Veterans Recognition Certificate Project.

Just a little background before & why VL4L (Veterans In Recovery) was created. 

Founder & CEO Shawn Laurie is a U.S. Army Combat Veteran with two tours to Afghanistan, 2007-2008 and 2010-2011. He served 8 1/2 years with the South Carolina National Guard and spent five years on Active Duty. 

Shawn was injured in Afghanistan on his second tour and was sent to Fort Gordon, GA, where he spent two years with the Wounded Transition Unit for ACL Reconstructive Surgery. 

Shawn was diagnosed with PTSD, major Depression, and severe Anxiety.  

He was retired from the Army in Oct 2012.  

Thats where a major part of his opiate and Benzodiazepine addiction was at his worst.

The Organization & VRCP was created, because Shawn Laurie knows firsthand about Addiction. 

But the addiction was only a piece of a bigger problem at the time. Struggling with addiction also came with Struggling with Depression, PTSD and Anxiety.

 Shawn was diagnosed with multiple disorders and conditions that had him taking multiple medication’s daily. Of which some of that was just to help him eat, sleep and truthfully Just to be able to function was a daily project.

However, the only thing that Shawn found comfort in was his pain medication and his anxiety medication’s. (Oxy & Xanax) 

There was something about it that just made him enjoy the high.

The whole two years Shawn was at 

Fort. Gordon going through the Med board process he was using opioids and benzodiazepines daily. 

Sometimes he would take up to 150 to 180 mg of oxy a day. 

After about the first 6 months he knew he was getting hooked, but he never seeked out any help while he was serving, for many reasons... 

One of those reasons was he was embarrassed to admit he was addicted and felt too ashamed. 

And for two...  He was afraid of being punished by his leadership. 

They would threaten everyone daily about the abuse of their medications and use words like “kicked out” “lose benefits” “article 15s” 

So, he just continued on with the addiction to afraid to ask for help.

After the 2 years and medically retiring in 2012, Shawn was finally out of the military, but continued in his full-blown addiction for another five years, with Many ups and downs, bringing a lot of heartache and pain to his family. 

His marriage was falling apart. 

The Finances were destroying the home, and Shawn found himself in many bad situations with drug dealers, getting in fights, being robbed, and part time drug dealing himself just so he could afford the pills off the streets.

Things gotten out of control fast.

Shawn ‘s battle buddy took his own life in 2016 from substance abuse and the struggle with PTSD. 

So, Shawn knew exactly where he was headed to as well with suicide being a daily thought. He already knew either he was going to end up dead or in jail or divorced and living on the streets alone.

After a failed attempt in 2016 to try to get clean and sober, Shawn found himself back on the medications again. 

And this time it seemed to be getting worse, not only with Shawn doing more pills but he found himself experimenting with other drugs like heroin, Crystal Meth, Molly, Fentanyl and not to include daily drinking. 

So, after a battle for many years, it wasn’t until 2018 Shawn hit Rock-bottom, he was out of money, and he was out of time. 

He was sick. He was depressed, and he was ready to end it all.

One of his acquaintances called him up and offered him a line of meth, hoping that it would ease some of the pain & sickness he took it.  

But all It did was made the situation worse, Shawn went into a full-blown depression, and the only thing he could think about was un living himself. 

So, he complicated suicide the rest of that day. The guilty thoughts have been running through his mind, the victim mentality of blaming everyone. The thoughts of everybody would be better off if somehow, he was gone.

Shawn in his darkest moments took his feelings to social media and made a post.

Because of the connections Shawn had already previously made, It caused a chain reaction of many of overwhelming phone calls and text messages. 

After many hours of ignoring them all, Shawn decided to answer the phone for one particular individual that he had been friends with for a couple years and after receiving some tough love and a good conversation, Shawn likes to explain it, like a lightbulb turned on. 

He realized if his life is going to get better, he had to do it, that he had to stop being a victim and change his life and get help.

It was no longer about “Should he get help” or “should he get Clean” or “make people happy.”

 It was about the fact he “wanted it” he wanted to be clean and sober. 

He wanted to be better. 

It was about him becoming the man he knew he could be. But he knew he needed help.

The very next day he told his wife that he wanted to go to rehab that he needed to go to a detox facility because he knew he needed the help.

So, with the help of his spouse, they checked him into a 10 Day Detox Center, and after completing the 10 days, he checked into an intensive outpatient treatment center where he spent the next seven months recovering. 

After he graduated. Shawn felt proud. 

He knew he was a new person. He felt alive again he had a purpose again.

And that’s when he created Vetlife4life.

He created a place for Veterans to go to, that was struggling with not only addiction themselves, but with mental health, a place for Veterans to vent and talk and get help and find resources. 

2021 he turned VL4L into a nonprofit. 

The next few years he spent time traveling the country speaking and telling his story, writing books and hosting lives & podcasts telling his story every chance he had.

This past year 2024 he decided that he wanted more, that he wanted to do more for the Veteran community.

And that’s when after struggling with his nonprofit, he decided that it was time to change things up, that it was decided that he needed to do something different. 

He turned his brand and his company into an LLC and turned it into a new mission.

And that brings us back to creating 

Veterans In Recovery LLC & The 

(veterans recognition certificate project)

As a recovering addict, Shawn knows the importance of being recognized. He understands the importance of feeling loved and having that feeling of accomplishment. 

“Even though we get clean and sober for ourselves, it still feels good to be recognized by others.”

And that’s exactly what this project is. 

We want to recognize veterans that have decided to take back their life.

We want to recognize veterans that have decided to become a better version of themselves. 

Recognizing those veterans that have got off of the drugs and alcohol and now are living their best life.

We want to recognize them for that!

 Thats what this project is about.

That’s why we are more than a brand. That’s why we are more than just a T-shirt. 

We are a lifestyle, and we chose this lifestyle, just like they chose this lifestyle.

And we want to recognize them for it!

We are VetLife4LifWe (Veterans In Recovery)

Our current Certificate.

Our first Veteran being Awarded with a Certificate for 12 years of Recovery.

Brother and Veteran Jake! Series 0001