Student Veterans of America Vice President of Research Abby Kinch shares how the survey is collecting data on first-year military transition hardships to create change at the state, national level.
Access to food, childcare, transportation, health care, mental health resources and social connection are key issues facing veterans in their first year transitioning out of the military. As veterans share these hardships, Student Veterans of America (SVA) is taking action to identify and address these issues with its Basic Needs and Wellness Survey.
The survey is a “passion project for me because we all know how much that first year out, it sucks,” shared Abby Kinch, an Air Force veteran and SVA’s vice president of research, on this week’s American Legion Tango Alpha Lima podcast. “Not just emotionally, personally or physically, but also financially and so many other ways where we get a lot of maybe some balls dropped in transition. One of the things we’re hearing from student veterans is, ‘Hey, I have the GI Bill, it’s a generous benefit but I can’t afford anything.’
“We know there are issues with transition, and we’ve just got to be able to pinpoint them and fix them.”
SVA launched the survey in January 2025. All veterans – no matter how long ago they got out or if they are in school – are encouraged to take the 20-minute survey.
“We want to know about that first year of transition,” Kinch said. “We want to give (future veterans) a soft landing when they get out so we’re trying to use this study as best we can.”
Kinch is trying not to peek too often at responses as they come in. But she has seen two top issues so far – food insecurity and social wealth.
“Social wealth is largely framed as social capital, so we want to know who your connections are but also sense of identity – who you are during transition – and sense of belonging,” Kinch said. “Do you have people you can talk to that you trust within these difference sectors of a civilian life? Do you have a place where you feel like you belong? There’s not a lot of belonging in that first year after transition” is what survey results show.
“We want to identify that if you have a strong network, if you have a strong sense of identity, does that mitigate any of those basic needs,” Kinch added. “And SVA is trying to create that belonging on campuses for student veterans and their families who often isolate.”
How will SVA use this data to drive change?
SVA will look at current pending legislation to see if its survey data can be used as support. And if there isn’t legislation, “we will start working with folks on the Hill to get that done,” Kinch said. SVA is also educating student veterans about how they can form coalitions within their state to drive change.
Also, co-hosts Adam Marr and Joe Worley:
• Celebrate National Medal of Honor Day and the opening of the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas.
• Recognize the first Americans to receive the second-highest valor, the Distinguished Service Cross, were not combat soldiers but two women nurses.
• Pay tribute to award-winning actor Gene Hackman who lied about his age to join the Marines.
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- Tango Alpha Lima