Once a year, we set aside a day to tell our military veterans, “Thank you for your service.” While many of our nation’s veterans have returned to lives of good health and full-time work, others have not fared so well. Unfortunately there are far too many veterans homeless and in need of help.
Thousands of veterans who are struggling are homeless and living on the streets. Many of them have significant problems related to poor health, mental illness, substance abuse and dislocation from their former lives. According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans 40,056 veterans are homeless on any given night.
Today our veterans need more than a day of remembrance; they need us. Our challenge is to make every day a Veterans Day. In the upcoming year let us not forget the service and sacrifice of veterans and let’s celebrate them throughout the year. Whether through reaching out to a neighbor whose husband or wife is deployed or volunteering at a local shelter, let’s make a special point to always show respect and pay tribute to our men and women in uniform and who have protected our freedom. If you are presented with the opportunity to help a veteran, even if in only some small way, we hope you will do so.
