided to get sober. He connected with Harbor Care and after treatment for substance use disorder moved into a sober living house in Manchester. In March, he became a resident of Dalianis House and has been attending 12-step meetings to maintain his sobriety.
“It’s all a learning process. It’s all growth,” said Marty. “I’m just thinking about moving forward.”
Moving forward is a new mindset for Marty. Like a lot of young people at the end of high school, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do and figured joining the military was a good option. He enlisted in the Navy. But when Marty left the military he still didn’t know what to do next.
After years of substance misuse, and no direction, getting sober helped him focus.
“Sometimes I still don’t know what I want to do, but I know I want to stay sober.”
These days he’s been working hard both on his recovery and at work, sometimes working two jobs to keep busy.
“It’s not the most exciting life, but it’s not messed up so that’s a good thing,” Marty said.
A big part of his journey was leaving friends from the past behind and deciding to focus on his recovery. He never thought he’d bond with the people he met at meetings but admitted he has found some valuable friendships there.
“I can count on them if I need to,” he said.
“I had to make a life change; it was almost like a dog chasing my own tail,” Marty said. “You got to forget about everything and think about what’s the right thing for you. If you have a drug and alcohol problem, you gotta solve that…Things are going a lot better now that I’m sober.