A 49-year-old Army veteran from Weslaco said he is working on turning his life around.

Rafael Sanchez said he served from 1995 to 2005. After 9/11, Sanchez said he was deployed to the Rio Grande Valley to assist with border security efforts, and worked at the Hidalgo Port of Entry.

Sanchez said he began to feel his mental health decline afterward.

"I felt like nobody could really understand or relate to what I was going through cause when I was working at the border, we were in constant threat from the cartels and other terrorist groups,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez said he didn't want to leave the house or talk with others.

“I think that's what caused my marriage to fail over time," Sanchez said. “I was like a savage. I had my hair, my beard, I looked bad. I stopped taking care of myself."

Sanchez said he spent 15 years feeling that way when he saw a flyer at a VA clinic in Pharr last December. That’s what caused Sanchez to reach out to the non-profit organization Chicanos Por La Causa for help.

“They offer services and they talk,” Sanchez said. “A few months ago in December, when I joined the group, you couldn't see me doing this. You couldn't get me out."

The organization has a suicide prevention program for veterans across all four counties in the Rio Grande Valley. The program hosts free events throughout the month to help uplift and support veterans.

The events are paid for through a $735,000 grant from Veterans Affairs.

On Tuesday, the program held a Valentine’s Day themed gathering so veterans could have coffee and mingle with others.

“[We] bring them out of their homes, bring them out of their areas where they might operate in and just make sure they're OK and have that conversation with other veterans who've had similar experiences,” Chicanos Por La Causa Director of Veteran Services Jerry Peña said.

Chicanos Por La Causa is set to host a painting event on Thursday, Feb. 13 in Weslaco. 

The event will be held at 120 West 5th Street from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

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