I moved to Raleigh in May of 2023. In desperate need of a new tribe, I turned to the one place I knew I could count on—the military community. This is when I discovered The Joel Fund. After attending my first coffee connection and meeting the team, I was hooked, and the rest was history.

Salute to you all who answered calls, texts, emails, and even noted moments of high stress as I navigated through my situation. [...] I thank you all for what you do! What you all do helps veterans so much and at the end of it all, you all save lives in many ways.

When you get out of the military, you go from an institution where everything is cohesive… basically, overnight, you’re on your own and you have to figure it out. It’s difficult. Had I known about The Joel Fund when I got out of the military, I would’ve been there a lot sooner.

They genuinely care about each person and they treat us all as individuals. Anybody who comes [into The Joel Fund], they know their name, they know their story. It’s amazing how pretty much everybody knows everybody. That has built this community.