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From combat to coffee: the cafe that’s helping veterans after the battlefield

Memorial Day is a day for remembering service members who are no longer with us, but some First Coast veterans say it's also important to remember those that are still here.

Memorial Day is a day for remembering service members who are no longer with us, but some First Coast veterans say it's also important to remember those that are still here.

Army veteran John Truxell still carries scars from his time in Afghanistan and Iraq ... not so much on his body, but in his head.

"It can kind of mess with your mind honestly,” Truxell said. “With PTSD and stuff like that a lot of those problems can compound and cause other problems.”

After returning to the United States, he had trouble finding a steady job.

“My biggest challenge was basically feeling aimless,” Truxell said.

He is now a barista at Social Grounds in Jacksonville, where owner Jason Kelloway says every cup of coffee sold help veterans like Truxell find jobs.

“Our goal is to help veterans transitioning through tough times,” Kelloway said.

He's no stranger to those. When Kelloway left the military he ended up homeless for a time.

“I slept in my car for about a year and a half,” Kelloway said. “I had to transition through that. I wanted to help myself in order to help other people.”

The way he does that is by hiring people like Truxell.

"it's like a healthy stable environment, said Truxell, who now instead of feeling aimless, has a routine, and when he needs it, a support system of friends, who know what he's going through.

“It's comforting,” Truxell said. “I feel like I'm part of a family.”

Click here to find out how you can help veterans like Truxell through Social Grounds.

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