Veterans care and homelessness

As we approach our 250th year as a nation, we have to look at a very hard truth. Since 1776, the United States has been involved in armed conflict for all but 22 years. Even our longest stretch of "peace", that five-year window from 1935 to 1940 was spent building a peacetime draft and prepping our young men for the next battle. For nearly our entire history, our "peace" has just been a waiting room for the next conflict.

We call our veterans "the greatest among us," and we’re right to do so. But actions speak louder than words. While politicians use those heroes for photo ops, their actions tell a different story. We continue to create active-duty veterans through perpetual conflict, and then many of them end up on the streets due to a lack of support from the very government they fought to protect.

If we want to support our veterans, the first thing we must do is stop the cycle of armed conflict.

We need independent voices in Washington who aren't beholden to the military-industrial complex. We need to stop being a nation defined by conflict and start being a nation that focuses on its own homeland. That is how we truly end the cycle of homelessness and trauma.

The "Legacy Gift" Challenge

While we work to change our foreign policy, we have a debt to pay to those currently suffering. I want to move past the usual political shouting matches and instead empower people to do something that actually matters.

I am proposing a "Legacy Gift" Challenge to the massive corporations and the ultra-wealthy right here in the 5th District. Let’s look at Raytheon (RTX) in Waltham. Since 2011 alone, Raytheon has cleared tens of billions of dollars in profit,including over $14 billion in operating profit in 2025. Much of that success was built on the service and sacrifice of the very veterans who are now struggling.

I’m asking these leaders and companies to support our local communities more directly: I also believe this type of gift will be great PR for these companies.

• House Our Heroes: I am calling on Raytheon and other giants like Takeda and Boston Scientific to sponsor "Legacy Neighborhoods". Vibrant communities of tiny homes and townhouses built specifically for veterans and the unhoused.

• Dignity, Not Institutions: These shouldn't be institutions; they should be homes with on-call medical and mental health professionals. We will also ensure periodic visits from social workers to provide the guidance and resources needed to help these neighbors thrive. By grouping veterans together, we give them their comrades back, the one thing they miss most when they leave the service.

• A New Corporate Identity: Imagine looking at a corporate logo and seeing the name of the company that wiped out veteran homelessness in its own backyard. I want these companies to feel good about their success by using it to save the families, brothers, and cousins in their own communities.

I believe that deep down, Americans have good hearts, yes even some of the billionaires. If we start asking our leaders and our largest corporations to rise to the occasion as neighbors, I believe they will. I don’t want to fight; I want to build. Let’s stop the conflicts abroad, stop the fighting at home, and finally give our veterans and our neighbors a place to call home.