More veterans than ever are seeking help from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. From 2002 to 2009, 1 million troops left active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. Nearly half come in for VA services and 48% of that group are diagnosed with mental health problems.

The Committee for the Families of Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans, a grass-roots organization in New York's Hudson Valley, is working to help local veterans who need assistance getting back on their feet with jobs, bills and housing. Ray McCarthy, founder of the committee, tells Fox News, "The American public thinks everything is fine when they come home. Everything isn’t fine when they come home."

By Victor Whitman

Times Herald-Record

Published: 2:00 AM - 07/01/11

MONTICELLO — Homeless and struggling veterans, notoriously unwilling to seek help, now have an emergency food pantry in Monticello when things get tough — and in a place they might feel more at home getting help.

The Committee for the Families of Iraqi War Veterans opened a pantry Thursday in the basement at the Bailey-Richman VFW Post 9588. It's right behind the Federation for the Homeless soup kitchen and pantry, but organizers say veterans are far more likely to use this pantry.

The moment she saw the military entourage at her door in 2005, Barbara Allen's life took a turn that she never would have imagined possible to endure. In the five years since her husband Louis Allen and his friend Phillip Esposito were reported murdered by a fellow U.S. soldier in Iraq, leaving their wives at home to raise their children who would never again see their dads, she has documented her search for answers to the many questions that left her sleepless for many long nights.