Cleo Lewis is far removed from his days in law enforcement. But it was his time working as a Phoenix police officer in the Organized Crime Bureau that led him to his drug addiction.
"What happened was I went to go do a drug buy and I ended up using drugs as a result of it," says Lewis.
Eventually, Lewis ended up in prison.
"There was a time in my life when I was self-destructive," says Lewis. "I don't know if you call it a fall, or you get buried. I don't know how to describe what I was going through but it was just so devastating."
That fall from grace continued once he was released from prison and Lewis ended up living on the streets.
"It almost gets me emotional when I think about it because I was so low. When someone is homeless, they're so low," says Lewis.
The Air Force Veteran finally went to the VA for help. He says it was there that a counselor told him he would be a great candidate for Central Arizona Shelter Service.
It was there at C.A.S.S. in 2008 that Lewis started to build himself back up.
"They could have just let me deal with whatever I was dealing with, but someone kept engaging."
Lewis says it was his 25-year-old case manager who always called him Mr. Lewis that really had an impact on him.
"I said, 'You don't have to call me Mr. Lewis' and she said 'Yes, I do.' and she says, 'You deserve to be treated with dignity,'" says Lewis.
It was the motivation he needed to kick off his comeback and work to get off the streets and back to his family.
15 years later, he's now paying it forward with his own nonprofit, Cleo N Lewis Ministries, where he's helping those experiencing homelessness and anybody who needs help.
He admits he owes this part of his life to C.A.S.S.
"I think we cookie cutter what homelessness is and I think sometimes we just need to hear their story and then there's a question: 'What is it going to take to get you off the streets?' I ask every single individual that I run into, 'What is it going to take?" says Lewis.
