Penfield, N.Y. (WROC) — When is a house more than a house?

There’s a house tucked away inside a Penfield neighborhood that became more than a house to Marlando Daley the moment he stepped inside.

“This was the only place where I could find peace,” Daley said.

Peace he couldn’t find after he left the military, so he looked inside a bottle.

“A lot of stuff that happened was me trying to, what’s the word, self-medicate,” Daley said. “I was trying to deal with a whole lot of change and that led to me drinking and that spiraled out of control.”

Whatever home Daley thought he had was gone.

“I came from a family setting with my wife, kids so then starting over over is just like, scary,” Daley said.

But then he stepped inside that house, the NUCOR House, and found what he needed.

“It made me realize what I want out of life. I got a minute to slow down everything and then focus in on what I wanted,” Daley said.

Jim Stampfer, who’s also a veteran, manages the NUCOR House, which part of Warrior Salute Veteran Services, and said the goal is help veterans transition into independent living.

“These veterans are going to come here with PTSD, with anxiety, depression, sexual trauma, those are the main four that we see coming into this house,” Stampfer said. “It’s more than just one chance and you’re done here. We’ve had people come back twice.”

The first time Daley left he found an apartment and started to live on his own, but then he came back to the NUCOR House, not to live, though, but to work.

To veterans staying here, Daley is now what others were to him – proof.

“It makes you realize this isn’t all there is for you,” Daley said.

Daley is now co-parenting and has found peace.

“Sometimes it doesn’t always work out, but this time it did,” Daley said.

It did because Daley stepped inside this house and through this house he found a home.

More than 400 veterans have passed through the NUCOR House, which does not receive any local, state or federal funding, instead relying solely on private donations.

To learn more about how you can help, click here.