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Veteran mental health is one of the most pressing yet underserved public health challenges in the United States. Roughly 1.7 million veterans receive mental health treatment through the VA each year, yet an estimated 60% of those who need support never seek it. The reasons are complex: stigma within military culture, long wait times for care, difficulty navigating benefits, and the isolation that so often follows the transition to civilian life.
At the Nick Holappa Foundation, we believe that healing begins with connection. Veterans are not patients to be managed — they are brothers and sisters in service whose experiences deserve to be honored, understood, and met with real, accessible care. This page exists to provide clear, practical, and compassionate information for veterans and the people who love them.
Post-traumatic stress (PTS), depression, traumatic brain injury, substance use, and moral injury are among the most common mental health conditions veterans face. Each carries its own weight, and many overlap. Left untreated, they can erode relationships, employment, housing stability, and ultimately life itself. The veteran suicide rate remains significantly higher than that of the general population — a statistic that demands action, not silence.
Healing is not linear, and no single path works for everyone. Evidence-based options include one-on-one therapy with trauma-informed clinicians, peer support groups where veterans can speak openly with those who understand, wilderness and nature-based retreats that reconnect body and spirit, medication management when appropriate, and crisis intervention for moments of acute need.
If you or a veteran you know is in crisis, please reach out to the Veterans Crisis Line at 988 (then press 1) or text 838255. Help is available 24/7, and reaching out is a sign of strength — not weakness.