Phantom Soldier

If you need someone right now

This is a place for stories, not a place for care. Nobody here is a doctor or a counselor. These are the people to call, and who picks up.

Veterans Crisis Line: dial 988, then press 1.

Text 838255. In an emergency, call 911.

Free, confidential, and staffed 24/7 for veterans, service members, and their families. You don't need to be enrolled in VA care to use it.

You can also chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net. You don't have to be in crisis to call. "I'm not doing great and I don't know who else to call" is reason enough.

  • Vet Center Call Center

    877-927-8387 (877-WAR-VETS)

    Around the clock, every day. Answered by combat veterans from several eras, and family members of combat veterans. For readjustment counseling, or just to talk to somebody who has been there.

  • Military OneSource

    800-342-9647

    For active duty, Guard, Reserve, and their families, 24/7. Confidential counseling, financial and legal help, and a lot of the practical stuff nobody warns you about.

  • VA Caregiver Support Line

    855-260-3274

    For the people carrying a veteran. Spouses, parents, kids, friends. Support for you, not just the person you're caring for.

  • National Call Center for Homeless Veterans

    877-424-3838

    24/7. For veterans who are homeless or about to be, and for anyone trying to help one. No VA enrollment needed to call.

If a story on this site is sitting on you harder than you expected, the first number on this page is the right call. It's a call a lot of us have made.

Find your local Veterans Service Officer

A VSO files VA claims with you, for free. Disability compensation, appeals, pension, health care enrollment, education, burial benefits. They're accredited by the VA, they know the forms, and they've done it a thousand times. A county VSO is how a lot of us finally got a claim done right.

By law, an accredited VSO representative can't charge you for help with a claim. You don't have to belong to anything, and you don't have to be enrolled in VA care to walk in.

Got a story?

Any branch, any era, any job you held. It costs nothing, you tell it your way, and your name is never on it.

Tell your story