After nearly fourteen months of hiking across the nation, Iraq War veteran Troy Yocum arrived in Bethesda May 27. Yocum has raised over $200,000 dollars and $225,000 dollars in pledges to support of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. He will end his cross-country trip Sept. 3 in Louisville, Kentucky, where he started his 7,000-mile hike.
Black & White: Could you give us a brief background on Hike for Our Heroes?
Troy Yocum: I started on April 17, 2010, after eight months of prepping, sponsorships and training — just getting everything ready from maps to all of the logistics. I’ve now been walking for almost fourteen months, and we’ve now helped over 40 families with $200,000 dollars raised. That’s just the beginning because there’s supposed to be another $225,000 dollars coming in before I get to New York City, so I’m happy about that.
B&W: What inspired you to start the hike?
TY: While deployed in Iraq, I got an email from my good friend who was an Iraq War veteran. He was struggling. He lost his job, lost his house, couldn’t take care of his family and that helped me spawn the entire idea of working to help as many millitary families as possible.
B & W: Where are you currently on your hike?
TY: I’m in Baltimore. I did a two week loop around Kentucky, then north to Chicago, southwest to Saint Louis and west all the way to San Diego. Then from San Diego all the way east to New Orleans, and then northeast all the way to Baltimore now.
B & W: How does the hike itself raise money?
TY: It’s a very social media-driven cause. In the case of my hike, we are raising money for military families. Funds come in and people know pretty much exactly where their donation will go to. For instance, we’ve helped a lot of families on catching up on their mortgage. We’re able to post up their wish on our social media sites, and the donations start coming in.
B&W: How do you delegate the funds to different families?
TY: We get a lot of people wishing for a lot of things. I’m looking for the families who need the most help. Then, once we build a list of the people who we think we need the most help, they have to get qualified. They have to prove that they are who they say they are. Generally we’re not helping high-ranked people because they make too much and probably shouldn’t be in need. Instead, we take a look at the bills and the income to make a decision on whether or not they need our help.
B&W: Why do military veterans struggle so much once returning home?
TY: Forty percent of returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have depression and PTSD. We have the highest level of unemployment that our nation has seen in a long time. One in four people don’t have a job. For veterans, it’s 27 percent. The number of civilians far outweigh the number of veterans. I think employers know too much about PTSD and depression, so I don’t think they’re hiring veterans in the numbers that need to be hired.
B&W: If one can’t donate, is there any other way to help out the cause and the hike?
TY: By spreading word around as much as possible through Facebook, Twitter, emailing people, telling them by word of mouth. I’ve had lots of people come out and walk with me.
