Veterans Serving Veterans: Help Arrives on a Triumph

When Erika Reinertson pulls up to a local town office on her Triumph motorcycle, she’s on a perpetual rescue mission to help fellow veterans. Erika is a case manager for Harbor Care’s Veterans FIRST program. Inside, she inquires if there’s a local veteran in need of support. She has already stopped at the nearby shelter and police station with the same questions.

“I don’t wait for them to find me. It’s that “CAN DO” attitude I got from the Navy.”

“I don’t wait for them to find me,” states Erika, “It’s that “CAN DO” attitude I got from the Navy.”

Erika is a Navy veteran, raised in a military family. When she joined she was set on being a Heavy Equipment Operator with the Seabee’s, but the Navy had different plans. She was assigned to the Chaplain’s office. This is how Erika began helping veterans. She believes this lay the foundation, years in advance, for her life now – doing the work she believes she was meant to do.

When Erika left the Navy in 1989, she started a family and went into the manufacturing field. Soon, Erika was raising her daughter on her own.

Erika never lost sight of her passion for helping others, fellow veterans, in particular. After her daughter graduated high school, Erika left her job in manufacturing and went to work at a local non-profit providing housing services. Here she learned the ins-and-outs of the housing system, including supportive housing for veterans.

She was working hard, but Erika was also trying to manage some mental health challenges. Her life began to unravel. She left her job, and could barely afford food. “I was about to lose everything,” she recalls. “I was depressed. Soldiers never ask for help…but for the first time in my life I knew I needed to ask for help.”

Erika’s Boot Camp graduation photo.

She reached out to the office of Veterans Affairs and began receiving mental health support. The VA introduced her to Harbor Care’s Veterans FIRST employment services. After receiving the behavioral healthcare she needed to get her life back on track, Erika applied for and won a job at Dalianis House, one of Harbor Care’s transitional housing complexes for veterans who experienced homelessness.

“I was so overwhelmed. This was exactly what I wanted to be doing. I think I was meant to go down that path. I know what it feels like to be in that dark place.”

Today, as a case manager, Erika serves Merrimack and Belknap counties, as part of Harbor Care’s statewide supportive services for veterans. She plays an important role in Harbor Care’s efforts to end veteran homelessness across NH. She’s even traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with NH’s congressional delegation to advocate for veteran needs.

Last year, Erika and her colleagues in the Veterans FIRST program helped 261 veterans experiencing homelessness to access stable housing, along with other critical supports.

“This is where I’m supposed to be,” she says. “It’s my passion.”