Dennis with his best friend from the Navy. The two remain close friends.
It took more than twenty years for Dennis, a Navy veteran and father, to finally solve the mystery of his debilitating illness. Along the way his condition robbed him of his job and marriage, and eventually left him homeless.
Dennis grew up in Raleigh, and joined the Navy right out of high school when he was 17 years old. While serving overseas he was seriously injured. He had a broken leg and a significant head injury. He had some memory loss, and doctors said it was a mild concussion.
Dennis was sent back stateside for further treatment, and eventually was given a medical discharge and told to go on with his life: any lingering symptoms from his concussion, it was assumed, would disappear with time.
So Dennis enrolled in college and earned a degree in Criminal Justice. He married, and began a family. He became a police officer.
But the daily symptoms were almost unbearable. Dennis couldn’t sleep at night, and was relying on sleeping pills. He had frequent, excruciating headaches. He regularly suffered from terrifying flashbacks.
“It was difficult to trust myself walking around that way with a gun and a badge,” says Dennis.
Dennis was at the beginning of his quest to figure out what was wrong with him. “Back then we didn’t know as much about brain injuries,” he says. It was difficult for those closest to him to understand his depression, flashes of anger, and anxiety, along with the physical symptoms. Doctor after doctor told him there was nothing wrong.
One saving grace helped Dennis throughout these difficult years: his art. Dennis has always enjoyed creating art, and is self-taught.
One of Dennis' paintings
Dennis eventually found himself sleeping in a Rowan county shelter, about the worst place imaginable for someone with his neurological condition. Being around other people was difficult in the best of circumstances. The shelter was chaotic and crowded. Sleep was impossible.
Then Dennis was referred to Community Link. Today Dennis lives in an apartment with a temporary rent subsidy and intensive casework services from his Community Link social worker, Anisse. The apartment walls are filled with his art, and more paintings are propped up on the floor, some of them ready to be shipped out to buyers.
“I’ve been able to make some money from my paintings, and have gotten my work in a few shows and galleries,” says Dennis. He has also sold some pieces on his Facebook page.
Having stable housing, as well as support from his case worker, has been life changing for Dennis. “This apartment and program have given me the space to take care of some things in my life, and think about where I want to be,” he says.
Dennis is meeting regularly with a therapist, which he finds helpful. He had several lingering physical problems that he had delayed taking care of while homeless, including a knee surgery related to his ankle injury. He has also continued the onerous, decades-long task of applying for VA disability benefits, and recently was awarded full benefits for his injuries.
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