‘As many times as It takes’: A Veterans Justice Outreach journey of redemption

Veterans Justice Outreach Specialist helped Veteran rebuild his life

Jerry Butler joined the Air Force out of Texas with one goal in mind: to see the world. He certainly never imagined his path would eventually lead him to a Texas jail, sitting in a Veterans pod and staring at a stranger trying to convince him that his life could still be saved.

Butler served his time in the Air Force honorably, then built a second life for himself as a successful DJ. For a while, things were good. But underneath the music and the crowds, addiction was taking hold. What started as a habit spiraled into something he couldn’t control, and slowly he started on a path of self-destruction. Over the years that followed, he was arrested six times on drug-related charges and served several stints behind bars.

A voice he wasn’t ready to hear

The first time Butler met Henry Molden, he wasn’t listening. 

Molden, a Veterans Justice Outreach specialist at the Houston VA Medical Center, was doing what he always does in the Veterans pod at the Montgomery County Jail: telling the men and women in front of him that there is help available, that they don’t have to keep cycling through the system alone.

Butler remembers hearing every word and believing none of them.

“I’d heard promises from VA before,” he said. “To me, it just sounded like the same old line.” 

So, Butler walked out of that first meeting unchanged, and addiction pulled him right back into the life he knew. It took another arrest, a few years later, before Butler found himself in front of Molden a second time. Something had shifted; he was ready to listen.

“He saved my life,” Butler said.

He is convinced their paths crossing wasn’t chance, that God put Henry Molden in front of him, not once, but twice, because the first time wasn’t going to be enough. The second time had to be.

The phone call that changed everything

Even with Molden’s help and VA resources finally in front of him, Butler needed one more push. It came in the form of a phone call from his son, who was serving in the Army himself. His son had news: he was about to become a father. He wanted his own father there, clean, present and ready to be a grandfather.

That was the moment Butler knew he couldn’t keep living the way he had been. With Molden’s continued support, he committed to getting sober for good. It wasn’t his first attempt at recovery, and he’s the first to admit that. But it was the one that stuck.

Building a life worth showing up for

Today, Jerry Butler is not the man who sat unconvinced in that jail pod years ago. He has several years of sobriety under his belt. This year, he bought his first house. He’s present for both of his grandchildren, not just in spirit, but in the day-to-day ways that matter: birthdays, phone calls, showing up. He’s also turned his recovery into purpose. Butler now works for a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping fellow Veterans get off the streets and into stable housing, doing for others what Henry Molden once did for him.

And he’s not stopping there. Since walking out of prison in 2022, Butler has enrolled in college three separate times, determined to finish what he started. He recently submitted an application to the University of Oklahoma, his fourth attempt at higher education since his release. In a social media post announcing the news, he described someone questioning him about it directly: how many times was he going to keep going back?

His answer? “As many times as it takes.”

Butler doesn’t shy away from how hard the journey has been. There have been days when he says he felt broken, ashamed and exhausted. But he describes a fire in him that keeps burning brighter than the doubt, and he’s not afraid to ask his community for prayers, encouragement and positive energy.

His advice to other Veterans and to anyone fighting for a second chance is simple and direct: don’t quit. Keep showing up, even when it hurts, because the comeback story isn’t finished being written. “Give VA a chance. There are people there who really do care.”

A dream job

Molden, an Army Veteran himself, is one of those people. His passion for helping justice-involved Veterans in local courts and jails is evident. He has spent countless hours educating and assisting Veterans with their VA benefits; coordinating assistance in jail, such as medications, mental health treatment, substance abuse counseling, housing programs and civil legal services; coordinating with attorneys to redirect Veterans from jail to VA residential treatment programs and VA-contracted programs; and connecting Veterans with community employment programs.

“The work I do at VA is a dream job for me,” he said. “Meeting Veterans like Mr. Butler, connecting them with resources and watching them dig deep and change their lives is such an honor and a privilege. I can’t imagine anything more rewarding.”

A message for others seeking a second chance

Butler doesn’t sugarcoat what recovery costs. He’s lived through arrests, prison terms and the kind of shame that makes it hard to ask for help. But he’s also living proof of what’s on the other side of that struggle: for him, a house of his own, grandchildren who know and love their grandfather, and a job helping other Veterans find their footing.

He has one final piece of advice for other Veterans who are standing where he once stood, unconvinced that the help being offered is real: take it anyway. As he puts it, “pride doesn’t pay the bills.” The support systems are there. The second chances are real. All it takes is being ready to listen, even if, like him, it takes more than once.