OH Villages SoCal welcomes the Yoeurth Family
In three years time, Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Rithy Yoeurth deployed to Iraq three times. His tours each lasted 9, 7 and 5 months. During his second tour, an IED struck the vehicle he was riding in. Rithy suffered a concussion and first degree burns.
In time, he began suffering memory issues and severe headaches. The normally calm, family man began fighting and drinking. He was angry. He was depressed. He avoided family members and friends. PTSD had set in. Rithy waited four years to seek medical help. He was afraid he would be seen as weak if he sought treatment. Now, he is improving and regaining control of his life.
Operation Homefront is giving Rithy and his family guidance and a safe place to live while they get their lives back on track. Once Rithy began treatment, his days were filled with medical appointments and group therapy sessions. His wife, Trinh Do was busy caring for their toddler, Emily, and infant, Ethan. The family was quickly falling behind on bills and fearing the worst once Rithy’s medical retirement was finalized. They had no savings to live off of until he was healed and able to work again. Now, at the Operation Homefront Village in Southern California, the family has a new home and has been taking financial planning courses. “We accumulated so many bills,” Rithy said. “Here we are getting a fresh start.” Without a home at the Village, Rithy said he would have been forced to send his family hours away to live with extended family and he would have moved into the barracks. They could not afford to live together. At the Village, the family has also enjoyed meeting others who are in similar situations.
“Everybody is going through the same stuff and we all share and pick each other’s brains for information,” Rithy said. “It’s pretty cool.”