I served my country and ended up living in my car. Then I got help.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Frank Uriostegui is a U.S. Army veteran who served from 2011 to 2015 and now works as a fiber optics maintenance technician. After experiencing homelessness following his military service, he received employment and supportive services through JVS SoCal.

The back seat of my car was packed with everything I owned. Clothes. Shoes. Blankets. 

Every night, I searched for a different parking lot where I could sleep without being bothered. I usually parked beneath the neon lights of office buildings because they made me feel a little safer than complete darkness. 

That night, even the lights couldn’t protect me. Someone tried to break into my car while I was sitting inside. I gripped the steering wheel and waited for him to leave. 

When he finally walked away, I looked around my car. Every piece of clothing I owned was piled around me. My life had been reduced to whatever fit inside that vehicle. 

I couldn’t shower. I couldn’t do laundry. I couldn’t iron my clothes. 

I kept asking myself the same question. “How am I supposed to interview for a job from my car?” 

The answer I kept coming back to was simple. I couldn’t. 

That night, I decided I was going to end my life. I planned to drive my car into a wall. Then another thought crossed my mind. 

“There must be someone I can talk to.” 

I remembered the Veterans Crisis Line. 

I expected someone to tell me not to kill myself. Instead, they listened. They told me I wasn’t alone. 

They told me there were people who could help me find housing, find work, resolve my suspended driver’s license, and connect me with organizations that understood what veterans go through. 

When I hung up the phone, I didn’t start the car. I just sat there quietly, absorbing the fact that, for the first time in a long time, someone had given me hope. 

Within days, organizations began reaching out. One of them was JVS SoCal. When I walked through their doors, I wasn’t just carrying the few belongings I had left. I was carrying anxiety, depression and shame. 

I had convinced myself my life had fallen apart. The people at JVS looked at me and said something I’ll never forget. 

“We can help you.” 

“We are here for you.” 

They weren’t just comforting words. They meant them. 

JVS helped me find housing. They connected me with temporary work while I got back on my feet. They helped me resolve legal issues that had become barriers to employment. Most importantly, they helped me regain confidence in myself. 

For the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel like I was just surviving. I felt like a productive member of society again. 

It hadn’t always been this way. Like many young people, I enlisted in the Army right out of high school. I served as a communications specialist working with radios and satellite systems. I loved what I did. I had responsibility. I had purpose. 

When I left the military, I assumed those skills would translate into a career. Instead, I found myself caught in between. 

I applied for entry-level jobs, but employers thought I was overqualified. The jobs that matched my military experience wanted qualifications I didn’t have. I felt like all the talents I had developed in the military no longer mattered. 

During that time, I got married and became a father. But I was also struggling with anxiety and depression that I didn’t understand and didn’t ask anyone to help me with. 

My marriage fell apart. I lost my family. Eventually, I lost my home. 

The hardest part wasn’t living in my car. It was pretending I was OK. 

My family had always looked at me as someone who was strong. I didn’t want them to know I was homeless. I didn’t want them to know how badly I was struggling. 

So I kept everything inside. 

Looking back, I realize my story isn’t unique. A lot of us join the military when we’re barely adults. We spend years in one of the most structured environments imaginable. Then we come home expected to figure everything out on our own. 

Many veterans don’t know where to begin. How do you translate military experience into civilian work?  How do you write a résumé? How do you explain skills that don’t fit neatly into a job description? 

Too many veterans ask those questions alone. Some never ask them until they’re in crisis. 

Today, my life looks very different. I have stable housing. I have a career as a fiber optics maintenance technician that builds on the technical skills I learned in the Army. Most importantly, I can be the father my son deserves. 

What changed wasn’t that I suddenly became stronger. What changed was that I finally reached out. 

If you’re a veteran who feels trapped, ashamed or convinced no one will understand what you’re going through, please hear me. You are not alone. There is someone to talk to. There are people who care. And there are organizations ready to help. 

If you’ve never served in the military, I hope my story reminds you that a veteran’s service doesn’t end when they take off the uniform. For some, that’s when the hardest battle begins. 

Support the organizations helping veterans rebuild their lives. Tell your elected officials that veteran employment, housing and mental health services deserve continued investment. 

Those aren’t just programs. They’re lifelines. 

When we celebrate the freedoms so many veterans were willing to defend, I hope we’ll also remember our responsibility to the men and women who come home carrying battles we cannot see. 

Because sometimes the difference between life and death begins with one thought. “There must be someone I can talk to.” 

And with someone answering,  “We can help you.”

We are here for you.” 

If you are struggling with mental health issues, please call 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.