Last year, Alaska resident and Army veteran Jessy Lakin found a veteran snowed into his home with no firewood or heat, inches away from death.
With every piece of clothing in his cabin on his body, and his dog curled up on the inside of his jacket, it took four hours to thaw the man out and get him to the emergency room.
This is just one of the many problems the veteran community deals with in those freezing winter months in Alaska.
“There are so many vets in our community that need help, and not just in the winter months,” Lakin said. “It’s so much greater than that.”
Alaska has the highest veteran population per capita in the country, with more than 62,000 calling the state home and, despite their sacrifice serving the country, many veterans end up falling through the cracks as they age and have higher needs.
The Alaska Warrior Partnership is working to tend to those growing needs of veterans.
Whether it be health care, housing, employment, recreation or enrollment in VA benefits, the nonprofit’s goal is to ensure veterans access to as many resources possible.