Raised in Detroit, he left in the Blizzard of '78 to join the Marines. Although he hoped for warmer climates, the Corps shipped him to a snowy Alaskan Aleutian island. After serving in Desert Storm, he became a Nationally Certified Substance Abuse Counselor and obtained his Behavioral Science degree. Mr. Megison’s first case was a hardcore Vista man named Wolfman. After helping Wolfman in1992, he left the Marine Corps inspired to declare war on poverty.
Since that time, he has worked to save homeless people in San Diego County. Most of the homeless has moved to Hemet, but Fallbrook still has around 120 people that need help. Big cities have the biggest homeless problem like San Francisco that has a poop map to track the homeless volume.
Helping someone become self-supporting requires providing three things: Relief, Recovery and Redemption. While the state’s focus may result in dependency, he is working with federal welfare management to break the cycle and become independent. There are fewer homeless with mental health problems: only 10%. Most require guidance to change behaviors.
Rotary Connect Week 2020
We had two illustrious alumni join our meeting for Reconnect Week: Retired banker and Lieutenant Colonel Jim Vidano (right) attended Rotary in the 1990s. Tai Chi instructor Dan Allegro (left), who also had a military career, is a returning Rotarian from 2016. Thank you, Jim and Dan, for joining our meeting today.
Note: For Rotary Reconnect Week slides of our alumni, please select 2020-2021 Socials.