{"id":5452,"date":"2026-08-03T17:22:03","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T17:22:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/?p=5452"},"modified":"2026-08-03T17:27:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T17:27:42","slug":"dont-give-up-before-the-miracle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/dont-give-up-before-the-miracle\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t give up before the miracle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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New on VA News<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
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Don\u2019t give up before the miracle: One Veteran\u2019s return to family<\/h2>\n\n\n
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By Shawn Liu, National Homeless Program Manager, VHA Homeless Programs Office<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

August 3, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There was a time when Robert Bell was living day to day, doing what he could to get by. Today, he\u2019s built a life surrounded by the family he fought to reconnect with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bell served in the Navy for two and a half years, following in the footsteps of his father who proudly served in the Marines during the Vietnam War. In a meaningful twist of fate, Bell would go on to serve aboard the same ship as his father, the USS Kitty Hawk, a connection that further deepened his sense of pride in carrying on his family\u2019s legacy of service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his time in the Navy, Bell embraced the opportunity to experience new places and meet new people. However, after leaving the service, his transition back to civilian life proved to be anything but easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After serving in the Persian Gulf, the weight of those experiences began to take a toll, and he turned to drugs and alcohol to help him cope. This was the beginning of a vicious cycle that Bell described as a pattern of \u201cbuilding things up just to break it down again.\u201d Still, he refused to give up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more than a decade, he moved in and out of homelessness. At one point, Bell had been living in his car for a year while continuing to struggle with substance use. That is when two dedicated individuals stepped in and helped change the course of his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Navy Veteran fought to rebuild his life and his family\u2019s trust<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":5453,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"priority":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[37,36,71],"class_list":["post-5452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-va-news","tag-hud-vash","tag-ssvf","tag-stand-down"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/dont-give-up-before-the-miracle\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Don\u2019t give up before the miracle","url":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/dont-give-up-before-the-miracle\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/dont-give-up-before-the-miracle\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/R.-Bell-Photo.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/08\/R.-Bell-Photo.png"},"articleSection":"VA News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Shawn Liu"}],"creator":["Shawn Liu"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"VA Homeless Programs","logo":""},"keywords":["hud-vash","ssvf","stand down"],"dateCreated":"2026-08-03T17:22:03Z","datePublished":"2026-08-03T17:22:03Z","dateModified":"2026-08-03T17:27:42Z"},"rendered":"