Jeff Otteni had been to rehab multiple times to battle a drug and alcohol addiction, but nothing seemed to work for him. A U.S. Army veteran, Otteni found sober living houses to be adversarial and counterproductive.

After years of heartache, Otteni discovered a place that worked for him: Warrior Homes of Collier’s Alpha House, a low-cost housing unit for veterans suffering from drug and/or alcohol addiction.

“In other sober-living homes, it was more like a business and they were like, ‘Rent is due now, no questions asked,’ and that creates a very combative environment,” Otteni said. “Here it’s actually more strict in some ways but it never feels combative, and that has to do with the leadership here.”

Dale Mullin, founder of Warrior Homes, and his appointed peer-topeer mentor Gregory Tinsley, are well respected among the Warrior residents.

“Our mission is to assist veterans and their families here in Collier County in the area of housing, mental health and education,” Mullin said. “Those are the three areas we really focus on. Our mission is to assure that no veteran in need is left behind.”

Mullin said veterans locally commit suicide at a rate of 19 per day, which is twice the national average.

He also said veterans are 50% more likely to become homeless than non-veterans.

“If you put those two things together, it tells you, ‘Hey, we’ve got a real problem on our hands,’” Mullin said. “The numbers are too high. If one veteran is homeless, that’s one too many. This is definitely a national issue but it’s also a county issue, as well … Collier County always has pride in being a patriotic county, but if you define what is patriotic they fall short because it’s flag waving, barbecues, etc. When it comes down to serving needs of veterans, they fall short.”

Tinsley was a member of the Alpha House populace before graduating and becoming the peer mentor for the house.

“The Alpha House really gave me that sense of community I’d been lacking,” Tinsley said. “I’d had a hard time finding people I could really relate to. I’d had multiple combat tours, and when you get out of the service, it can be hard finding people to relate with. Alpha House is not profit-driven; they gave me the space and time to find out the foundations of my issues, not just the symptoms. I wasn’t just working on my substance abuse but the root cause of my issues. It also gave me the space where I didn’t have to worry about what my rent was. Everybody pays rent, but it’s just a fraction of what it would be somewhere else.”

George Salzano felt isolated and depressed. His father’s health issues were adding to the “downward spiral” he found himself battling.

“I was isolated and feeling sorry for myself,” Salzano said. “And for me, the way I deal with anxiety and depression is just drinking an obscene amount of alcohol and doing damage to myself. Luckily, I went to (David Lawrence Centers) and Crossroads, where I was fortunate enough to get hooked up with Warrior Homes of Collier and get into Alpha House.

“For me, the opposite of addiction is connection. Being connected with all the guys with like-minded experiences, being able to bounce things off them, it’s been awesome. I’ve been in other sober-living situations where it was about financial windfalls and making money, but here it’s really about your recovery and structure. At 50 years old, I was incapable of doing the next right thing. What I was doing wasn’t working for years.”

Otteni said he’s very grateful to have lived in the Alpha House.

“I’ve been in sober living homes where guys are scheming and scamming until they graduate and get out,” he said. “Here, I feel everyone is of the same mind and that the leadership has something to do with that. They’re understanding and they get it. The only thing that works for me is getting in a program and sticking to that program. I’ve failed and failed and failed again, but I can tell you now I don’t have the desire to drink or do any drugs today. Six months and a few days sobriety. This environment has been extremely helpful in that case.”

Mullin said his organization tries to cut off homelessness before it happens.

“We try to get them before they actually become homeless,” Mullin said. “Homeless prevention is a big part of what we do, in addition to housing anyone who becomes homeless at any given point and time. Whether that’s sleeping in their cars, sleeping in the woods, sleeping in the streets. We’re the only organization in Collier County that does that.”

A Vietnam veteran, Mullin moved to Naples in 2002 for the same reason many do: a big retirement vacation filled with golf and beaches. He soon came to realize not enough was being done about veterans’ issues, so he stepped in and began raising funds.

“All the support to run the programs we run, it all comes from the private sector,” he said. “The public sector does very little. If it wasn’t for all the philanthropic individuals and charities in Collier County, your foundations, we’d have trouble helping those in need. Whether it’s food, shelter, medical—basic needs that people have—it’s all been done on the backs of charities.”

Tinsley said his role as a mentor allows him to give back to the veterans’ community, and it’s a position where he has to do well because “all these guys are counting on me.”

“My biggest piece of advice to anyone in the program is they have to be willing to lose anything they put in front of their recovery and mental health, because nothing is more important than that. The next big thing is accountability. If you’re frustrated with your accountability, you’re probably doing something wrong … This is a group of guys that genuinely cares about one another. Some of this isn’t even treatment-based or recovery- based, it’s getting everyone out together to bond together. That way, whenever there is a need, they’re 100% more likely to open up to one another.”

Tinsley said Warrior Homes of Collier was a true game-changer for him.

“This program does save lives,” he said. “I had a real hard time finding help. I would tell people ‘I’m in crisis’ and they would turn me away or give me a referral for two weeks later and I’d get deeper in the hole I’d made for myself. At Warrior Homes if you call us in crisis, we’re going to do everything to help you right now. We take things seriously and don’t send people away. The way I see it, these guys were willing to lay down their lives at a drop of a hat because you asked them to and now when they’re in crisis, you’re going to turn them away? It’s inappropriate to turn your back on them.”

This story was published in The Naples Press on July 12.