Navy veteran finds help and hope from MACV after living in tent in Central America
MINNEAPOLIS — Navy veteran Robert Tassoni found himself homeless and hurting in the jungles of Central America.
"The gratitude I have is every day, I wake up I'm just grateful," Tassoni said.
His struggle with alcohol and mental illness has brought him full circle. He first came to Minnesota years ago, he was at Hazelden working on his sobriety. He spent time in Wayzata before returning to his native Chicago.
"I was homeless in Chicago, in the Pilsen neighborhood, and it was getting cold and getting close to winter and I didn't know what to do so I just decided to hop on a plane and go to Central America," he said.
Tassoni had been to Costa Rica before. He learned to be a yoga instructor here in 2013. It was a familiar place, but this time circumstances were different.
"I brought a tent with me, and I started living in the jungle in a tent. I couldn't get out, I was stuck, I was homeless, I didn't have a way to leave," he said. "I called the embassy a couple of times trying to get out and there just isn't the type of medical care there for people there who are having a mental health crisis."
Things changed when he met a mother and daughter.
"They were both nurses and they offered to do breath work with me. They saw that I was homeless in Central America living out of a tent and decided to take me in and they fed me and clothed me, and they supported my sobriety," he said.
They helped Tassoni get help. A four-month intensive treatment program followed. After he completed it, he was sent on another path.
"The director of the program took me under his wing and said, 'Hey, I want you to go to Minneapolis, Minnesota, because of the veteran care they have for veterans. The type of care they have for veterans will be perfect for you.'"
With help from his Central American family, he got on a plane and landed back in Minneapolis.
"I arrived, I had a suitcase and a duffle bag. My last bit of money to travel to the CRRC [Community Resource and Referral Center]," he said. "I got to the CRRC and that's where I met James and the staff there and they took me under their wing and said, 'We got you. You are going to be alright. You're a veteran we got you covered.'"
He found refuge at Harbor Lights, where they have an area just for unsheltered veterans. Three months later, MACV had his voucher for an apartment. Tassoni's new space is what he dreamed of when he was homeless in the jungles of Costa Rica. He believes MACV helped save his life.
"It's like another vet going in to save another vet going down into the trenches, where I was homeless, busted, beaten, and then taking them out and basically saving them," he said. "MACV helped coordinate everything and I always had the support. It's like climbing up a ladder. They're not going to carry you up the ladder, but they are going to guide you up the ladder and give you a little support on the way up."