Resources
The right line to call, and what to say
Real organizations, checked for accuracy, with the phone numbers you can tap. Nothing here pays us, and nothing here is a sales pitch.
Crisis support · 24 hours
If today is the hard day, call now
The Veterans Crisis Line is free, confidential, and answered around the clock by people who understand military life. You do not have to be enrolled in VA care to call.
The Veterans Crisis Line is for veterans, service members, and the people who care about them, whether or not they are enrolled in VA care. More help for veterans.
Crisis and mental health
If today is the hard day, start here.
- 988Dial 988, then press 1
Veterans Crisis Line
Confidential support from the VA, around the clock, for veterans, service members, and the people who care about them. You do not have to be enrolled in VA care to call.
- 741741Text HOME
Crisis Text Line
Text-based crisis support for anyone in the United States, 24 hours a day. Text HOME to 741741 and a trained volunteer will answer.
- 1-800-950-6264
NAMI HelpLine
Information, resource referrals, and support from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Monday through Friday.
Veterans support
Benefits, care, and people who have been there.
- 1-800-827-1000
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Health care, disability compensation, education benefits, and home loans. Your first stop for anything the VA administers.
VA Whole Health
The VA's approach to care that starts with what matters to you, including movement, sleep, nutrition, and complementary approaches alongside standard treatment.
Wounded Warrior Project
Free programs for post-9/11 veterans and service members covering mental health, physical health, and connection to other veterans.
DAV — Disabled American Veterans
Free help filing VA claims and appeals, plus transportation to VA medical appointments in many regions.
The American Legion
Service officers who help with claims, plus local posts that offer fellowship and community for veterans of every era.
- 1-800-959-8277
Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)
Care for the families of fallen service members — grief support, peer groups, and help with benefits, at no cost.
PTSD: National Center for PTSD
The VA's own plain-language library on trauma, PTSD, and treatments that work. Written for veterans and families, not clinicians.
Benefits and legal help
Free help with a claim or an appeal.
National Veterans Legal Services Program
Free legal help for veterans appealing a denial of VA benefits, including discharge upgrades and disability claims.
Organizations we work with
These are organizations the founder of Veterans Project works with. We list them here so a reader can find help — a listing is not a partnership, a sponsorship, or an endorsement of everything they say.
- 321-253-3673
Florida Cannabis Action Network (FLCAN)
A long-running Florida patient advocacy and reform organization. They track legislation, publish a patients' bill of rights, run events and educational sessions, and send advocates to the state capital in Tallahassee to fight for bills that matter to veterans and patients.
Older adults and caregivers
For older adults and the people helping them.
- 1-800-677-1116
Eldercare Locator
A national service of the Administration for Community Living that connects older adults and caregivers to local services — meals, transport, in-home help, and caregiver support.
- 1-800-633-4227
Medicare
Official Medicare information: what is covered, how to enroll, and how to compare plans. Free and confidential help is also available through your State Health Insurance Assistance Program.
VA Caregiver Support Program
Support for the family members and friends who care for veterans, including coaching, respite, and financial support for those who qualify.
National Council on Aging
Benefits checkups, healthy aging programs, and practical guidance for older adults and the people helping them.
Further reading
Trustworthy sources if you want to read more deeply.
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Clear, research-based explanations of how opioids affect the body, what dependence and addiction are, and what treatment looks like.
CDC — Prescription Opioids
Public health guidance on opioid risks, overdose prevention, and naloxone, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
NIH Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
What the research actually shows about cannabis, CBD, and other complementary approaches to pain.
Take this with you
Questions to ask your doctor
One page, no jargon. Print it, fold it, put it in the bag with the pill bottles. You do not have to ask all of them — ask the one that worries you most, and ask it first.
My questions for my doctor
Veterans Project · Saving 22
- 1.What is the working diagnosis, and what else could this be?
- 2.What is this medicine supposed to do for me, and how will we know if it is working?
- 3.How long am I meant to be on it?
- 4.Which side effects should I call about, and which are an emergency?
- 5.What does this do combined with what I already take — including alcohol and anything for sleep?
- 6.What happens if I want to stop it? What is the plan for that?
- 7.Are there non-drug options, and can you refer me to them?
- 8.Could any of my current medicines be lowered or dropped?
- 9.What did you find in my test results, in plain words?
- 10.Who do I call at 9 p.m. on a Friday?
- 11.Can I get this plan in writing, or in my patient portal?
Bring every bottle.
Prescriptions, over-the-counter, supplements, eye drops, creams — and anything you use that a doctor did not prescribe. A review of half the list is not a review.
This is a list of questions, not medical advice. Veterans Project is a nonprofit education organization and does not provide care.
We check these listings, but organizations change their numbers. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will fix it. We do not accept payment for a listing, and we add organizations because they help people.