When Eric returned to New Hampshire, he did so as a U.S. Air Force veteran facing serious health challenges and limited access to care — and looking for stability and the support to rebuild his life.

Eric had spent much of his adult life working in property management in Florida. But when a long-term contract job ended and his health began to decline, the foundation he had built there started to fall away. Administrative barriers, lack of transportation, and limited access to care meant that even basic medical needs became difficult to meet.

“My health care took a back seat,” Eric said. He had no driver’s license, so he was unable to complete required lab work, which ultimately led to him losing access to his HIV medication. By the time he arrived back in New Hampshire, he had been without treatment for nearly a year.

He said, “My viral load was up because I didn’t have any suppressants for it, and I just was in poor health and poor spirits – poor everything.”

Eric moved in with his sister, grateful for a safe place to stay, but unable to work or drive while he tried to piece things back together.

“It took me a while to get all my ducks in a row and get stuff together,” he said. “And Harbor Care was a huge, gigantic help for that.”

Shortly after returning home, Eric connected with Harbor Care’s HIV Services and met Director Wendy LeBlanc. That connection proved to be a turning point.

Wendy explained that when Eric first reached out, it was clear he was in a vulnerable place. Having been without consistent care for so long, getting him reconnected quickly became the priority. She connected him with a primary care provider at Harbor Care Health & Wellness Center and an HIV specialist at Dartmouth Hitchcock in Nashua.

With consistent treatment and coordinated care, his health began to improve. Just as importantly, Eric found something he hadn’t had in a long time: support.

“Just having people there that I could turn to and that could support me, just mentally, helped more than anything,” he said.

That kind of comprehensive, patient-centered care is at the heart of Harbor Care’s HIV program. Today, 95% of Harbor Care patients receiving HIV care have achieved viral suppression – meaning the virus cannot spread – far exceeding the national average of approximately 65% — a powerful reminder of what’s possible when medical care is paired with trust, access, and follow-through.

As Eric’s health stabilized, other pieces of his life began to fall into place. When Wendy learned that he was a veteran, she connected him to Jamie MacIntosh in Harbor Care’s Veteran Services, opening the door to housing support, employment resources, transportation assistance, and the New Hampshire Veterans Affairs Administration — services Eric hadn’t realized he was eligible to receive.

With that support in place, Eric moved into his own apartment in Nashua and began applying for jobs again. With help from NH Veterans Employment Services, he landed a position with the State of New Hampshire — a milestone that represented more than just employment. Having a job again, Eric said, meant “having freedom again.”

Today, Eric is healthy, housed, employed, and optimistic about what comes next. His husband, who remains in Florida for now, plans to join him once everything is fully settled.

Looking back, Eric sees his journey not as a straight line, but as a series of moments where the right support showed up at the right time.

At Harbor Care, “It really was a team effort,” Eric said. “Just having all these different people that were able to assist me . . . that’s what helped me.”