Today is Veteran’s Day.

And while serving this country with my brothers and sisters remains the greatest honor of my life, the struggles that have followed after we put away our uniforms for the final time, have made the holiday bitter sweet.

The truth is that struggling veterans suffer from severe depression. This is what happens when our best days our behind us.

And while Green Bay is a beautiful community filled with kind people, veterans continue our silent suffering in alleys, homeless shelters, and bus stops, trying to solve a puzzle many of us will never figure out.

Here are some of the challenges Green Bay veterans face in 2025:

No place to live: I struggle with housing. And so many other veterans do as well. While Green Bay is in the thick of a war against the housing crisis and doing everything they can, we’re still stuck on the street as winter approaches.

Then there are groups like the Schmitt Park Neighborhood Association or Schmitt Park United Residents group that is actively fighting housing for veterans (story HERE). They hate the idea that the men and women who once defended their freedom are trying to find a place to rest near them.

Then there was the closure of the Green Bay VHRP which shuttered because of partisan fighting from state lawmakers in Madison (story HERE). That could have been prevented.

Lack Of Access To Health and Dental Care: The VA is the VA. And while access to services has always been a challenge, it’s especially bad as our numbers continue to grow. And we can’t forget that 85 percent of veterans are ineligible for dental care with the VA, even with the clinics already in place.

Many Of Us Don’t Want To Live Anymore: Veterans suicide is still too high. And as opposition to housing and benefits we earned with our service continues to grow, this makes that denial letter or phone call even tougher to endure. Many of us will stop believing that life can be good.

Listen, there are good people out there doing their best. But after the parades and celebrations from this holiday have resolved, we’re once again rendered useless and unnecessary in the eyes of many of our neighbors.

“Happy Veterans Day” just doesn’t seem right anymore. We must keep working.