[NEWS] From addiction to stability: One veteran's fight for home

It was the day after Christmas 2012, and Robert Long was out of options.

The New Jersey native had seen his share of misery. From a childhood he describes as tough, to an adulthood marred by depression, substance abuse and divorce, he'd experienced more than enough to land him on Philadelphia's streets.

Still, for Long, a soft-spoken man with an affable manner and eyes that have witnessed too much, homelessness was beyond the pale.

He'd once had it all: A 27-year marriage that produced three sons, 18 years of military service that propelled him to the rank of captain and a long career at an oil refinery that provided a middle-class living for the family he cherished.