Veterans Unmasked Resource Center
You Do Not Have To Carry It Alone
A practical starting point for Veterans, service members, first responders, Gold Star families, caregivers, survivors, and anyone trying to help someone they care about.
Find the next right door—whether the need is crisis support, housing, health care, benefits, employment, legal help, recovery, accessibility, or family support.
What Do You Need Help With?
You do not need to know the name of a program before asking for help. Start with the situation that best matches what is happening right now.
Crisis or Immediate Danger
Suicide risk, emotional crisis, overdose, violence, or an urgent safety concern.
HealthPTSD, Trauma or Mental Health
Symptoms affecting sleep, relationships, work, daily life, or the ability to feel safe.
StabilityHousing, Food or Utilities
Homelessness, eviction risk, temporary shelter, food, transportation, or utility assistance.
VABenefits and Claims
Disability claims, appeals, health care enrollment, education, burial, or survivor benefits.
SupportMST or Women Veteran Services
Confidential care, an MST Coordinator, women’s health care, or benefits navigation.
FamilyCaregiver or Family Support
Burnout, care coordination, respite, counseling, training, or family support.
Next StepEmployment, School or Transition
Job training, education, workplace accommodations, career planning, or entrepreneurship.
RightsLegal Assistance
Family law, housing, debt, discharge upgrades, estate planning, or benefits-related legal issues.
RecoveryAlcohol or Substance Use
Treatment, medication support, detox, peer support, or help for a loved one.
LegacyGold Star, Survivor or Grief Support
Bereavement, survivor benefits, memorial support, or connection after a military death.
AccessHearing Loss or Accessibility
Hearing care, tinnitus, adaptive devices, driving safety, communication, or accommodations.
ServiceFirst Responder Support
Occupational trauma, peer support, critical incidents, family strain, or line-of-duty loss.
Type at least two characters to search this page.
Crisis and Suicide Prevention
24/7 crisis support and immediate safety guidance.
Mental HealthPTSD and Trauma Recovery
Treatment information, VA care, and recovery tools.
Specialized CareMST and Women Veterans
Confidential care, coordinators, and women Veteran services.
RecoverySubstance Use Treatment
Confidential treatment locators and VA support.
Basic NeedsHousing and Emergency Assistance
Housing instability, homelessness, food, and utility support.
VA BenefitsClaims and Benefits Navigation
Official claim tools and accredited representation.
Family SupportCaregivers and Families
VA caregiver programs, coaching, and support.
SurvivorsGold Star and Grief Support
Benefits, bereavement, and survivor connections.
TransitionEmployment and Education
VR&E, training, career support, and education.
Legal HelpLegal Assistance
Texas and national legal-help starting points.
AccessibilityHearing Loss and Daily Living
Hearing care, accommodations, and driving guidance.
First RespondersOccupational Trauma and Support
Specialized support for those who answer the call.
No matching resource category found.
If there is immediate danger
Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.
If someone has already harmed themselves, taken an overdose, has an immediate suicide plan, or is threatening harm, move to safety and call 911. Do not attempt to physically take a weapon from someone in crisis.
Veterans Crisis Line
Free, confidential support is available 24 hours a day. VA enrollment is not required, and family members or friends may also contact the line when concerned about a Veteran.
Call 988 and press 1
Text 838255
TTY: 800-799-4889
Treatment works
Trauma can change daily life. It does not have to define it.
PTSD and other mental-health conditions can affect sleep, concentration, mood, relationships, substance use, and responses to stress or reminders. A licensed clinician can help identify what is happening and discuss treatment options.
When to consider professional help
- Symptoms continue, worsen, or interfere with work, school, parenting, or relationships.
- Sleep, anger, guilt, isolation, panic, or substance use are becoming harder to manage.
- Someone begins taking unsafe risks, withdrawing from others, or talking about death or having no reason to live.
- A family member or friend is worried, even when the person says everything is fine.
Support on your terms
MST can happen to anyone. The responsibility is never the survivor’s.
VA uses “military sexual trauma” to describe sexual assault or threatening sexual harassment experienced during military service. Survivors do not need to have reported the experience when it occurred or provide proof before requesting MST-related care.
Important facts
- VA provides free treatment for physical and mental-health conditions related to MST.
- You do not have to disclose the full experience when registering; you may ask for a clinical evaluation or an MST Coordinator.
- Every VA health care facility has an MST Coordinator.
- You may request a provider of a particular gender when that would make care more comfortable.
- Women Veterans may call or text the Women Veterans Call Center at 855-829-6636 for help navigating services.
Recovery is health care
Alcohol or drug use can become a survival strategy—and then become its own crisis.
Substance use may overlap with trauma, chronic pain, sleep problems, depression, anxiety, or isolation. Treatment can address both substance use and the conditions connected to it.
Get help quickly when
- There may be an overdose, severe withdrawal, loss of consciousness, breathing difficulty, or immediate danger—call 911.
- Use is affecting work, family, finances, health, or personal safety.
- Someone is mixing medications, alcohol, or other substances in unsafe ways.
- A person wants treatment but does not know where to begin.
Stability first
Do not wait until someone is sleeping outside to ask for housing help.
