Homelessness among veterans is a major issue across the country, but now many large municipalities are trying to do more to address it. One such place is Los Angeles County, where two lawmakers recently proposed a huge program to deal with the problem.

The Home for Heroes program, proposed by county supervisors Don Knabe and Hilda Solis, would cost $5 million and serve 1,000 or more homeless vets in the next year and a half, according to a report from the Los Angeles Daily News. That would include giving incentives to landlords who rent to homeless veterans, grants to cover some of their initial costs, and even something as simple as more beds in shelters specifically for veterans.

"One of the challenges in housing our homeless vets has been identifying housing for them, even when they had a voucher in hand," Knabe told the newspaper. "It was taking vets 90 days or longer to find an apartment."

This is part of a larger initiative to provide more support for the homeless in general, but Home for Heroes receives a special focus for obvious reasons, the report said.

Veterans who are struggling in any way should be on the lookout for programs such as these, offered by private groups as well as governmental agencies.

Veterans entering their life after service often find that one of the hardest parts of communicating with others is that so few have shared their experiences. Clara Reynolds, president and CEO of the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, told The Tampa Tribune that starting a few years ago, the center received numerous calls from veterans pleading for counselors who understand what they were going through based on personal experience in the armed forces.

Reynolds made sure that their requests didn't go unanswered. Tampa's crisis center now has a dedicated phone service specifically for veterans. If a servicemember calls in from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, they'll find themselves talking to a peer counselor who is also a fellow veteran.

Military training isn't the only thing that makes these counselors so effective. Being able to discuss similar backgrounds and experiences with callers can make all the difference in the world. The program has proven so successful that the crisis center is seeking more veteran volunteers to participate in the effort. 

Former Marine Jamie McPherson told The Tampa Tribune that "There's a stigma in the military culture about asking for help. In the military, you have a buddy to help you back up and we're extending that hand." 

The power of a phone call isn't lost on New York Sen. Robert Ortt, who in partnership with AT&T and Niagara County Veterans Service Agency helped to donate more than 900 cell phones to Cell Phones for Soldiers last month. Niagara Frontier Publications reported that the proceeds from the recycled phones went a long way toward assuring active duty military serving overseas could call home during the holiday season using long-distance calling cards.

There has never been a sign at the Utah border telling veterans to beware, but there may as well have been. For years they've been warned that, because the state is 1 of 16 that doesn't offer its veteran residents an income tax benefit in their life after service, Utah was a poor choice of retirement destination. That may soon change, however.

"Utah was one of the states they said do not move to," Mike Dunn, an Air Force colonel, told Fox 13 in Salt Lake City. "They had one of the things to talk about of where to go and where not to go based upon financial advantages of being in certain states and being in other states."

It was Dunn who brought the issue to the attention of Rep. Lee Perry, who presented house bill 99 to the state legislature this week. The bill amends the tax code to offer military veterans a statewide exemption on retirement income. The proposal would cut $5 to $7 million out of Utah's tax revenue, but Perry takes a practical approach to the matter.

"There are people who have come here, served at Hill Air Force Base, and would like to retire in Utah," he told Utah's NPR station. "If they came back here and retired from active-duty military, they're going to get a second job, and we are going to collect income tax on those jobs, as well as they're going to spend the retirement money on buying houses and cars and all kinds of things, so we can get that money back in sales tax as well."

The Utah legislature will take Perry's measure under consideration at their next general session beginning Jan. 25.

Veterans are already regarded as industrious go-getters, but it may surprise some just how motivated they are to open their own business. 

According to the Miami Herald, veterans – who, at about 21 million, account for 8 percent of the U.S. population – are twice as likely to become entrepreneurs as the average civilian. One in every 10 small businesses started in this country is started by a veteran, and by the SBA's measure, 20 percent of all those employed by a small business work for a veteran.

While veteran-owned breweries and clothing shops make the news more often, most veterans actually open businesses in the finance and insurance industries. Transportation and warehousing; mining, oil and gas; and construction are all also popular. Cornell Crews, an Army veteran and current provider of small business training, told the Herald that in South Florida, lawn care maintenance, personal training and tech repair were other ventures pursed by veterans in their life after service.

"We have veterans who come to us who want to open a restaurant, or a store with a line of clothing, or online stores," said Crews. "We don't turn anyone away as long as it's legal. And if one day marijuana becomes legal in Florida, we'll help those folks as well."

In Florida and just about every other state, veterans have taken advantage of the SBA's Boots to Business initiative. An entrepreneurial training program, Boots to Business is a simple and effective two-step process that has seen real success in helping veterans get their foot into the business world.

