A man calling himself the “Road Warrior Cyclist” is making his way across the U.S. in hopes of raising money and awareness for the national problem of veteran homelessness.
Rick Hart, not a veteran himself, began his bike ride in Rhode Island and has a final destination in San Diego. Along the way, his goal is to raise $25,000 for Operation Stand Down.
In addition to the donations and publicity, Hart’s hope is that he’ll be able to meet many homeless vets and get to better understand their problems. So far, he’s been quite successful.
Nearly 50,000 veterans nationwide are homeless at any one time, making up about 1 in every 9 homeless people in the U.S. Fortunately, more efforts are now being devoted to fighting that problem.