Florissant, MO – November 11, 2021 – Kathryn Baker is the Founder/CEO of Salute Services, a non-profit that helps veterans connect with home, health and career services in order to enjoy a healthy civilian lifestyle after leaving the United States armed forces.

“Salute services was founded because I am the wife of a veteran for nearly 25 years,” Baker said. “And I know how difficult it was for me to find the support and resources that I needed to care for my husband.”

Baker’s experience in helping her husband gave birth to the idea for forming Salute Services.

“With talking to other caregivers, it became more apparent to me that though there are a lot of resources out there, finding them wasn't so easy,” Baker said. “I wanted to do what I could to help support other caregivers in caring for their veterans so that they can enjoy a healthy civilian lifestyle.”

Baker said the process of navigating and finding resources can be overwhelming to veterans and their caregivers. Baker created Salute Services to streamline the process of tapping into the existing services veterans are entitled to receive.

“We have an intake form we require the veteran or their caregiver to complete,” Baker said. “We keep track of who they are, while also identifying the services that they need.”

“We like to get ahold of veterans immediately after they are discharged,” Baker said.

She says the first three years of civilian life are a critical adjustment phase for most veterans.

“Statistics show that most veteran suicides happen within the first three years of service,” Baker said. “So we want to get them immediately after they are discharged so we can walk them through the process to help find the support and resources they need.”

“My husband served one term in the Army. He was deployed to Saudi Arabia, where he was injured,” Baker said. “Things should have been handled differently by the military.”

“When you are in the military, you have a support system,” Baker said. “But when you get out, you are just out. You don’t have that support.”

Support Services is free to veterans and their caregivers. They seek to be the connection to support that is too often missing when veterans leave their service. While Salute Services doesn’t provide direct services, they seek to be the one-stop-shop that connects veterans to the services they need.

 “We are building a network of highly qualified professionals to help offer direct services such as health care,” Baker said. “We are building strategic partnerships with very reputable and trustworthy five-star providers. 

While Salute Services is based in the St. Louis region, they are able to help veterans anywhere within the United States because the existing resources are nationwide.

“These people put their lives on the line. They served and sacrificed for us,” Baker said. “They should come out with everything they need.”

“We just want to build that support and foundation to give veterans the opportunity to live the civilian life they deserve,” Baker said. “We are serving them because they served US.”