[00:00:00] Scott DeLuzio: Thanks for tuning in to the Drive On Podcast where we are focused on giving hope and strength to the entire military community. Whether you’re a veteran, active duty, guard, reserve, or a family member, this podcast will share inspirational stories and resources that are useful to you. I’m your host Scott DeLuzio and now let’s get on with the show.

[00:00:21] Scott DeLuzio: Hi everybody welcome back to the Drive On Podcast. Today, my guest is Michelle Lang. Michelle has created Veteran Help Point, which is a nonprofit organization that curates, vetted local resources for veterans and their families. And we’re gonna discuss this incredible resource that’s available right now, and the importance of finding these important vetted resources that are out there to.

[00:00:49] Scott DeLuzio: Veterans and the veteran community. So welcome to the show, Michelle. I’m glad to have you on.

[00:00:54] Michelle Lang: Yeah, thanks for having me. I really appreciate it.

[00:00:56] Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, absolutely. So, why don’t you tell us a little bit about [00:01:00] yourself for the listeners who maybe aren’t familiar with you and your background?

[00:01:03] Michelle Lang: Sure.

[00:01:04] Michelle Lang: So, my name is Michelle Lang. I’ve been a military spouse, I guess now for seven years, if I’m doing the math. Right. So I. First met my husband. He lives in the same town that I went to college and eight months later decided to quit my job, quit my career and move up to Fort drum with him. So that’s kind of where My mixed bag of feelings started with the military because I couldn’t get a job.

[00:01:34] Michelle Lang: I, and I was like this educated person. I just left this really amazing job that I had. And the only, only job I could get was working at sales. So it was devastating. And. I kind of really pushed myself away from a military community. I didn’t get involved in anything. I didn’t have any friends in the military community.

[00:01:54] Michelle Lang: I only associated with civilians. And it was really, really [00:02:00] lonely. But then we relocated down to Fort Benning. Things changed really quickly for us. My husband had to leave the military quickly. He basically had a choice. Like if you continue your career it might not work out the way that you wanted to.

[00:02:19] Michelle Lang: And you just spent three years in the desert without seeing your family for nothing. Or you can leave the military. Go reserve have time with your family. So that’s what he did. He had very little time to transition out. And we thought we had a handle on everything. He went to the taps program, all that good stuff.

[00:02:41] Michelle Lang: He had plan a plan B plan C, got a job, moved back to Pennsylvania where we’re from and things really, really just started falling apart for us. So. He kind of found himself grieving his service like shedding, who he was and figuring out who [00:03:00] he is now. And I didn’t quite understand that I understood that it would be a big change, but it really, really took a toll on his mental health and our marriage crumbled.

[00:03:11] Michelle Lang: Totally. We. Lived as separate people. We didn’t speak to each other when we did, it was a fight. It was really, really bad. So I started working on my mental health to try and get through this cause I’m very, very stubborn and I wanted to save my marriage. And during al...