Friends, we humbly request your assistance. Today we have the opportunity to show one of our vulnerable veterans that his country still cares about him - that his sacrifice is not overlooked. As we all too often find our service members after they conclude their duty, this individual is on the streets, subsisting only on the generosity random strangers can give to a handwritten sign on torn cardboard.
We see this sad story playing out at busy intersections across our nation, and wonder how so many can fall into such a sad state. It's a common enough story across 20 years' worth of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The harrowing experience and day to day intensity leave scars unseen. And all too often proper care and guidance are at the other end of a long wait list.
What else should we expect from those we've taught to be proud and to improvise, adapt, and overcome? For many, the idea of seeking help is a vulnerability you never let the enemy see. It goes against every instinct of self reliance, but it doesn't have to be so.
Just because they aren't active duty any longer, does not mean they aren't still part of the team. We win and lose as one team, and we are only as strong as the weakest among us. We need to pick up our brothers and sisters, and let them know Team America is still here.
Our mission today is to start with one. There are far too many to count, but we start with one, and then another and another. The mission does not end, but it needs your empathy to keep marching on.
Through partnerships with drug courts across the country, there are many intervention opportunities available. Specific funding needs correlate to transportation to treatment facilities, gap coverage for the most at-risk while VA approval processing drags on, skills development for life outside the military, and job placement once treatment ends.
You can walk this path with us, and give redemption to those that have so dearly earned it.
