How to Really Help Veterans

CNN
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If you truly want to help those who served their country on Veterans Day, commit to caring for them all year long. That’s the advice from celebrity chef Robert Irvine, who runs his own foundation for military personnel. Irvine is a veteran of the British Royal Navy and hosts his own show on Food Network. (Food Network and CNN are both divisions of Warner Bros. Discovery.) He suggests several ways to support veterans throughout the year.

Many military members and veterans rely on food banks, as up to one in four active-duty men and women experience food insecurity. Approximately one in five military and veteran families struggle with food insecurity.

Irvine says volunteering at a food bank — and taking the time to sit there and actually talk to a veteran — is a great way to thank people for their service.

“When you put a meal in front of someone, the barriers fall away,” he says.

Other places where you can do one-on-one conservations with veterinarians include churches and VA hospitals.

Irvine says you could volunteer at the USO or just sit in the lobby of a VA hospital and offer to talk to anyone who might be lonely. You could even just google “veterans groups near me” and offer to volunteer.

One-on-one time is one of the best gifts you can give to someone who has served.

“It is human nature to ask questions. Even if you’re not that good at it, most people will be happy to talk to you,” says Irvine.

“I think that’s what we long for most. Just a conversation. Put the phones away. When you make friends, you have someone to share (your) feelings with.”

The celebrity chef says that after years of working with veterans, his biggest message is to get them out of their own environment, “which in turn gets them out of their own heads.”

Irvine often posts on social media or reaches out to vets he knows just to say, “Hey, how are you?”

When he can meet them in person, Irvine enjoys bringing vets into the gym, feeding them or even teaching them how to cook. Food is a common theme.

“Florida just had two hurricanes. “If you can cook a meal and deliver it,” he says, that can be very helpful.

“If it’s a homeless veteran, buy them a jacket, socks and shoes,” he says.

Hire veterinarians to help them

Employers can help veterans by hiring them and even including them on their boards if possible. “Our training in the military is to solve problems,” Irvine emphasizes.

Veterans’ leadership skills make them useful to almost any company, he says.

“I can tell you that I have veterans in my company. Why shouldn’t someone like that advise me? It’s a no-brainer.”

You may need to seek them out, warns Irvine, as they typically don’t want to ask for help. “Veterans don’t want handouts. They want a hand up,” he says.

“We don’t join the military to make money. We do it because it’s patriotic.”

Everyone seems to remember the vets on Memorial Day and Veterans Day, he says, but “what about the other days of the year?”

“Don’t care for a minute, care forever.” Look out for them,” says Irvine. “It starts with a meal, a hot cup of coffee and an ear.”