MACV Helps Veteran Find A Home Ahead Of The Holidays

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) --  We recently met an Iraq war veteran who credits the MACV with helping him to find a home in time for the holidays.

35-year-old Orlando Carrasqueillo went to MACV with his young family when they were about to lose their home. Now the non-profit is also working with him to find a new job.

Carrasqueillo told WCCO's Reg Chapman about the process that has him on the fast track to employment.

Iraqi Veteran Orlando Carrasquelillo can finally smile, knowing his family now has a place to call home. His journey to this place was not easy, it actually began on the battlefield in 2004.

"We drove 18,600 miles overseas," said Carrasqueillo.

Carrasqueillo was a truck driver in the Tennessee's Army National Guard when he was deployed to Iraq.

"We protected the civilian truck drivers over there, so we had the gun trucks," Carrasqueillo said.

During his 365 days in Iraq, he encountered an IED, or improvised explosive device, that changed his life forever.

"Just basically home-made bombs that would go off on the side of the road when we were driving down the road," said Carrasqueillo.

The ability to walk away from the blast was a blessing, but he returned home a changed man. Diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Carrasqueillo traveled to Minnesota and met Victoria.

Two weeks after Xavier was born, he and Victoria were about to be put out on the street.

"Everybody needs help at some point but it's better to ask for it now than later, " Carrasqueillo explained.

Carrasqueillo found himself turning to MACV for help.

First, they put his family in a hotel to keep them from being homeless.

"On my end, worked on with getting a Veterans section 8 basically, and we got jumped head of the list and that's how we got this place," Carrasqueillo said.

He then went back to MACV for help finding a job.

"Our employment coordinators are getting jobs they are being notified by these different organizations that want to hire veterans then we can go from there so it's not trying to find a needle in a haystack so much as it is trying to marry up the right personality with the right corporation," said Jon Lovald.

Carrasqueillo is one of 235 Veterans MACV found employment for in 2018.

Employment specialist Ryan Schaefer helped Orlando turn his military experience into a civilian occupation.

"We did a lot of things on the front end, we helped get licenses, driver licenses switched over from Tennessee to Minnesota, we did other things get his resume reorganized," said Ryan Schaefer, MACV employment specialist.

"I didn't actually get to start it yet, "said Carasqueillo.

Doctors found a cyst on his spine, preventing him from taking the job MACV helped him get.

"As his employment changed because of his physical disability we wrap back around to re-adjust on what things he can still do he is still very employable," Schaefer said.

Carrasqueillo is now back to the task of finding a way to provide for his young family.

"I don't know where we would be without them," Carrasqueillo said.

Carrasqueillo is thankful MACV is with him for the long haul.

MACV continues to support Carrasqueillo and his family to keep them in their home and find him a job.