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August 12, 2026From a Rest Stop to a Fresh Start: Mark’s Story
From a Rest Stop to a Fresh Start: Mark’s Story
Mark enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at just 18 years old. More than three decades later, he found himself sitting in a small apartment in Terre Haute, Indiana, pawning what little he had left, just to afford enough gas to get to work.
This is his story. And it could have ended very differently.
Mark had done everything right. He ran a painting business, paid his rent three months in advance, and raised his 14-year-old son largely on his own. When his son’s grandmother passed away, full-time school pickups and drop-offs made running the business impossible. He eventually sold it, and a non-compete agreement closed off his most obvious fallback.
What followed was a slow collapse. “Things just compounded.”
Mark took the only job he could find, at a rest stop 30 miles from home, scraping together enough fuel each day just to make the commute. Then someone filled his gas tank with maple syrup. A simple prank that devastated Mark.
“I really don’t have a support network where I have anybody to call and say, ‘Somebody did this to me and I need help.'”
He called churches. Crisis lines. Community organizations. Nearly all of them said no, or handed him a referral that led nowhere. Food pantries helped stretch his grocery budget, but they couldn’t pay his bills or get him back on the road.
“You could really start to feel a sense of hopelessness,” he said. “I was so depressed and so unhappy.”
That all changed when a fellow veteran connected Mark with HVAF. Mark initially resisted making the call, convinced he could manage alone. When that same veteran followed up and pushed him to reach out, he finally called HVAF and connected with our Terre Haute based employment specialist, Amy.
“It’s so humbling asking for help. And then when somebody does finally help you, after so many people tell you, ‘No, that’s not something we do’… it’s just really hard.”
Mark had a hard road ahead, but HVAF and Amy were there to give him personalized support to make it easier. Transportation was the first hurdle. Mark’s vehicle, his lifeline to employment, desperately needed repairs after being flooded with Maple Syrup. HVAF stepped in to cover the costs and also provided a gas card to ensure he could commute daily without worry. But the help didn’t stop there. Amy noticed that Mark’s car insurance had lapsed. Acting quickly, she arranged for six months of insurance payments to ensure his car was covered. Mark didn’t think much of it at first, until his employer requested proof of insurance just weeks later. “I never would’ve thought they would’ve asked for that in a million years,” he admitted. Without it, the job he worked so hard to secure would have slipped away entirely.
Financial emergencies are often a tipping point, and HVAF understood this. When Mark faced a critical moment, a loaded gift card arrived just in time. “They kept me from falling all the way down into homelessness,” Mark reflected. HVAF’s support was not just about providing for Mark’s today; it was about preventing a spiral into deeper instability.
When Mark’s initial job at the rest stop ended, he worked with Amy right away to ensure he could get back into the work force. She helped Mark see Uber Eats as a way to generate immediate income while searching for something steadier. Because HVAF had already ensured Mark’s vehicle was insured and operational, he was eligible to drive right away, minimizing the gap between his job loss and his next opportunity.
Amy also saw the importance of addressing the emotional toll Mark was carrying. She connected him with Shalee, one of HVAF’s on-site mental health clinicians. Every Monday at 10 a.m., Mark meets with Shalee, a time dedicated to working on his mental health. Together, they’ve worked on daily gratitude lists, anger management techniques, and strategies for interrupting PTSD-driven patterns.
“I started getting help for my anger and my impulsivity that comes from PTSD, and it has been amazing to have something so positive to focus on.”
Each step moved Mark closer to reclaiming a life he thought was beyond reach.
Throughout it all, Amy remained a steady presence, someone Mark could text with updates, setbacks, and wins. “Amy really rooted me on when nobody else was rooting me on.”
Thanks to that individualized support, Mark kept his apartment. He kept his son fed and in school. Mark kept going forward.
“I’m actually probably in a healthier spot than I was before I went broke,” he said, “because I’ve addressed a lot of the issues.
His son, now a high school freshman, remains a grounding force. When Mark shares his worries, his son reminds him: “Dad, we got all this rice, we got all this pasta. We’re gonna be just fine.”
You made all of this possible for Mark and his son. HVAF was able to reach Mark in Terre Haute only because supporters chose to fund the organization’s expansion beyond central Indianapolis.
“The help that I got was really strategic,” Mark said. “It wasn’t just, ‘Oh, here’s some food. You’re gonna be okay.’ It was more or less the support that I needed.”
Food keeps someone alive. Strategic, individualized care keeps them moving forward.
Mark had three people in his phone contacts when he hit rock bottom. Amy and Shalee, make five.
There are more veterans in Terre Haute, and across Indiana, still waiting to make that call. Your support ensures that when they finally do, someone answers.