While there are a lot of nonprofits for veterans in the United States, G.E.T. HOPE aims to stand in the gap where there is an obvious lack of support.

“What does Wood County offer for veterans like me?” was a question posed to the police on the last night of George “Erik” Taylor’s life.

Erik was a 20+ year veteran having served in the U.S. Marines and U.S. Coast Guard, who also volunteered to go to the ends of the earth to fight for our freedoms. Sadly, he was right.

In Erik’s own home county, in Northwest Ohio, where can a veteran struggling with PTSD and TBI turn to in their darkest hour? It’s not the VA, it’s not our local institutions, law enforcement, and it’s not even our local hospitals.

• The U.S. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has faced well-documented systemic issues such as long wait times for healthcare, limited access to veterans in rural areas, and an overall inadequate mental health system, and the list goes on...

• Our local institutions aren’t trained or equipped to offer the kind of support needed.

And while we wait for the government or someone else to step in and fix this, one more veteran takes his or her life, due to lack of support.

G.E.T HOPE aims to place a focus on local connectedness for our veterans, providing community, hope, and healing through structured small-group sessions and mentorships. Sharing experiences with another veteran who understands what they're going through can provide a sense of validation, reduce feelings of isolation, and offer valuable peer support.

So let's put our memorial halls and public spaces to good use, for the healing of our local veterans. Let’s bring our veteran community together and offer them hope, in honor of George Erik Taylor and his brothers and sisters in arms.