On the first of two deployments to Iraq, former Army trauma medic Shaw Sears suffered a severe concussion when the convoy vehicle in front of his hit an IED. Despite his own injury from the blast, Sgt. Sears helped evacuate a soldier whose legs had been blown off, using his belt as a tourniquet.
Returning to civilian life after his March 2010 medical retirement for traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder was no picnic either.
With the bills piling up, Sears, 37, unsuccessfully sought help to save the home near Fort Jackson, S.C., he shared with his wife, Jessica, 9-year-old Harley, 2-year-old Kendall, and 1-year-old Colton.
With almost no money left, the family traveled to Maryland so Shaw could interview for a job with the Naval Sea Systems Command at Naval Air Station Patuxent River.
They had no idea where they would go when their five-day hotel stay ended. That’s when USA Cares, a nonprofit near Fort Knox, Ky., whose mission is to help post-9/11 veterans, stepped in.
“USA Cares told us that ‘We’ll help any way we can,’ ” Sears told The Examiner. The organization paid the family’s hotel bill, took care of an overdue electric bill in South Carolina, found them an affordable rental property in Leonardtown, Md., and paid the December rent.
The group also provided $400 in gift cards to tide them over until Sears starts his new job scheduling tests for military planes on Dec. 5 — so they can celebrate Thanksgiving and Harley’s 10th birthday Friday.
“It was extremely helpful, because without them, we wouldn’t have had any groceries,” Sears said.
Since its founding a decade ago, USA Cares has distributed $8.2 million in direct financial aid to veterans, including members of the Reserves and National Guard, according to Executive Director Bill Nelson.
Half of that has been spent on housing, keeping 340 homes from foreclosure and saving more than 1,000 military families from eviction.
Nelson, a Vietnam vet, says finding a job remains the greatest obstacle facing returning veterans, whose numbers will surge after the coming troop withdrawals in Iraq.
There are about 260,000 unemployed vets from Iraq and Afghanistan, and their jobless rate is nearly twice the national average.
“The good news is that they’re coming home. The bad news is that the drawdown will add an additional level of burden to the Defense Department’s already overwhelmed support system,” Nelson told The Examiner.
Working with Arlington-based Associated Builders and Contractors, USA Cares designed a pilot program to train 1,000 vets as skilled electricians, welders and carpenters.
“We turn the usual job training program upside down,” Nelson said. “We front them the tuition money they will receive under the GI Bill, and start paying them from Day One. And we already have a job waiting for them when they finish the training. We hope to replicate this program all over the country.”
USA Cares is run on donated money and accepts no federal funds. The only nonprofit of its kind to post all of its financial information on its website weekly, it spends 90 cents of every dollar — $20,000 a week — to help vets like Sears get on their feet.
This tremendous national service was recognized by the White House this week, which invited Nelson to attend President Obama’s signing of the Jobs for Vets bill.
“When I am in the presence of these warriors, I realize what a blessing it is for me that I cross paths with these guys,” said Dennis Miller, USA Cares’ national spokesman.
Thanks to all who wear the uniform — and the generous Americans who have not forgotten them.
Barbara F. Hollingsworth is The Examiner’s local opinion editor.
