When Mike first came to Harbor Care, he had just done the hardest thing he could imagine: dropping his 14-year-old dog at a shelter. He thought he wouldn’t be alive much longer. After months of homelessness, living out of his truck with his only companion, Mike had lost hope. He had planned to end his life.

Instead, something shifted. After calling everywhere for help, Mike connected with Harbor Care’s SSG Fox Suicide Prevention Program. That call offered him a lifeline — clothes, a safe place to stay that very night, and the first fragile sense that maybe, just maybe, there was another way forward. Mike took the chance. He and his dog, inseparable since Mike returned from Afghanistan, came in from the cold.

At 42, Mike describes himself as a “first-year college freshman.” He’s rebuilding his life piece by piece: going to therapy with a Harbor Care therapist at the Health & Wellness Center, studying psychology at Keene State, and working toward buying his first home. Just a year ago he was homeless; now he’s talking about research projects and long-term plans.

Life hasn’t been simple. Mike is candid about the years he lost to addiction and depression, and about how hard it was to admit he needed help. But he says having a safe, stable place like Harbor Care’s Buckingham Place, one of its transitional housing facilities for veterans, gave him the breathing room to imagine something better. “I didn’t need someone to fix everything for me,” he explains. “I just needed another day. Harbor Care gave me that day — and then another.”

Mike is quick to credit his dog, Tiger, for keeping him grounded. The two have been together since he returned from the Army/NH National Guard, and Tiger’s loyalty never wavered through the darkest times. “He’s been with me his whole life. He deserved better than the life I was giving him,” Mike says. That bond became one of the reasons he chose life instead of ending it.

Today, Mike speaks with a calm steadiness, but also with hope. He talks about reconnecting with family, repairing old relationships, and, maybe most surprising to himself, discovering that he loves school. “I never thought I’d say that,” he laughs. “But here I am.”

Mike Murray’s story isn’t finished, but it’s no longer defined by despair. It’s the story of a man — a veteran in recovery, yes, but most importantly, a worthy human being — who found his way back to life.

“When I got here, I didn’t want to live. Now I want to be part of this world,” he said. “If Harbor Care could save my life, I know it can work for someone else.”

UPDATE: Since our talk with Mike in August, he has purchased his first home, and he will be moving to Keene to finish his education in a few weeks.