It has not been a good year to be a Wisconsin veteran.

Here in Green Bay, we lost the VHRP because of state lawmakers infighting, putting myself and many others of my brothers and sisters who suffer with housing at further risk (story HERE).

Our suicide prevention and mental health efforts are slowly being farmed out to AI, removing a much needed human connection with care.

And as I type these words with a mouth of rotting teeth, 85 percent of VA ineligible veterans are in pain as we continue to have no answers for dental care.

And now Wisconsin veterans might have to leave Wisconsin to get something as simple as an ID and information about benefits.

Lawmakers are trying to remedy the situation, but if matters don’t improve, we’ll have to get to Chicago to visit the nearest DEER/RAPIDS facility (story HERE). The previous center in Appleton isn’t available.

This is a problem because getting care through any of the organizations is a long slog as is. There are backlogs and understaffed offices that are indifferent to the quality of life of veterans who earned these benefits.

And whether you’re a veteran or just a concerned neighbor, these lack of services expend our most valuable resource. And that is time.

As I get older, I reflect on the last few years of struggling. While I loved my time serving this country, the care that was promised has never been there.

Its been a lonely journey. You look to the sky and pray. And when services for veterans are shrinking instead of expanding, the answers to those prayers are even harder to find.