{"id":5898,"date":"2026-09-16T13:45:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T13:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/?p=5898"},"modified":"2026-09-16T13:59:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T13:59:25","slug":"a-veterans-justice-outreach-journey-of-redemption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/a-veterans-justice-outreach-journey-of-redemption\/","title":{"rendered":"A Veterans Justice Outreach journey of redemption"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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New on VA News<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
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\u2018As many times as it takes\u2019: A Veterans Justice Outreach journey of redemption<\/h2>\n\n\n
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By Maureen Dyman, Communications Director, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

September 16, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jerry Butler joined the Air Force out of Texas with one goal in mind: to see the world. He certainly never imagined his path would eventually lead him to a Texas jail, sitting in a Veterans pod and staring at a stranger trying to convince him that his life could still be saved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Butler served his time in the Air Force honorably, then built a second life for himself as a successful DJ. For a while, things were good. But underneath the music and the crowds, addiction was taking hold. What started as a habit spiraled into something he couldn\u2019t control, and slowly he started on a path of self-destruction. Over the years that followed, he was arrested six times on drug-related charges and served several stints behind bars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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View the full article on VA News<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Veterans Justice Outreach Specialist helped Veteran rebuild his life<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":5899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"priority":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[25],"class_list":["post-5898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-va-news","tag-justice"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/a-veterans-justice-outreach-journey-of-redemption\/","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"A Veterans Justice Outreach journey of redemption","url":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/a-veterans-justice-outreach-journey-of-redemption\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/a-veterans-justice-outreach-journey-of-redemption\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/09\/VJOjourneyredemption.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/homeless\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/72\/2026\/09\/VJOjourneyredemption.png"},"articleSection":"VA News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Shawn Liu"}],"creator":["Shawn Liu"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"VA Homeless Programs","logo":""},"keywords":["justice"],"dateCreated":"2026-09-16T13:45:15Z","datePublished":"2026-09-16T13:45:15Z","dateModified":"2026-09-16T13:59:25Z"},"rendered":"