For Marine Corps Veteran Scott Mulvaney, gratefulness is his state of mind.
“If it weren’t for the VA, I’d be dead. I would not be alive.”
With an easy smile and kind eyes, Mulvaney speaks earnestly about his experiences. As a formerly unhoused Veteran, his journey with the VA led him from sleeping in his car to running the Heroes Golf Course, having a home on the West LA VA Campus, and helping countless other Veterans.
His story starts with a stint in the Marine Corps. Years later, undiagnosed PTSD and depression coupled with job loss led to two bouts with homelessness.
“It was like being frozen, I was really broken … in a way you become very fragile because you don’t know who you are at that point,” Mulvaney said. “All the anchors you held onto before, all the things that gave you meaning, and stability are gone.”