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Most people who leave the military adjust to civilian life well, but a significant minority struggle with trauma, work, housing or the injuries of war. This page follows an illustrative path from service to civilian life, with the evidence at each step on PTSD, effective treatment, employment and homelessness, the rehabilitation need in Ukraine, how to spot a fake veterans charity, and the veterans causes you can support with crypto.
By Global Relief Group · Last updated:
If you need help now
This page is general information, not medical advice. If you or someone near you is in immediate danger, call your local emergency number. If you are struggling with substance use or thoughts of suicide, contact a local crisis line or helpline, or a doctor.
The chapters below follow one path from service to civilian life. “Sam” is not a real person: the path combines experiences documented in research, and most veterans will recognize only parts of it. Each chapter is followed by what the evidence says.
Chapter 1: Leaving
Sam leaves the army after eight years. The first job applications go nowhere: the skills are real, but hard to explain to civilian employers.
Most service leavers find work, and it is important not to paint veterans as broken. Veterans’ charities report that some groups find the move harder: those who leave early, those discharged for medical reasons, and those who joined very young. The evidence on what helps is thin. A UK government analysis of Walking With The Wounded’s employment programme found that 39% of 1,076 participants were working when they started and 51% a year later, but with no comparison group it could not show the programme caused the change. Practical steps that help: translating military roles into civilian terms, such as team size and budget managed, and using free official transition services. The Veteran Reintegration Support Network combines employment advice with mental health support.
Chapter 2: The first year out
Sleep is bad. Sam is short-tempered with family, avoids crowds, and misses the unit more than expected.
Post-traumatic stress disorder affects a significant minority of veterans, though most never develop it. The 2025–2026 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry in 2026, found that 14.4% of US veterans had had PTSD at some point in their lives, and 7.3% in the past month, higher than the 9.4% lifetime figure in the same study’s 2019–2020 round.
Veteran suicide is the hardest number in this area. The US Department of Veterans Affairs’ latest report counted 6,398 veteran suicides in 2023, about 17.5 a day. The often-quoted “22 a day” came from an older report based on partial data. Either figure is far too high, and help works.
If you or a veteran you know is in crisis
In the United States, veterans and their families can reach the Veterans Crisis Line by dialling 988 and pressing 1. Elsewhere, contact your local crisis line or emergency number.
Chapter 3: Asking for help
After a year, Sam books an appointment. The question is which treatment to ask for.
The 2023 clinical guideline of the US Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense recommends three trauma-focused talking therapies for PTSD: Cognitive Processing Therapy, Prolonged Exposure and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). It favours these over medication where both are available, supports delivering them by video, and says that drug or alcohol problems should not stop someone receiving trauma-focused therapy. A useful question for any provider: “Which trauma-focused therapy do you offer, and are your clinicians trained in it?” The Veteran PTSD Treatment Fund pays for two of them, Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure, including by video, and for counselling for families.
Chapter 4: When things go wrong
A relationship ends and a job is lost. For a few months Sam sleeps on friends’ sofas, then in a car.
Veteran homelessness in the United States has fallen a long way. The January 2025 count found 32,495 homeless veterans, the lowest since records began and less than half the 2009 figure. A central programme is HUD-VASH, which combines a rent voucher with VA case management and has helped more than 200,000 veterans since 2008. The risks for those still homeless are severe: a 2024 study of 6.1 million VA patients found that homeless veterans had about three times the risk of dying from an overdose. The Homeless Veterans Housing Fund pays for transitional housing with case management, and drug-related risks are covered on our Addiction & Recovery page.
Chapter 5: The same story, elsewhere
Sam comes home to a country that is not itself at war. In a country at war, the scale is different. More than 44,000 people have received prostheses through Ukraine’s state programme since the full-scale invasion, according to the social policy minister in May 2026, a figure that covers only the state programme and does not separate soldiers from civilians. There is no official count of amputations; estimates run to tens of thousands. A prosthesis is only the start: sockets must be refitted as limbs change, rehabilitation takes months, and there are too few trained prosthetists and therapists. The Veterans Prosthetics & Rehabilitation Fund pays for prostheses and therapy, and the War Veterans Mental Health Fund for trauma care. In Poland, the War Veterans Support Network supports a peer association of former UN peacekeepers.
How to spot a fake veterans charity
In 2018 the US Federal Trade Commission and regulators from every state announced more than 100 actions against fake and deceptive veterans charities, an operation called Donate with Honor. One of them, Help the Vets, told donors it helped wounded and disabled veterans; according to the FTC, about 95% of every donation went on fundraising, running costs and its founder’s pay. A settlement imposed a US$20.4 million judgment, most of it suspended once the founder paid US$1.75 million, and banned him from charitable fundraising.
Cases like this share a few signs. The name sounds like a well-known charity. The appeal says it “helps veterans” without naming any programme or numbers. You are pushed to give immediately, or asked for cash, gift cards or a wire transfer. The caller cannot say how much of your gift reaches veterans. And there is no annual report or financial filing to read. Before giving, check the organization’s registration with the tax authority or charity regulator in its country and read its latest accounts. The same tests apply to us: our About page sets out who we are and how we are registered.
Every Veterans Support cause we list
Each cause names the organization that receives the grants and when our team last verified it. Open a cause to see what it pays for, or donate directly.
War Veterans Support Network
Supports a nationwide association of Polish UN peacekeeping veterans whose local chapters keep former peacekeepers connected and educate the public about the missions and their risks.
Funds handled by Stowarzyszenie Kombatantów Misji Pokojowych ONZ · verified Jul 2021
Donate to this cause →Veterans Prosthetics & Rehabilitation Fund
Funds prosthetic limbs and physical rehabilitation for veterans injured in the war.
Funds handled by Superhumans Center · verified Oct 2022
Donate to this cause →War Veterans Mental Health Fund
Funds trauma care for soldiers returning from active combat, a rapidly growing need as the ongoing conflict continues.
Funds handled by Veteran Hub · verified Aug 2022
Donate to this cause →Veteran Reintegration Support Network
Funds employment coaching and mental health support for veterans transitioning to civilian life.
Funds handled by Walking With The Wounded · verified Apr 2026
Donate to this cause →Homeless Veterans Housing Fund
Funds transitional housing for homeless veterans, a population found to face roughly three times the overdose death risk of housed veterans.
Funds handled by U.S.VETS (United States Veterans Initiative) · verified Aug 2022
Donate to this cause →Veteran PTSD Treatment Fund
Funds trauma-focused therapy access for veterans, among whom lifetime PTSD prevalence is estimated at about 14 percent according to the latest national veteran health survey.
Funds handled by Cohen Veterans Network · verified Feb 2023
Donate to this cause →Common questions
Do most veterans have PTSD?
No. Most veterans never develop it. Rates are higher among those exposed to combat and among women veterans, and effective treatments exist.
Are these causes only for US veterans?
No. They include veterans in the United Kingdom, Ukraine and Poland as well as the United States.
Can I support a specific veteran?
No. Our causes fund programmes run by verified partner organizations, which protects the privacy of the people they help.