The results have been remarkable. The (Minnesota) Star Tribune reported that veterans are now 45 percent more likely to be self-employed than non-veteran civilians, and that from 2007 to 2012, the number of female-owned small businesses has skyrocketed by nearly 300 percent. 

On Monday, the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department proposed new guidelines designed to lower the copayment for veterans purchasing prescription drugs. Following internal research, the VA found that approximately 80 percent of the veterans eligible for the rule change would save up to $5 per month's supply of a prescription. Six percent would see an increase.

Modern Healthcare reported that the proposal is a part of the larger wave of heated discussion concerning prescription drug prices that has swept across the country. Poll after poll has confirmed skyrocketing prescription costs as one of the average American's biggest concerns. Some presidential candidates have gained serious ground by focusing on the problem in their stump speeches.

In the VA's current procedure, the drug copay for non-exempt veterans is $8 to $9 for each month-long prescription. If the new rules are instituted, future rate increases would be turned down in favor of a new, three-tiered system that would categorize the drugs based on the amount of their copay costs. Tier 1, under which the majority of all medications would fall, would cost $5. Tier 2, meanwhile, would cost $8, and Tier 3 $11. According to DisabledVeterans.org, all veterans who are currently exempt would remain so.

Under the revamped guidelines, which would officially go into effect Jan. 1, 2017, a copay cap of $700 would be instituted. That is a big drop from the current $960 cap. Modern Healthcare relayed that by the VA's estimates, the amount of veterans saving from the cap would jump from a meager 2 percent to 9 percent. 

Veterans advocacy organizations like the American Legion have yet to announce an opinion on the proposed changes, citing a lack of information. As a significant shift in the way veterans benefits are put to use, the groups will meet to discuss the new guidelines shortly. 

Many veterans may need financial help and other assistance once they are done with their service, and a large and growing number of organizations now exist to help them in this regard. One such group operating in Ohio is specifically focused on helping former servicemembers find reliable housing.

Iron Soup Historical Preservation is a group that renovates abandoned homes in Northeastern Ohio into multi-unit apartments, and allows veterans to live in them rent-free while they get back on their feet, according to a report from WKBN. Right now the organization is working on two homes in Campbell, Ohio – about halfway between Pittsburgh and Cleveland – but has a goal of renovating as many as 160 apartments for veteran use.

The group has also received significant donations from outside parties, including those of furniture, cabinets, tiles, and other home necessities, the report said. Further, all the work on these properties is done by volunteers. Therefore, the cost of renovating each unit often doesn't get to be much more than a few thousand dollars.

"There are all kinds of units around here," Iron Soup Historical Preservation Executive Director Linda Gens told the station. "They can all be rehabbed and it doesn't take much money. Our veterans are fighting, dying, getting maimed and everything for us, and they're homeless? They should be in a home. They should not be on the street somewhere."

This type of organization is always looking for two things: Veterans to assist, and volunteers. Being one or the other – or even both – can go a long way toward helping these groups reach their goals, which is to provide as much help as veterans need whenever they may need it.

Veterans have many needs in their everyday lives, and fortunately many organizations exist to help them in this way. That is certainly the case for a VFW auxiliary group in Chicago, which helps to connect veterans with dentists who can provide them with free dental work.

The group, known as Smiles for Veterans, has only gotten off the ground in the last few years, but has already helped a number of veterans gain access to free dental care that is not covered by the VA, according to a report from Fox 32 Chicago. The group was started by Patricia DeVore, who was inspired to help with this issue by the problems her own brother – also a veteran – faced in getting quality dental care after he left the service. Specifically, DeVore said her brother talked about wanting to be able to confidently smile at people once again.

"You deal with what you get," Charles Medalis, a Vietnam War veteran who was recently helped by the group, told the station. "The same thing in the service, you deal with what you get. I had several infections in my mouth, so they said they could pull my teeth, but they wouldn't give me dentures. [Getting this help] gives you more confidence. Now I can smile. Before, I'd never let my mouth be open wide enough to be seen."

Groups that help veterans deal with everyday financial or medical needs provide an invaluable service to these men and women, and are likewise important to support themselves. Veterans who need any type of assistance should always be on the lookout for such organizations, as the groups' help could go a long way toward helping to improve the veteran's lives.

Veterans entering their life after service often have a whole lot of questions about using their military benefits. They don't know who to ask, they're too embarrassed to ask, or they did ask and never received a good answer.

It is for all of these scenarios that this blog exists. Veterans can use this collection of some of the most frequently asked questions as a guide to navigating the Department of Veterans Affairs Disability process and utilizing the veterans benefits they deserve.

