What do you think are the largest issues facing the Veteran community?

I think it’s the financial hardship that Veterans face while waiting on VA Claim‘s. The VA examiners in claim processors, should be more helpful. Claims are being denied for not being on proper forms or not stating certain language. Which causes the veteran to go through the appeals process and Sometimes this process takes years causing the veteran anxiety stress and depression. Which in some cases lead to suicide.

Now how homelessness drug addiction not being able to get their increases for the service connection delays and getting their service connections getting the services they need being shut down by your mental health workers having your caseworkers tell you no that they're not able to help you get services that are available

Mental health and homelessness

Funding for those areas the VA won't cover all the co-pays that add to all the other areas of our life that we retirees and younger soldiers can't afford. Everything should be covered, That's what I was promised when I first enlisted, and I served more than twenty years at some places that are now closed because they were dirty posts, NBC in the dirt where we trained. refueling helicopters and then defueling helicopters, a part of the job that fuel gushed into your face and got the rest of your upper body. Not healthy! Sad we had promises made, and now those promises are broken, go figure.

Many Veterans with service connected disabilities have progressively gotten worse but applying for an upgrade in their percentage is so arduous and intensive that they never get through the paperwork to have a proper review completed this process needs to be steamlined

There are alot of homeless vets who are not aware of how to receive help. There's not enough advertising for the vets who do not have access to the internet or location of facilities that can help them. Unfortunately there are homeless vets who have severe mental issues that affects their opportunity to take initiative towards getting help. Whatever situation that ended them to be homeless, they still are veterans who have served this country and they are no different than another vet. It's a very painful and sad sight to see them physically, spiritually and mentally broken. I believe we can all agree on that. Thank all of you for your service to our country.

I believe one of the biggest problems veterans face today is the feeling of isolation amongst civilians. The reason I say this is because we've been trained to work together to get the job done but our civilian counterparts are not. It's a dog eat dog world in civilian life. We've been trained to complete the task at hand no matter how insurmountable it may seem. Problem solve together so we can all make it to the other side. Sometimes some may have to sacrifice themselves in the process but we work together to get it done. Success is measured in all accomplishing the job.
Our civilian counterparts believe you must use as many ways possible to make it to the top and sacrifice as many as possible to do so. Success is measured in how far you can get no matter who you have to step on to get there.
That type of mindset puts many veterans at a disadvantage because we've been trained to work through to completion and do a great job but many civilians who wish to look successful use veteran workers as a means to get ahead. This causes many job changes for veterans due to unnecessary mental stress. It adds one more layer on the burdens we carry.
Learning how to shed some of our "military bearings" and adapting to civilian thinking can be helpful in reducing unneeded stress.

I think drug abuse, homelessness, depression, and PTSD are the main issues that most Veterans have to deal with on a daily basis. Being a Veteran of the Marine Corps I have dealt with all the above and the Va does allot to address these issues, but allot of Veterans are reluctant to talk about these issues because they don't want to be put into that category of veterans. The VA does a good job of getting Veterans in touch with people to help with all the above, but sometimes the housing they get put into, takes the substance abuse issues out of context and puts too much on the Veterans getting sober to be housed. Allot of Veterans have addictions that they can't quit cold turkey, I for instance have been addicted to heroin and fentanyl for about 2 years now and if anyone with these addictions knows being addicted to Opiates is allot more challenging than anyone will ever know. If I don't get high off of Fentanyl daily I will become violently sick and start throwing up, and having abdominal pains and just feel horrible for days, even weeks, if not prescribed Methadone, or Suboxone, for my withdrawals, and while Veterans are homeless, seeking housing assistance, allot of the housing involves being in sober living, which I agree needs to happen, but for Veterans like myself that are addicted to Heroin, or Fentanyl, even Meth these addictions are hard; if not impossible to break cold turkey. That's the reason that many of today's Veterans fail to seek out the resources that we all need and want. I think if given the opportunity to adjust to sober living and get housed first, and have substance abuse classes, as well if that's your issue, were an option, instead of it being you need to be sober 100% or nothing, allot of Veterans would gladly take the help. But I can't just go to a house, without having a backup to my withdrawals, either Methadone, or Suboxone, or Fentanyl before being housed.

It's what I see everyday and it seems to be getting worse. Please, allow me to mention that, I myself, was in the same mess, " Homelessness!" For nearly 2 years I was homeless in the streets lost, hungry, filthy and in so much pain. I tried to survive the best I could, but it overwhelmed me I was just so tired, mentally, physically and spiritually. I just wanted to die and that's what I tried to do not the normal way with a weapon or anything but with alcohol and drugs. It wasn't working the way I thought it would so in anger I cried out to God, these words, " God just kill me let me die, or help me, my heart hurts and my mind is gone I don't know what to do!" Well, that's a story for another time, but I see my Brothers and Sisters out there like was, I talk to them but they don't listen, I mean who am I that they would listen. Is there a place I can go to and volunteer, I'll go out into the streets, into the trenches. These are not just Men and Women, they're Seamen, Airmen, Marines and Soldiers! That's a very mean and very powerful and at times frightening enemy it's a monster, I truly believe we can defeat it, we need to, no, we have to bring our people home this is a crisis, COVID is nothing compared to this thing!
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Revelations 12:11

The political tug of war they only do enough to get elected and that's it.