04/17/2026
Of all the events that carried John Wimberly from South Los Angeles to the Marine Corps—and through alcoholism, homelessness and finally to stability in his own apartment—a moment of good fortune in 2014 felt predestined.
“God was basically guiding me through the process. I had pneumonia and was supposed to be in the hospital for two weeks. Someone prayed for me, and I got out in four days,” Wimberly recalls. “I signed up with a law firm to get a portion of my disability backpay. When I showed up, the clerk said, ‘We’re going to give you all of this.’ A series of events started happening, and it was an amazing couple of weeks.”
In recovery since, Wimberly speaks with other veterans on their paths to wellness. He earned associate degrees in addiction counseling and is working toward a bachelor’s degree in social work—his true passion after decades in customer service.
At another crossroads in 2025, a team from U.S.VETS Long Beach found Wimberly after he was evicted when rising rent outpaced his income. It marked a new chapter after years of navigating housing vouchers, motels and shelters, including help from the Long Beach Rescue Mission, and surviving on the streets where he grew up.
“When I needed shelter, I slept on bus stop benches. I refused to lay on the ground because I knew the concrete drains energy from your body,” he says.
Returning from service, Wimberly says his dependency on alcohol worsened, and career advancement felt out of reach.
As he rebuilt again, U.S.VETS Long Beach connected Wimberly, a father of seven and proud grandfather, with Supportive Services for Veteran Families, providing assistance with rent, utilities, food and necessities.
“Everybody at U.S.VETS has bent over backwards to try to assist me,” Wimberly adds. “I used to be fearful to ask for help. We’re in the military. We’ve been trained to be self-sufficient. We don’t want to ask for help, but sometimes we have to.”