Housing instability can include couch surfing, staying in a vehicle or motel, facing eviction, losing utilities, or having nowhere safe to stay. Veterans, family members, friends, and neighbors may contact VA’s homeless-services line for guidance.
National Call Center for Homeless Veterans
877-424-3838
Free, confidential, 24/7 assistance for Veterans who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness.
Use official tools
You do not have to navigate a VA claim alone.
VA-accredited Veterans Service Organization representatives, attorneys, and claims agents can assist with claims and decision reviews. Verify accreditation before sharing records or signing an agreement.
Common starting points
- File a disability compensation claim or review evidence requirements.
- Check an existing claim or request a decision review.
- Apply for VA health care.
- Explore education, home-loan, pension, burial, and survivor benefits.
- Find and appoint a VA-accredited representative.
Support for the person beside them
Caregivers need information, backup, and care too.
Caregiving may include appointments, medication, finances, safety planning, transportation, supervision, and emotional support. Burnout, anger, isolation, grief, and exhaustion are signs the caregiver also needs support—not proof they have failed.
Practical steps
- Contact the local VA Caregiver Support Program team before reaching a breaking point.
- Keep medication, provider, emergency, and release-of-information records together.
- Ask about coaching, peer support, respite, counseling, and family services.
- Include the caregiver in crisis and discharge planning when the Veteran permits it.
The family’s service does not end with the loss
Survivors deserve clear information and room to grieve in their own way.
Support may include survivor compensation, pension, burial and memorial benefits, counseling, peer connection, and help navigating the administrative work that follows a military or Veteran death.
Resources may help with
- Dependency and Indemnity Compensation and survivor pension.
- Burial, memorial, and cemetery benefits.
- Bereavement counseling through eligible Vet Center services.
- Peer support for surviving spouses, children, parents, and siblings.
Build the next mission
Transition is not simply finding a job. It is rebuilding direction, identity, and stability.
Employment and education resources may help with career planning, job training, disability accommodations, college, apprenticeships, resume development, entrepreneurship, and independent-living needs.
Veteran Readiness and Employment
VR&E, also known as Chapter 31, may help eligible service members and Veterans whose service-connected disabilities affect employment. Services can include counseling, education, training, accommodations, resume help, job-seeking support, business-startup assistance, or independent-living services.
Know what kind of help you need
Legal problems become harder when ignored, but not every problem requires a private attorney.
Free or reduced-cost legal programs may have income, location, case-type, service, or discharge requirements. Contact the organization directly to confirm eligibility and whether it can take the case.
Common issues
- Housing, eviction, foreclosure, debt, and consumer problems.
- Family law, custody, support, and protective orders.
- Discharge upgrades, benefits-related matters, or records corrections.
- Wills, powers of attorney, estate planning, and probate.
Access is part of independence
Hearing loss can affect safety, communication, employment, relationships, and daily routines.
Hearing care may include evaluation, hearing aids, tinnitus services, assistive listening devices, communication strategies, workplace accommodations, and guidance for driving or emergency interactions.
Driving with hearing loss
People with hearing loss may benefit from visual alerts, vehicle technology, hearing-assistive devices, communication planning, and awareness of licensing or commercial-driving requirements. Rules can vary by state and license class.
Support for those who answer the call
Occupational trauma does not stop at the end of a shift.
Firefighters, law enforcement officers, EMS professionals, dispatchers, and their families may face cumulative trauma, critical incidents, sleep disruption, grief, moral injury, substance use, relationship strain, and suicide risk.
Look for specialized support
- Peer teams and clinicians familiar with first-responder culture.
- Critical-incident and cumulative-trauma support.
- Confidential substance-use and behavioral-health treatment.
- Family education and line-of-duty-death support.
Texas and Local Starting Points
These links help users move from a national resource to services available in Texas and the Greater Houston region. Program availability and eligibility can change.
211 Texas
Connection to housing, food, utilities, transportation, health, and other community services.
Visit 211 Texas ↗Texas Veterans Commission
Claims assistance, employment, education, women Veteran, entrepreneurship, and grant-funded services.
Visit TVC ↗VA Houston Health Care
Medical, mental-health, specialty, caregiver, and Veteran services for the Houston region.
Visit VA Houston ↗County Veterans Service Office
Local benefits guidance and referrals. Confirm current office hours and appointment requirements before visiting.
Visit County VSO ↗Houston Volunteer Lawyers
Legal-help starting point for qualifying Veterans and spouses of deceased Veterans.
View Program ↗VA and Vet Center Locators
Search for VA facilities and confidential, community-based Vet Center counseling.
Find a VA Location ↗Resource Review and Submission Policy
A trusted resource page must be maintained. Veterans Unmasked may review, decline, remove, or relabel resources to protect visitors and keep the page useful.
How Resources Are Labeled
- Official: Government agency or official public program.
- Nonprofit: Identifiable nonprofit organization offering relevant services.
- Legal Aid: Public-interest or reduced-cost legal assistance.
- Community-Submitted: Educational material suggested by an outside person or organization.
Before Inclusion
- The organization and service must be clearly identifiable.
- The website, phone number, and service description must be working and understandable.
- Paid, commercial, or legal resources must be clearly labeled.
- Inclusion does not guarantee endorsement, partnership, funding, or continued listing.