Homeless Vets Get Fresh Start In Sarasota Area

SARASOTA, FL — With eight years of decorated service in the U.S. Marine Corps and a job at the FBI, Steven Stouffer had it all. And then he didn’t.

After a year and a half with the FBI, Stouffer, like many before him, was bitten by the love bug and found himself following his heart – and a girl – to Pennsylvania. Once there, he landed on his feet for a time, launching a successful career as a private detective.

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The relationship, however, came to an end, catapulting Stouffer on a downward spiral that would eventually lead him to Sarasota to care for his elderly parents. Still reeling from the loses of love and career, his parents’ eventual deaths hit him especially hard, sending him further down a rabbit hole.

Briefly homeless, unemployed and not sure where to turn, Stouffer found a fresh start and a new life awaiting him at Goodwill Manasota. There he was connected with different services that would enable him to find employment and start forging a new path in his life.

With help from Volunteers of America, Stouffer, 52, was diagnosed with PTSD and began addressing the grip it had on his life. He was also connected with Signal 88 Security, a company that recently opened its doors in the Sarasota area.

Now gainfully employed full-time in a new career field thanks to Signal 88, Stouffer said he has a fresh outlook on life and feels right at home working for a company that understands the camaraderie veterans so often crave.

“When they approached me, they were really wonderful,” Stouffer said. “It was so like being back in the team.”

Headed up by veterans, Signal 88 has the kind of atmosphere that makes former soldiers comfortable, Stouffer explained.

“They know what that bond is to take care of your brother or sister,” he said.

Now back at work and enrolled in the State College of Florida earning credits toward a psychology degree, Stouffer said he’s on a path he’s proud of.

To other veterans, he says, “Good things can happen if you just don’t give up. Believe and have faith.”

A Partnership Is Born

The community partnership that launched Stouffer on a new career path was born partially out of necessity and also a strong desire to give a hand up to those in need, explained Brian Hannon, Signal 88’s director of operations.

The Sarasota franchise of the Omaha-based security company opened about a year ago.

“Since then we’ve been growing at a huge rate,” Hannon said. Finding employees, however, was a challenge. With contracts to serve and a need for qualified, dedicated staffing, Hannon said he stumbled upon Goodwill Manasota.

After doing some research and learning more about that organization’s mission to put homeless veterans back to work, he pitched a partnership to Signal 88’s Sarasota owner, Tim Robinson.

“He thought it was a great idea,” Hannon said.

As it turned out, so did the leadership team at Goodwill’s veterans services program.

“Our mission at Goodwill is ‘changing lives through the power of work’ and our veterans services program is centered around assisting veterans with finding employment,” said C.J. Bannister, director of veterans services for Goodwill Manasota. Hannon’s proposal was met with an immediate invitation for Signal 88 to attend a mock interview class with veterans seeking Goodwill’s services.

“During the first class, they hired veterans on the spot,” Bannister said.

Finding The Right Fit

Hannon, an Air Force veteran, said Signal 88 is committed to helping veterans get back on their feet, but there are caveats.

Veterans have to be willing to put in the work, must be able to pass background checks and need to complete the 40-hour security course Florida requires for licensing. If a veteran is committed, however, Signal 88 will pay for licensing fees and upfront costs, Hannon said. The business also continues to work with organizations such as Goodwill and Veterans Village in Bradenton to help ensure potential employees have what they need to succeed: clothing, transportation and housing.

“I’ll tell the vets from day one, I’ll open the door for you, but you have to walk through it,” Hannon said.

Opening that door goes beyond housing, clothing and transportation in some cases, Hannon added.

“Some of our guys have had a background,” he explained. “We go to bat for them to try and get their license. As military veterans themselves, Hannon said he and Robinson know the downward spiral that can occur after discharge.

“(They’ve had) a bump in the road, but it doesn’t make them a bad person.”

So far, Signal 88 has hired six veterans through the program and helped five get into housing through different services “Goodwill has tapped into,” Hannon said. Goodwill helps employees hired with work clothing, bus passes and bicycles.

“It’s absolutely been phenomenal to see the transition from where these veterans were to where they are today,” Hannon said.

Stouffer is one of the success stories, Hannon said.

“Steven is one of those we had to go to bat for,” he said. The downward spiral that began after Stouffer’s military discharge ended with a minor blemish on his record, Hannon said. “There’s no need to hang that charge over this head. He lost his way.”

Going to bat for veterans comes naturally for Hannon, who said he understands all too well the path many walk.

“I lost my way when I got out of the service and was really at ground zero to the point even where suicide was an option,” he said. “A fellow vet picked me up and said ‘this isn’t the way. We were put here to make a difference – both in military service and out of service.’”

That vet told Hannon to find his purpose. He said he’s done just that.

“I now work with a nonprofit that does search and rescue” for a part of Florida and “a security company that is on the proactive side of law enforcement.”

Stouffer says he’s also found his purpose.

“I don’t ever want to go back and have that life again,” he said of his years of struggle. “I’m very blessed.”

Find Out More

Signal 88 Security in Sarasota has a staff of about 15; most are military veterans. The company is always on the lookout for new hires, Hannon said. People interested in applying can call 941-217-7300.

Goodwill Manasota is dedicated to serving “all veterans and their families,” Bannister said. “Our veterans team consists of only veterans who are experts in veterans benefits here in our community. If we can’t help them, we connect them with the organization who can.”

For more information about Goodwill Manasota, visit it online. More information about Signal 88 Security can be found on its website.

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Photo courtesy of Signal 88