Twenty-four years ago today, everything changed. In an instant, our sense of security was shattered. Our hearts broken. Our resolve steeled.
Like most Americans, I vividly remember September 11. Unlike most, I was at Ground Zero by the morning of Sept. 12. When the sun dared to rise that day, it revealed a city still smoldering, filled with people roaming the streets looking for loved ones and searching for answers.
Traditionally, we spend a few moments every Sept. 11 honoring the lives lost that day. But I’d submit this country does a lousy job of honoring — and caring for — those whose lives have been tragically altered ever since. Particularly those we sent off to war.
Somewhere between 2 and 3 million Americans served in the wars spawned by Sept. 11. Thousands died. But hundreds of thousands continue to struggle with physical wounds, invisible wounds, sometimes even to make ends meet.
Research from the Department of Veterans Affairs shows that 1 out of every 7 people deployed in the War on Terror experience PTSD. Among Marines, it’s 1 in 5.
Even more tragic, the number of veterans who take their own lives is so high that the Department of Defense has produced an “Annual Report on Suicide in the Military.” The number is somewhere close to two every single day. More service members have perished at their own hands than in combat.
It is a moral failure for a country to abandon the people who risked their lives to protect it.
Fortunately, there are some people and organizations that spend every waking moment trying to help veterans in need.
Actually, the Camaraderie Foundation spends every moment, waking or not.
For more than 15 years, this small but mighty nonprofit has provided services to veterans struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The organization’s mission: “Healing the invisible wounds of war.”
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The foundation provides counseling services, plans family activities and works with local businesses that are eager to provide veterans with jobs.
Sometimes it pairs veterans with a licensed therapist for a year’s worth of counseling services for which the vets never pay a dime. Sometimes, Camaraderie workers field phone calls at 3 in the morning from veterans in crisis who don’t know where else to turn.
“We take everybody right away,” said Camaraderie’s CEO, Maria Cherjovsky.
I’ve watched this organization grow since it was founded as a local startup in 2009 into one that fields calls from around the nation. On Saturday night, I’ll help host the foundation’s Patriot Gala to help raise money so that it can keep on serving.
It’s encouraging to see organizations like Hilton Grand Vacations, Lockheed Martin, Advent Health, SeaWorld and Blue Cord support Camaraderie with generous donations. But it’s also somewhat discouraging to think that a group like this has to work so hard to serve such a serious and obvious need.
Especially when many veterans are struggling now as much as ever with the federal government — which is, by far, the largest employer of vets — aggressively cutting jobs.
We live in a country where many are eager to wage war, yet few are willing to serve. It only seems right to return the favor to those who finish their service and yet are still fighting wars on their own.
There are lots of ways you can help.
The Orlando VA Healthcare System has several suggestions at www.va.gov/orlando-health-care/work-with-us/volunteer-or-donate. The VA looks for individuals, companies and groups willing to donate money, coordinate volunteer projects and organize collection drives through its “Serve those who served” program.
The city of Orlando also has a Veterans Resource guide at Orlando.gov with links to many local groups. Some, like the Christian Service Center and Salvation Army Orlando, help struggling veterans deal with immediate needs. Others, such as Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida and the Florida division of the American Legion, provide everything from free legal representation to assistance getting benefits and jobs.
And then there’s the Camaraderie Foundation, the nonprofit that has always punched above its weight class. The Foundation (www.camaraderiefoundation.org) can use donations of any size; volunteers, especially fellow veterans willing to serve as mentors; and contacts at companies eager to hire vets.
There are lots of ways to help. As Cherjovsky says: “If we help the veteran, we are helping everyone.”
But the needs will continue long past Sept. 11.
Pausing for solemn reflection is certainly appropriate. It’s what we do, though, when everyday life resumes — and some of those who served us are still struggling — that really makes a difference.
Veterans deserve support on more than just one day. This Orlando group helps | Commentary
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/09/11/maxwell-this-9-11-remember-veterans-long-after-today/
