Veterans sometimes face significant financial hurdles when they leave the service, and a couple in Florida is going to extreme lengths to raise awareness of the challenges. William Mosebach and Kristen Creech recently embarked on a 2,500-mile journey from Maine to Florida help draw attention to veteran unemployment rates and other financial struggles, according to the Telegram and Gazette.
The cause is especially important to Mosebach, who knows all too well the difficulty of separating from active duty service. He was in the Army from 2001 through 2005 and served in Iraq, and has witnessed firsthand the challenges associated with military service. The couple is hiking through the organization Active Heroes, and has raised $5,000 so far.
"Everybody that we come into contact with (during the hike) seems to be 100 percent devoted to the cause that we're trying to raise awareness for," Mosebach told the newspaper. "There can always be more awareness and dedication. It's just a constant thing. It's never going to go away as long as we have wars and as long as people experience traumatic events."
Unemployment remains a big issue among the most recent veterans. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for post-9/11 vets is approximately 9.7 percent, a bit higher than the 7.8 percent nationwide average.