Never Alone: The Power of Veterans Helping Veterans

Dr. Prince Taylor — U.S. Navy veteran, national expert on loneliness, and Deputy Director of the Center for Development and Civic Engagement at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs — leads one of the largest federal volunteer programs in the United States, coordinating 46,000 volunteers who contribute over 4.4 million service hours annually to support veterans.

In this interview, Dr. Taylor outlines the origins and impact of the Compassionate Contact Corps, a pandemic-era initiative that addresses veteran isolation through structured peer outreach, weekly check-ins, and community reintegration. Recognized by the American Red Cross and highlighted in The New York Times, the program has become a benchmark for scalable, human-centered care models.

He challenges the reductive public narrative that frames veterans as either “heroes” or “broken,” emphasizing instead that most exist in a nuanced reality — seeking dignity, purpose, and meaningful connection, not pity or glorification.

Dr. Taylor also addresses Ukrainian veterans directly, urging them to accept community support: “Allow your communities to support you. Let them fight for you in the ways only they can.” This reflects his broader view that the veteran experience transcends borders and fosters a unique, cross-national bond rooted in shared service and sacrifice.

In today’s climate of disconnection, Dr. Taylor’s work is a quiet revolution: proving that volunteering heals both the giver and the receiver, that loneliness can be treated like a public health crisis, and that kindness — paired with integrity — is the foundation of true leadership.

00:00 – Introduction: “Without a home, everything is exposed”
05:33 - About Ukrainian veterans: “Your communities want to be there for you”
08:03 - “What's the goal?”
09:00 - “We are a lot more similar than we are dissimilar”
11:20 - “A lot of them experience some kind of loneliness”
17:42 - “Most veterans don't want to be seen as heroes”
23:26 - Message for Ukrainian veterans
27:40 - “Can I have a veteran call”
32:41 - What moves veteran volunteers to act
37:38 - “If you have an older veteran near you - do something nice to them”
40:42 - “30% of people phoning these suicide prevention lines not suicidal, they're just lonely”
42:40 - “We have created the TEDEX so we can share some of their stories”
50:04 - “I believe in next generation”

This interview is part of ALLATRA TV’s global series on civic resilience, intercultural dialogue, and the shared values that unite humanity — from Miami to Kyiv, from military service to everyday acts of compassion.

#VeteransAffairs #HumanConnection #VeteranSupport #CivicEngagement #ALLATRATV #MentalHealth #Volunteerism