Navy veteran to run new Manasota Goodwill homeless vet program

MANATEE -- A near-homeless U.S. Navy veteran from Parrish, who got help from Goodwill Manasota and Turning Points, has been named program manager for the group's new Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program.

New York native Rich Lopez, 47, is the perfect person to run the program because he's gone through what many veterans experience, including struggling to find work and keeping a roof over his head, said Veronica Brandon Miller, Goodwill's vice president.

"Rich's story is the epitome of what Goodwill does," Brandon Miller said. "It helps people get back on their feet. When we recently received a grant from the federal government for a Homeless Veterans Reintegration program and were looking for a program manager, it was seriously an 'Ah Ha' moment. Why not bring in someone who received our services and has the heart and under

standing to actually manage the program?"

Lopez is expected to help Goodwill continue a record-breaking streak.

Goodwill is coming off 2015 when it assisted an all-time record 22,739 individuals through its training, services and programs, and placed 961 people in jobs throughout the region -- a significant increase from 2014, when it assisted roughly 16,000 people.

"Here in early 2016 we are on roughly the same pace as 2015," Brandon Miller added.

Goodwill hired Lopez about a year ago and he has worked his way up in Goodwill's information technology department from part time to full time. He said he was stunned when Brandon Miller told him he had been selected to lead an entire program.

"I had a grin from ear to ear," Lopez said. "I was flooded with emotions. Hopefully with my real-life story I can show somebody that it can be done. It's not hopeless. You are not at the end of the line."

Job skills for homeless vets

Lopez will help homeless vets discover their job skills through a skills' analysis, Brandon Miller said. He will also help the veteran prepare emotionally for work.

"Rich will be able to understand if the vet is ready for stable employment," Brandon Miller said. "We don't want to put them out there if they are not ready. It could be substance abuse, anything. We partner with many organizations in the area to help fill in the gaps so the veteran is ready for employment. Those other agencies make sure our vet will have a house over their head, clothes, and has gone through counseling."

The program Lopez will be running is one of several veterans' programs at Goodwill.

The Special Emergency Resources for Veterans program, also known as SERV, helps veterans in immediate need of housing, education and food, Brandon Miller said. It was created under Goodwill's Veterans Service Program, which launched in 2013.

Lopez's program started when Goodwill received a $225,000 grant through the Department of Labor to implement a homeless veteran reintegration program, Brandon Miller said.

Lopez was born in the Bronx and grew up in Yonkers. He was an accountant and information technology specialist before deciding to enter the Navy after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City. He achieved a rank of Petty Officer Second Class Master of Arms.

"I was not a boat guy," Lopez said. "I did boots on ground kind of stuff. I got to play with the bad guys in Cuba and Africa."

While serving his country, technology was advancing and Lopez said he wasn't keeping up.

"Everything passed me by because I was busy shooting guns and throwing grenades, which doesn't translate into the civilian world too well," Lopez said. "I tried to get into real estate. We moved down here and we became on the verge of hopelessness."

Parrish rental a nightmare

Along with his wife, Vanessa, and children, Kyle, 18, Keifer, 10 and Kyla, 16, Lopez moved to River Plantation in Parrish a year ago but didn't know the home they were renting was in foreclosure, Lopez said.

"It turned out to be a nightmare," Lopez said. "We moved into a foreclosed house. We were paying rent to someone who didn't own the house. You would think I would know better, but I did not. After three months, I just had to get out of there. We did that through the help of the veterans' program here."

Lopez is thankful Goodwill not only helped him find a place to live, but hired him in its IT department.

"That's how the world should work," Lopez said. "I want to be there for someone else's need."

Richard Dymond, Herald reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7072 or contact him via Twitter@RichardDymond.

This story was originally published February 8, 2016 at 11:06 PM with the headline "Navy veteran to run new Manasota Goodwill homeless vet program ."