Shannon's Story: Bob Woodruff Grant

Like many veterans, Shannon left home immediately after graduating high school to pursue a future with the military. Shannon entered the Iowa National Guard, where he would end up serving for 10 years. “Soldiering was a good fit for me because it was so structured,” says Shannon. But along with the structure came the requirement of living in a community and interacting with others, which Shannon struggled with due to some mental health issues that became more prominent during his years with the Guard.

Shannon’s mental health, toxic relationships, and an ongoing struggle with addiction eventually led to homelessness and an attempt on his own life in 2025. He checked himself in to the VA Hospital and received treatment there, after which he was discharged to our New Visions Omaha Veteran’s Campus in August of 2025. 

“When a person experiences homelessness,” says Shannon, “it’s tough to go from living out there to living in here. You get used to being on alert, you have to think a certain way and live a certain way just to survive. Making that mental shift takes time. I needed to learn how to feel safe again.” Thankfully, Shannon entered our facility under our Grant Per-Diem (GPD) Special Needs program that gives him up to 2 years to stay and stabilize. 

Soon after arriving at New Visions, Shannon signed up to help with groundskeeping. “I figured that the best thing to do was to get myself involved,” says Shannon. That involvement included joining AA and also entering a national Veteran’s Art Contest with a novel dance routine, for which he won 2^nd place in the National competition. These and other positive involvements at our campus eventually helped to land him a full-time job in the electrical department at the VA.  

Today, Shannon is taking time to work on himself, but he’s also spending that time giving back to the community that saved him. “I’m proud that my treatment here doesn’t feel like it’s just about me,” says Shannon. “There’s a lot of helping other people involved in my recovery, and honestly I think that’s the best thing for me.”

When asked about the uniqueness of sorting out his recovery in a facility with other veterans, Shannon says, “There’s a 10-20 year age gap between me and most others here, but we have that one core thing in common, and it’s surprising how it takes down other barriers.”

And Shannon works hard to continue addressing barriers and creating a safe environment for both himself and his veteran comrades. When contemplating his future, Shannon says that he would love to one day become a therapist. Instead of fixing THINGS, he says, “I’d rather be a mender of souls. This empathy took a lot of training. I’m weaving together a lot of tools that used to be used for evil. I may never atone for my past, but I can live the rest of my life in opposition to it.”

We’re proud to stand beside veterans like Shannon who are overcoming the pain of their past and finding new hope for a brighter future. We’re grateful to partner with organizations like the Bob Woodruff Foundation, who make it possible for us to provide help, hope, and opportunity for veterans like Shannon.