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The executive director of Trinity Sober Homes gave a presentation Wednesday at the American Legion to local veterans and community leaders regarding sobriety and the Bravo Zulu House, which is being considered south of Wells.

While Tim Murray himself is not a veteran, he said he felt compelled to help after he was saved from his addiction to alcohol by the late Martin Fleming, a former colonel and priest.

After living with Fleming for months, Fleming asked Murray if he would be interested in taking over his work.

According to Murray, last year alone three million people sought treatment for addiction, with roughly 12% being veterans.

Compounding the issue, many were reluctant to move into a sober house following initial treatment.

“All too many of those men who try to do it on their own either continue to struggle or die,” he said.

Michael Gilligan, a pilot during the Vietnam War, is currently the longest resident at any of the Trinity Sober Homes.

“I had never investigated sober homes when I was in treatment cause I wasn’t going to go to one,” he said.

But after his sister implored him to, he decided to go. And his experience has been a great one.

After he heard about the Bravo Zulu project, he said he thought it was a fantastic idea.

“Little step-by-step projects like this, I know what I’ve seen it do for addicts of drugs and alcohol coming through our sober homes, and they’ve run the gamut,” he said.

For him, what made Trinity Sober Homes different was the spiritual component, adding his life was saved because of Trinity. He also believed veterans would love it.

During his opening address, Ole Olson, commander of Albert Legion American Legion Post 56, shared that he lost more soldiers after they returned home than while serving.

“We really have to pay attention to our troops coming home,” said Mike Maxa, adjutant for the American Legion in Minnesota, noting projects like Bravo Zulu were tools in the toolkit for his organization to refer veterans in need to.

“That is our duty, to help veterans get the care and the help that they need,” he said, adding that since their inception they’ve paid out over $200,000 to help veterans.

And that was where the Bravo Zulu House could help.

The phrase Bravo Zulu meant “well done” in the Navy, and is the highest form of praise a Navy veteran could receive.

He chose the phrase because he felt well done was an appropriate phrase for a veteran to have the courage to go to treatment, select a sober house and [eventually] become sober.

According to Murray, the organization is looking at a property south of Wells on 150th Street for the Bravo Zulu House, though any potential property hasn’t been acquired yet.

“We’ve got a contingent offer on it, and so does somebody else, so it’s whoever comes up with the money first is gonna get it.” he said.

Bravo Zulu House will be exclusively for the military, and everyone wishing to live there will be screened before joining. They will also be taking veterans coming directly from treatment.

“After that they’ll be assigned a mental health counselor as well as a spiritual coach,” he said.

Each resident will also be assigned a dog for treatment, and each man will be required to work or volunteer 30 hours per week. Transportation services will be provided for those who need it.

A typical stay was 18 months, though stays can vary.

“Our message is, “This is your home for as long as you want it to be,’ cause we don’t want them to think of it as transitional housing because there’s this pressure then to move on,” he said.

Murray himself stayed in sober housing for three years, which he said saved his life.

Mayor Rich Murray, whose father served in the Korean War and who himself served in the Army, said Albert Lea needed to step up as much as veterans stepped up for the community.

“If we can grow jobs in this community … some of those jobs are going to be taken by our veterans, and maybe that gives their lives a little more stability and could help them out a little bit,” he said, adding that he wanted to continue striving to help veterans, whether by working with the Legion or Freeborn County Veterans Services.

District 23A Rep. Peggy Bennett also spoke.

“Veterans, suicide, we don’t want to see that,” she said, and highlighted the higher usage of drugs and alcohol among veterans.

She described that fact as unacceptable, sad and tragic.

“We need to do as much as we can to help with that,” she said.

Tim Murray has been involved with Trinity Sober Homes for 13 years. Currently there are four properties, three in the Twin Cities as well as a spiritual center in New Richland where men can come down on weekends to explore their spirituality. According to Murray, Trinity Sober Homes is also the only nonprofit sober house in Minnesota.