A charity by the name of M.A.S.H. Pantry puts food in the bellies of hungry homeless and low-income veterans and their families.

Amber Hudson – a Navy veteran – started the M.A.S.H. (Military and Service Heroes) Pantry in an effort to put an end to hunger among the veteran community. Though she is currently tackling Ohio's Franklin County, Hudson hopes to spread awareness of this issue and one day make a change nationwide.

"Everything we have in this country we owe to our military veterans. They shouldn't return home and go hungry, but there just aren't any food pantries around, and our country does not provide the resources our veterans need," Hudson said to This Week Community News.

The nonprofit, located in Columbus, serves veterans and families in the area. Those who are in need of food as well as clothes and toiletries have the chance to collect these items every Saturday morning at the pantry, according to the source. Potluck dinners are also held on some weekends during the month.

Hudson is extremely dedicated to the cause. She sold her car and prized possessions to get the pantry off the ground.

"The feeling you get when you know you're making a difference in someone's life, that's a treasure that's invaluable," Hudson told This Week Community News.

Thanks to Hudson and other volunteers who help make a difference in the lives of veterans and their families, the M.A.S.H. Pantry has grown. In fact, it had to move offices because it became too big for its original location, the source stated. Hudson will continue to work hard and plans to grow even more. She wants to make a difference and reduce the number of veterans and their families who have to go to bed hungry every night, not only in the state of Ohio but all over the country.

A tragic accident left Bobby Henline, a former U.S. Army Staff Sergeant, severely wounded. But that hasn't stopped him from pursuing his dreams and helping others.

Henline was the only survivor after an explosion occurred while on tour in Iraq in 2007, according to PEOPLE magazine. He faced hardships and became fearful while recovering from burns and an amputated arm. Henline endured over 40 surgeries and plenty of days of rehabilitation, but despite the turmoil, he has persevered. 

Despite the injuries, he mustered the strength and courage to heal physically and emotionally, Wide Open Country stated. There were many hesitations and doubts that got in his way but as soon as he started to tell his story, he began to see life in a different light. 

"I'm trying to give back. This is a great way to do it, through empowerment and food," Henline told PEOPLE magazine.

Henline realized that the best way to deal with what happened was by helping others, the source stated. Because he had firsthand experience struggling to find a job in life after service, he wanted to find a way to empower veterans and enable them to avoid this issue. He's heading in the right direction, pursuing his passion for helping others and his love for food, specifically burgers. 

He is planning to open a burger restaurant that will offer employment to veterans. He looked to his friend and former Korean War veteran, Richard Brown, owner of Biggie's Burgers and Great Shakes, for guidance on this endeavor, Wide Open Country reported. Brown also has a dedication to supporting veterans, who happen to be a majority of his loyal customers.

Brown enthusiastically agreed to assist Henline to open and run another Biggie's chain in San Antonio, according to PEOPLE magazine. As of right now, Henline is trying to raise enough money to get things running smoothly. Once his goal is met, he will hire a staff of those who have served our country. Brown and Henline are an unstoppable dynamic duo who will continue to do their part in the community and hope to serve good food with their great hearts.

French representatives, on March 10, honored three Boston-area veterans for their service during World War II, reported The Boston Globe. Former U.S. Army personnel James Baker, Leo De Filippo and Michael Maglio were nominated to the Legion of Honor, receiving the rank of chevalier. 

"Their struggle and efforts occurred at an extremely hard and dark time in both French and European history," Valéry Freland, the Consul General of France in Boston, said soon after presenting the awards. "By celebrating their courage this morning, both the French Republic and the people of France remember the American soldiers who helped them recover their freedom, their pride, and their honor." 

Baker, 91, worked as a military truck driver in southern France during the conflict. De Filippo, 96, helped operate a power plant and Maglio, 95, was a cook.

The ceremony took place at the Chelsea Soldiers Home in Chelsea, Massachusetts.

"For me, the real heroes are in France," Maglio said in an interview with a local ABC affiliate. "My friends, my brother friends, I will always remember them." 

The Legion of Honor is France's highest award, reported USA Today. Famed military leader Napoléon Bonaparte established the honor in 1802. More than 10,000 American artists, servicemembers and thinkers have received the award over the years. A large portion of these recipients were World War II veterans who helped liberate France from Nazi Germany.

Many feel the award strengthens the relationship between the U.S. and France.

"It shows the enormous gratitude of the French Republic to Americans," Lawrence Kritzman, a professor of comparative literature at Dartmouth College and Legion of Honor recipient, told the publication. "There are times in the media of misrepresentation of the relationship and even in the greatest of relationships there are moments of disappointment, but it doesn't mean that the sense of recognition and gratitude is not there."

A bill that would help veterans in Colorado obtain service dogs has passed through the state's House Public Health Care and Human Services Committee, reported a CBS affiliate in Denver. The bill, House Bill 1112, aims to establish an initiative for former servicemembers in the state who wish to train their own service animals. If the legislation passes, state officials will select approximately 10 veterans for a pilot program.