How long until the process is complete?
This is typically one of the first questions veterans ask, and unfortunately, the answer can be quite a shock. According the VA's official website, the amount of time it takes to reach a decision on a compensation claim varies depending on a host of factors, including the complexity of the disability, the number of disabilities claimed, and the amount of evidence required to verify a claim.

A veteran will typically receive a decision within six to eight months, but it has been known to take longer. This is only a partial answer, however. To be completely satisfied with their VA claim, most veterans will be in for a period of years, not months. In order to receive all the benefits they're due, most veterans are in for a two-to-four-year haul.

Is there any surefire method for approval?
Yes, actually, but some veterans may not like it. The easiest way to get VA approval is to seek treatment. A disturbing number of veterans have been turned down in the past because they either never sought treatment or there were inexplicable gaps in their treatment histories.

Veterans must be able to prove that their condition is chronic and seriously in need of treatment. For example – say you want to file a claim for a shoulder injury, but you were discharged in 1982 and didn't ever visit a doctor about your shoulder until only a few years ago. It's unlikely that the VA will grant service because there's no record of your shoulder being a chronic problem.

Why are some veterans connected for a specific claim, but others denied on it?
This is another one of those questions without a cheery answer, but the simple explanation is that every veteran has a different medical history and unique medical claim. Veterans who are turned down on the same type of claim their friend was connected on are rarely happy about it, however, unless the two experiences were identical it's impossible to truly compare them.

Can you receive VA Disability and still work?
Even if a veteran is totally, 100 percent connected to VA Disability, they are allowed to be employed in both full- and part-time positions. There is only one real exception to this, and that is for veterans receiving Individual Unemployability.

This, according to the VA's website, is a special benefit payable only to those veterans whose service-connected disabilities render them incapable of holding down a job consistently. The only other possible exception is those former servicemembers receiving a pension. Depending on how much they are paid, they may not be able to work. 

Matthew and Cori Maple had long dreamed of establishing a nonprofit organization to help veterans. An Army veteran himself, Matthew finally got the opportunity to do so this holiday season. News Channel 11 of Fort Wayne, Indiana reported that the Maples' "Clothes for Joes," though new, has already made a big impact of local veterans. 

"I've had a few friends that I served with that ended up being homeless throughout the years," Matthew told the news station. "Being around the homeless population, knowing what's out there, knowing how many of those guys are actually veterans – it breaks my heart to see guys who gave their life for our country have nothing." 

Rather than sit around and do nothing, Matthew and Cori took action. They put a flyer for donations up on Facebook, and before long their local Texas Roadhouse pledged its support. According to News Channel 11, two trucks were required to transport nearly 100 coats to the local shelter.

"The day we took it over there, it was probably five or 10 vets outside," Matthew recalled. "Just some of their reactions … to see guys break down in tears and overwhelmed with happiness and joy. To see these guys get the gratification of knowing that someone is doing this for [them], made it all worthwhile." 

The Maples weren't the only ones who made collecting coats for veterans their mission. In Reading, Massachusetts, the Reading Fire Fighters Association made sure that Alex Reinoso of the Veterans Northeast Outreach Center had plenty of winter gear to carry back to the men and women he serves after dropping by the fire station on Dec. 22.

Altogether, Reading Patch reported, the firefighters delivered 47 coats – both brand new and very lightly used – as well as 57 new hats and 23 new pairs of gloves. Not to exclude the veterans' children, more than 20 toys were also delivered to the outreach center. 

Those who make a living working with their hands, or who build for a hobby, know well the unique feeling of focus and relaxation it can create. The staff behind Backyard Farm and Garden USA in Brazil, Indiana certainly know how it goes. It's a big part of the reason they've brought veterans to work in the shop.

The Tribune-Star reported that the shop specializes in custom metal and wood work, making everything from playhouses to chicken coops.

Shop owner Mark Smith, who served as an Army medic in Iraq, moved from California to Brazil to support his friend, a fellow veteran.

"I got started because I wanted to work with veterans directly," he told the Tribune-Star. "There is a therapeutic quality to using your hands and creating something. I feel that woodworking works for veterans. It seems to be a good fit."

According to Backyard Farm and Garden USA's website, the company seeks to help veterans adjust to their life after service through good, meaningful work. Patriotism isn't the only reason they've caught on, however. The projects they custom-build have become quite popular, with local businesses requesting special items, families relying on Smith's shop for playgrounds for their children and farmers trusting nothing but Smith's chicken coops.