"My pride kept me from going to the VA and I
didn't know there was a lot of things I qualified for," said Waller.
Many service men and women don't get the help
they need from the VA for several reasons...either they think they don't
deserve benefits because they didn't serve in a combat region....or they come
back from combat without physical injuries. Larry Millstead with the
Augusta/Aiken Warrior Project says that mindset is keeping a lot of the
military from getting the help they need.
"Not all wounds are physical and not all
warriors are wounded. There can be those that just need a little bit of motivation,
or pick me up to say, hey here's a helping hand lets get you back on your feet
and see which direction you want to go in," Millstead said.
He opened a branch of the AWP in Aiken, and with
the help of Aiken Tech Student veterans founder Steven Waller, they help
veterans that are getting an education .
"Whether it's education housing, employment
healthcare family relationship..we can link them to the community organization,
the state of federal organization that will assist them with that particular
need that's going on in their life," Waller said.
Neil Reed says his whole life turned around after
getting connected with the Aiken Branch of AWP.
Reed served in the 70's and need some help
getting back on his feet.
"There are a lot of good people just through
a couple of little circumstances and they're lost and I was one of those
people," said Reed.
He was homeless for some time until he got the
help from AWP; now he says he's headed toward a new career.
"But through going to school here and having
very good instructors and Larry, you know I picked myself up and have been able
to move forward. But it's scary at times. It's very, very scary," Reed
said.
Jonathan Davis
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