Michael Deccico
He saw his brother go to Vietnam and then knew it was his turn. Michael Decicco was enlisted in the National Guard from 1976 through 1982. He says that the experience made a man out of him early and that it taught him how to better listen to authority even though he had been pretty independent his whole life. He feels a kinship with other veterans and has a respect for anyone who has worn a uniform. “When I hear the Star Spangled Banner, I get chills. I am an American.”
His independent spirit led him to buy a pizza restaurant after his honorable discharge, which he owned for 25 years. Self employment suited him. Unfortunately Michael suffered from anxiety, depression and back pain and was prescribed a lot of medication. Limitless prescriptions combined with an entrepreneurial spirit led to bad decision making and to a place this one-time business owner never thought he would be, in jail for 18 months. “The money came easy,” he says. “It began slowly then the money was hard to resist.”
He says he has changed in part because he knows he was in a place he didn’t want to be. Now he goes to Volunteers of America Delaware Valley Community Resource Center during his parole while he looks for work. He says he really likes the people there and that the counselors are very understanding. “There are just a lot of very, very good people here.” He will continue to go to CRC until he can produce two paystubs. And where is he looking for work? Back in the pizza business. “It’s what I know.”
Right now he knows he needs to work but is most interested in keeping himself busy and making sure he doesn’t go down the wrong road again. When asked, he is hesitant to give advice to other people coming in the program, since he remembers how much he didn’t like being told what to do. “People have to figure it out for themselves. I guess it’s just about what you want out of life.”