Brian Hester is one of 277 veterans housed by Preble Street Veterans Housing Services since October 2023. Hester has been in recovery for 18 months, is currently enrolled at Southern Maine Community College and hopes to become a substance use counselor. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

WESTBROOK — Brian Hester, 55, “loved every minute” of his two and a half years serving in the Marine Corps.

Leaving was a different story.

“I had to hold down two jobs to keep my family accustomed to the lifestyle that I had built for them in the service, so it was challenging,” Hester said. “I did the best I could and I managed … but it was tiring.”

The Memphis, Tennessee, native struggled with a cycle of substance use and homelessness. It’s a cycle that many, especially veterans, know all too well.

Hester, now 18 months sober, lives in an apartment complex in Westbrook, where he was placed in June by Preble Street Veterans Housing Services. He’s committed to his own sobriety and helping others going through the same battle.

“This time, I just decided, something’s gotta be done different,” Hester said.

On a single night in January 2023, about 35,500 veterans were experiencing homelessness, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual Homelessness Assessment Report.

Preble Street estimates there are currently about 130 homeless veterans in the state of Maine, down from more than 200 during the pandemic – an issue the organization hopes to end by June 2025.

Preble Street’s Veteran Housing Services announced Wednesday that the nonprofit has successfully housed 277 veterans since October 2023, and provided housing support to another 594. VHS works in tandem with Pine Tree Legal Assistance and is funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

“We’ve had a lot of success over the past few months and have been housing about one veteran each day,” Laura Clark, Preble Street VHS director, said in a prepared statement. “To reach the goal of ‘functional zero’ for veteran homelessness, essentially, we need to be able to house more veterans every month than are becoming homeless. I think it’s in reach.”

To meet that goal, the organization provides case management, housing counseling and financial assistance, and helps veterans navigate landlord relationships.

Veterans like Hester, who signed up for the Marines at age 17, fresh out of high school.

Brian Hester’s studio apartment in Westbrook overlooks the Presumpscot River. He said he’s looking forward to his family visiting soon. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

“My cousin was in the Navy, my brother was in the Air Force, my dad was in the Army, so no one in my family was in the Marines, so I joined the Marines,” Hester said.

He entered into boot camp in August 1987. Afterward, he completed infantry training at Camp Pendleton in California and was stationed at Naval Air Station North Island, a base in San Diego.

After leaving the military, he said he traveled around for years, eventually landing in Maine, where his stepfather lived.

When his stepfather died, he was forced to turn to a combination of shelters, veterans’ housing and sober living facilities.

“But I kept getting into trouble, to be totally honest … and every time I ended up going to jail for getting in trouble with the law, I ended up losing my place,” Hester said.

Today, Hester uses his experience to give others hope.

In addition to serving as a recovery sponsor, he is a student at Southern Maine Community College, working toward a social work degree. He hopes to be a substance abuse counselor.

He’s living comfortably in his studio apartment overlooking the Presumpscot River, he said and is looking forward to a visit from his daughter and 8-year-old grandson.

“My ultimate goal is to help other people, take my experience to help other people dealing with the same demons I dealt with,” Hester said.