Rep. Lois Landgraf, R-El Paso County, sponsored HB 1112 in January. Landgraf's intention was to help local veterans cope with post-traumatic stress disorder.

"These veterans that have these dogs have told me the dog has saved their lives many times; kept them from committing suicide," she told CBS. "My only regret is only reaching out to 10 veterans, but it's a start and then hopefully they will be able to turn around and do the same thing for other veterans and the program will be self-sustaining and it can branch out to police and fire."

Local dog trainers and mental health workers have already agreed to volunteer for the program. And, Landgraf intends to acquire partially trained animals from the state prison system.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, around 15 percent of all veterans who served in the last four major conflicts suffer from PTSD. The VA advises servicemembers dealing with the condition to consider owning a dog. The animals act as loyal companions and reduce stress.

Navy veteran Jeremy Turrell adopted his 7-year-old golden retriever Chaos after he was discharged. Turrell, who suffers from PTSD, eventually trained Chaos to act as his service dog. In January, the veteran came to the Colorado General Assembly to show his support for HB 1112. 

"My life in general, he's what's kept me going because if I'm not going to change my life for me, then I'll at least do it for him," Turrell said in an interview with CBS. "The best thing he does is come to your aid. He's there for you to love on him so he can love on you."

Over 50 veterans gathered to perform on the first day of the 2016 Local Veterans Creative Arts Festival in Reno, Nevada, reported the Reno-Gazette Journal. The Department of Veterans Affairs sponsored the event, which started March 2 and continues through March 11. The festival is in its third year.

Last week's opening performance, which took place at the Reno Elks Club, featured comedy, poetry and short-story readings, and musical performances. A ventriloquist even performed.

"It's so that people see that veterans are talented, that we don't just serve the government and serve where we were put but we all have special little gifts that we like to share," Linda Esterling, a 65-year-old former U.S. Marine Corps candidate administrator and the aforementioned puppeteer, told the newspaper.

Eric Hobson, a veteran of the Vietnam War and writer, also performed. The ex-servicemember recited his poem "The Hills Art Alive," a piece about enemy gunfire that plays off the popular film "The Sound of Music." Hobson attended three separate screenings of the movie during his time in Vietnam with the U.S. Army. All three showings were interrupted by advancing North Vietnamese soldiers.

"I hate the movie," he said in an interview with the Reno-Gazette Journal.

Veterans who create visual art will have the opportunity to display their work during a showcase at the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System in Reno. It starts Wed. March 9 and wraps up March 11 with an awards ceremony.

The VA funds this and other local veterans arts competitions across the country. Winners from local festivals are invited to perform at the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival, which takes place Oct. 10 through 17 in Jackson, Mississippi. 

Art therapy is a key treatment for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, reported NBC News. It allows participants to confront their problems and work through them in a constructive and often powerful way. In recent years, art therapy has gained a national foothold among veterans. The National Intrepid Center of Excellence, a division of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, made waves in 2013 when it commissioned its art therapy participants to create a series of painted masks, reported National Geographic.

A sailor killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor was buried March 9 in Honolulu, Hawaii, reported The Associated Press. Petty Officer 1st Class Vernon Luke grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin and served on the USS Oklahoma as a machinist's mate. The sailor was killed Dec. 7, 1941 when Japanese forces attacked the U.S. naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Luke was 43.

Military personnel were unable to identify Luke's remains so, at the close of World War II, he was laid to rest with 387 fellow unidentified shipmates. 

Last year, the Department of Defense exhumed the bodies of the sailors to make identifications with modern DNA testing technology, reported Time magazine. 

"The Secretary of Defense and I will work tirelessly to ensure your loved ones' remains will be recovered, identified and returned to you as expeditiously as possible, and we will do so with dignity, respect and care," Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work said in a news release.

Luke was identified during this initiative. He was reburied in a Honolulu veterans cemetery. Distant family attended the ceremony that closed with 21-gun salute.

Ray Emory, a Navy veteran who served on the USS Honolulu during Pearl Harbor, also attended. Emory told The Associate Press he was happy to see that the military was finally taking action to identify unknown servicemen killed in the attack. 

"Here it is 75 years after the attack and they're finally getting around to getting some of these people identified," he said. "It's taken them a long time to do it." 

In recent years, the number of living Pearl Harbor survivors has dwindled, reported The Washington Post. Around 60,000 civilians, marines and sailors survived the attack. However, officials estimate that only a few thousand remain. Military personnel, families and historians understand that these men and women are key to keeping the memory of Pearl Harbor alive.

Over 2,000 died in the attack, which prompted Congress to declare war on Japan and enter World War II. 

Students at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville, Indiana treated local veterans to free dental care Feb. 29 through March 2, reported The Gazette. Ex-servicemembers received tooth cleanings, dental X-rays and other services free of charge.

The USI Dental Hygiene Program, in conjunction with its Veteran, Military & Family Resource Center and the Southwest Indiana Area Health Education Center, hosts the program annually. This year, the appointment schedule filled up quickly.

