There are about 50 thousand homeless veterans in America, and almost 800 of those live on the streets in Knoxville. Local 8 News Anchor Lauren Davis talked to one of those homeless veterans about what it's like to fight for your country then end up homeless.

Kyle Nelson retired a Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps after 20 years of service. After some hardships, he is now homeless. Kyle Nelson says, "Being a veteran is an accomplishment for me and being homeless is devastating."

He suffers from extreme PTSD, but with the help of KARM and a female soldier who he met at KARM, he's getting back on his feet. Nelson says, "A female soldier pulled me up said soldier get up or you're going to be a statistic and i decided not to be as statistic and work program and now i'm happy and looking forward to it."

There are a lot of homeless veterans like Kyle who find refuge at KARM more now than ever. KARM President Burt Rosen says, "Many of them suffered so so much."

When veterans come into KARM, they get them into crossroads starting with triage, then intake, assessment, referral for services and then monitoring. Rosen says, "The hardship of war weighs heavily on person. We've seen some come back addicted to drugs, substance abuse, some mental health conditions. Some have both."

That's what Kyle had, but he's thankful he's on the road to recovery and thankful to be a veteran. Nelson says, "When you see a vet, shake their hand."

Kyle says he should be in a home by January 31st.