Veterans have had help from the Department of Veterans Affairs adjusting to work-life challenges for years. But employees at the department’s suicide crisis line and other workers who manned the phones were among those recently laid off in a purge of the federal government workforce.
More than 2% of the VA’s probationary workforce was dismissed in recent weeks. Stephen Machuga, founder and CEO of Stack Up, the military-focused charity centered around a shared love of video games, isn’t sure how that’s going to shake out.
But Machuga hopes that society won’t forget about the contributions of veterans to the country and the toll of their sacrifices over the years.
Stack Up helps service members fight the effects of combat injuries, depressions, and post-traumatic stress through the benefits of gaming. The charity’s efforts include the Stack Up Overwatch Program, provides vital round-the-clock mental health counseling and support to active-duty military personnel, veterans, and civilians as they cope with personal struggles.
Stack Up’s 10th anniversary is coming this November, and Machuga is trying to get in front of as many people as possible and “remind them we’re out there doing good and trying to help veterans.” He attended the recent Dice Summit to help drum up support for Stack Up and veterans.
“It’s frustrating. Like much of the games industry, we’re contracting,” he said. “We expanded during COVID. We had money coming in. Then money stopped coming in. We had to close our warehouse in Florida for our Supply Crate program. We’ve gotten to where we are spending responsibly. We’re spending within out means, but it’s not a lot of fun.”
He noted that support as been slipping.
“Every year we get further and further away from 9/11 and people aren’t really as supportive of the troops as they used to be,” Machuga said. “We’re just trying to get as many meetings as we possibly can and talk to folks and let them know we’re still out there doing good work.”
In the past, Stack Up sent Xbox and PlayStation game consoles overseas to where U.S. soldiers were deployed in combat zones. Now that the wars and overseas deployments have cooled down, the work has shifted more to supporting warfighters who have come home and are still struggling. These days, Stack Up will send veterans to “geek culture” events or places like Disneyland.
It’s a grassroots effort, as opposed to something that has support from a lot of big corporations. And it brings veterans themselves together through a shared love of video games.
“Gaming becomes such an important part of the conversation, because a lot of post 9/11 veterans are gamers. You know, the 21 to 35 year old male and female veterans are all gamers now. It’s no longer this weird thing. Everybody does it now. So gaming and online gaming, online gaming communities are a lot of how these guys and gals stay connected to the people that they served with.”
Those who are still deployed also use games to stay connected with their friends and family back home. That’s one of the keys to suicide prevention — making sure that no one is isolated.
“We need to make sure that people feel like they’re part of something. When you’re in the military, you’re a part of something bigger than you are. It’s the high school football team mindset. And a lot of these veterans come out of the military and they’re working tough jobs somewhere. They left their friends behind in the military. Sometimes they feel their best days are behind them.”
In the name of suicide prevention, Machuga wants veterans engaged and happy and a part of a community where they feel like they’re a part of something. And he believes that positive goodwill and mental health comes with playing games and being connected through online gaming.
Sadly, support for charities in general seems like it is down, as the economy becomes unpredictable. Donations are down and people don’t often have extra money for charity. During the pandemic, giving was stronger. But now it’s common to see people working multiple jobs and launching GoFundMe campaigns for health reasons, he said. In 2024, donations for Stack Up were at $830,000, down 20%.
“The economy’s down, and so donations are down, and we’re struggling with that,” Machuga said.
Early last year, Stack Up crossed more than 60,000 veterans supported through all of its programs across the last 10 years. Last year, there were 1,500 requests for veterans support, and the charity was only able to support about 250 of them.
“It’s been a good run. That’s the good news story, and knowing that we’ve kept people alive” is a comfort, he said. “Having a community where somebody comes in to our Discord and is having a bad day and they need someone to talk to, or actively saving a person’s life, getting them the resources they need to make it through the night, that’s where the real rubber meets the road, right there. That’s a good feeling.”
Among the formal programs, Stack Up still provides consoles to those deployed overseas or those recovering when they return home. The group flies disabled or deserving veterans to various gaming and geek culture events, theme parks, or studio tours like Riot Games and Blizzard. There are veterans in a few dozen “Stacks” who go out to do volunteer work in their communities. And there’s the Overwatch program, which is a peer-to-peer suicide prevention team on Discord. The group has a headquarters in Los Angeles in a mansion that has been retrofitted into a community center for homeless veterans.
The main opportunities for fundraising come at Memorial Day in May, which is Military Appreciation Month, and then November 11, which is Veterans Day. Every now and then one of the military game companies will help make a push for donations. But the group doesn’t have formal support like the Call of Duty Endowment, which helps veterans find good jobs and is regularly promoted inside Call of Duty games. Ubisoft, KingsIsle Entertainment and others have helped in the past. Bohemia Interactive, maker of Arma, is actively working with Stack Up to do something this year.
Veterans often also don’t fare as well when it comes to charities that are viewed as more urgent or deserving, like charities for young children.
Machuga knows that supports for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs has waned in the new administration. But he noted that veterans support wasn’t always classified as a DEI effort in the first place. Veterans are a minority group, often less than 1% of the United States population. But it takes a different kind of thinking to consider veterans as being worth of support. That is part of the reason why it’s hard to raise money for organizations like Stack Up.
“I have been working with the games industry for 15 years, trying to scream and kick and yell about veterans and supporting the troops, and it kind of falls on deaf ears,” said Machuga. “It’s token gestures, like yellow ribbon stickers on your car.”
He appreciates the support that comes in, but wishes it was more, as he sees people light up when they receive a PlayStation or Xbox from the veterans group.
“In the past, we were supportive of the troops, and then over the years you’ve seen that fall off a cliff where it’s just not there anymore,” he said.
But Machuga is carrying on, and he’s asking for help.
“We appreciate it when people support the troops, no matter what. But w still believe. My father served. I served. My whole family served. And we have veterans being replaced by someone’s 35-year-old son, who grew up on an iPad with Minecraft on it,” he said. “And we know games help people with mental health. People tell us they had a good time. They wonder, ‘Where did the time go?’ Instead of staring at the ceiling all night.”
