My Story: John Waszily
January 25, 2010 |
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After attending college, I entered the Air Force in 1964 and, after only 18 months, received a medical discharge for stress-related hypertension. I was hired by a consulting engineering firm and was named one of Cleveland’s outstanding business leaders. I later started my own consulting engineering business, Waszily and Associates, which was recognized by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest growing U.S. companies in 1991.
To deal with the increased stress of my career, I was self-medicating with alcohol and my use of alcohol was growing daily. My attention to the business was declining daily and in 1997, I was forced to declare corporate and personal bankruptcy. In 1998, my investor sold what was left of the business, and my wife of 30 years filed for divorce.
I moved to Modesto, CA and contacted the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for medical help. I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and granted 100 percent disability for my mental health issues. I later became homeless and grew suicidal. The VA admitted me as a patient for almost a year until Goodwill of Silicon Valley gave me a second chance.
John Waszily helps a homeless veteran through Goodwill of Silicon Valley's Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program
I was hired as a placement counselor and business developer and was later put in charge of the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program. Since July 2007, we have met with almost 400 veterans, placing 145 into long-term employment. I was instrumental in starting four separate business activities that are staffed and supervised by former homeless veterans. I have also become active in the community again, and in 2009, I was named Veteran of the Year in Santa Clara County.
This month, I am celebrating 40 months of sobriety and enjoying every minute. Since Goodwill of Silicon Valley gave me a second chance, my life has never been more meaningful.
Listen to John Waszily tell his story in this week’s My Story Podcast.
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Great story. It shows again that helping others can often be rehabilitating for yourself as well – a positive, circular thing.
John, congratulations on all your personal and professional success!
John Waszily was an integral part of bringing me here to Goodwill of Silicon Valley as his replacement in counseling services so that he could focus on the Veteran’s Integration Program. His success here has inspired the success of many!
John, this is an excellent story! Keep up the good work! You certainly are a leader in our community. Two thumbs up for you! … and congrats again on your 40 months of sobriety… but most importantly, thanks for helping others!
__________
I feel so proud of working with John! He’s done an awesome job with the Veteran’s Integration Program, and I feel that if it wasn’t for him, the program wouldn’t be as successful as it’s been.
John,
You are an inspiration to me and, not surprisingly, to many others. I respect you greatly for confronting and dealing with the disease of alcoholism head-on. As the former spouse of someone active in the disease, the pain of experiencing the demise of our family as well as of the person I love is excruciating. You have taken your sadness and transformed lives–making your journey a noble and fruitful one. Thank you.
Deb
Great story. Blessings to all in need.
Congratulations on your sobriety and success. This is another example to illustrate how our government can help our society. Giving us food stamps, public aid, cheap housing and disability payments, etc. creates a subculture of low self worth and often leads to crime and addictions. A person needs to work. Work enables us to grow and develop as human beings. Work provides dignity, especially for husbands and fathers. Employment also teaches us to work as part of a team. Through our jobs, we may also make new business contacts and even friends.
We need jobs, not handouts.
This is a great an inspirational story; most of us take things for granted, but we do not realize how close we are to personal tragedy and that we need to use our best resources to pull-out of it. God bless your ordeal, because it is quite inspirational for any person who might think that he or she is leaving a normal life