"GA – Hope.
Merriam-Webster defines this word as “desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment.”
Hope can become the only reason to go on in trying circumstances, and it can prove incredibly difficult to come by when times are tough.
Hope is something that many of our veterans and military allies desperately, deeply need. They need to believe that times can get better, that they will pass through dark times and find light on the other side. But hope often proves very, very hard to find.
Flanders Fields is a veteran-founded 501(c)(3) volunteer-staffed nonprofit dedicated to bringing hope and help to veterans and military allies in need.
This organization originated through the efforts of Army veteran Ben Owen, who spent several years helping, out of his own pocket, to meet the needs of veterans who were struggling with addiction and homelessness.
The impetus for this assistance, Owen told us, came from his own battles with homelessness and addiction, which left him fully able to understand the battles other veterans face, and what was necessary to get through them.
Owen said:
“There’s one way that we help, and that is, we address hopelessness, at every level we possibly can.
“And having experienced it firsthand, addiction is the most hopeless place you can ever be, and addiction or substance abuse is behind 70 or 80 percent of homeless veterans, and, depending on the study you read, it’s behind 70 to 80 percent of veteran suicides as well.
“That 22 a day of veteran suicides that you hear, it does not count intentional or unintentional overdoses.”
Read the full article here on lawenforcementtoday.com