Students work the clinic, but instructors supervise and manage patient flow.

"They learn a lot," Dr. Sam Euler, a professor at USI and clinic overseer, told The Gazette. "They need to see diversity – all different types of mouths – the ones that aren't so clean and the ones that are clean. And it helps the veterans, too, because it's free of charge."

To receive care, veterans had to show valid military identification and fill out a medical history form.

Larry Gries, a Vietnam War veteran, had his teeth cleaned, received a fluoride treatment and got a new set of dental X-rays through the program.

"Oh, I think it's fantastic," the 67-year-old said. "It helps us and it helps the students. They do a thorough job."

Dental care is a key problem for many former servicemembers, reported The Huffington Post. Most don't qualify for Department of Veterans Affairs dental benefits. To receive dental benefits, veterans must be entirely disabled, have been held captive as a prisoner of war or developed an oral condition during deployment. However, the agency does allow former members of the military to enroll in low-cost dental insurance plans via a number of providers.

To fill the void, many private dentistry practices and educational institutions offer free or cost-effective services to veterans. Last year, Aspen Dental, a nationwide dental services company, partnered with the military nonprofit Got Your 6 to help over 4,000 ex-servicemembers receive care.

The Aura Home for Women Veterans, which originally began in Buncombe County, recently expanded with a new office opening in Asheville, North Carolina. This nonprofit organization, aims to assist homeless women veterans in the community by providing housing solutions as well as necessities to readjust to life, including clothing, transportation and meals.

The Aura Home for Women Veterans was founded by Alyce Knaflick to help make a difference in the homeless women veteran community in North Carolina, which is ranked among other states as having one of the highest populations of homeless female veterans, according to WLOS News 13.

Knaflick told WLOS News 13, "Women veterans seem to be second class citizens here…They don't get the job training opportunities, they don't get medical care and they don't get housing."

This organization aims to provide women veterans with a home. It also aims to give the support needed for women to get back on the path toward a successful career post-military. Reliable information sources for women veterans pertaining to finding jobs, training, financial assistance or education, are available at the Aura Home for Women Veterans.

Members of the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, on March 4, discussed pain management techniques for veterans during a field meeting in Concord, New Hampshire, reported The Associated Press. The group, chaired by Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., traveled to the state to examine innovative pain relief methods employed at Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers in Manchester and White River Junction, Vermont.

Reps. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., and Frank Guinta, R-N.H., invited the committee.

Doctors at White River Junction VA Medical Center prescribe acupuncture, aquatic therapy and yoga to local veterans with chronic pain, reported Vermont Public Radio. The reasoning is simple: the state is at the center of the ongoing opioid crisis. Deaths attributed to drug overdose are up 113 percent since 2013, reported Al Jazeera. This crisis has had a major impact on veterans, as many return home with battle scars that cause long-lasting chronic pain. Often, VA physicians prescribe addictive painkillers to these individuals, which can lead to drug dependency.

Many ex-servicemembers go out of their way to avoid opioids. Carol Hitchcock, an Iraq War veteran, came to the medical center in White River Junction looking to do just that. Hitchcock had injured her shoulder in the service and could no longer stand the pain. She needed help but refused to take painkillers. So, physicians at the hospital tried acupuncture and it worked. The procedure changed her life.

"I sleep, which I hadn't done for a number of years," she told Vermont Public Radio. "I can actually sleep now because of this. The pain is not there. I guess it's cyclical, right? So I feel better, so I am healthier, so I sleep better and my weight is under control now, so everything just aligns."

During their March 4 hearing, Coffman and his fellow legislators praised the hospital for its work but asserted that the VA needed to offer more support to physicians developing such treatments.

"The department can't simply introduce well-intentioned programs and then fail to manage them properly," he said. "If these alternative treatments really work, they need to be implemented rapidly."

The act of listening is at the base of a heartfelt project created for veterans who need it most, The Welcome Johnny and Jane Home Project.

The Welcome Johnny and Jane Home Project aims to heal veterans through the power of communication. Veterans tell their stories and share their experiences through different listening sessions while nonveterans listen. This national project is centered around the notion that veterans deserve more than just a simple thank you for their services. It's imperative for others to listen to what they have to say.

This project gives veterans, who are overcoming struggles and inner conflict from serving in the military, the chance to express themselves through words.

"When they can share their experiences and they're not judged because of what they've done, and they're still respected and people are still compassionate that can be a big relief for them" Steven Stone, executive director of the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Ashland County stated to WDTN 2 News.

The listening sessions enable veterans to speak their minds and be heard without judgment. Whether they're struggling to deal with society post-war or just need someone to relate to what they're going through, they can receive the support they deserve and need. During the sessions, nonveterans volunteer and show their support by offering their full and undivided attention to see a veteran's perspective and understand first-hand experiences of war. This helps to knock down the gap between veterans and nonveterans. It also helps to clear up any misconceptions nonveterans may have regarding military life. 

The Welcome Johnny and Jane Home Project creates impactful human interactions. The hope is for a stronger connection between the community of veterans and nonveterans.