I’ve met a young man, a volunteer at the Cambridge Food Pantry, a determined doer of good. His name is Lance Barber; he is a former U.S. Army Combat soldier and, for some years, a police officer.

This weekend, Lance, who has moved into an apartment near the Pantry Grounds (he broadcasts mostly out of his big truck), wants to commit himself to helping veterans and first responders who commit suicide every day of the year. Politicians have plenty of time and money to attack one another, but few of them mention this daily tragedy afflicting the people who risk their lives for us.

Lance knows what he is talking about; he fought in Afghanistan and saw many of his comrades killed. He never expected them to die later in the U.S. It changed his life. He wants to help other soldiers whose lives never seem the same again.

Lance, a writer, singer, and blogger, recently lost two close Army companions to suicide. He’s had enough.

The government says 44 veterans a day commit suicide; there are no official counts of first responders’ suicides, but Ruderman researchers say 147 police officers committed suicide in one recent year and 103 firefighters killed themselves in the same year.

Lance is doing work I relate to. His cause is one of the most important and touching causes I know of, one that touches my heart and spirit and may catch the interest of the Army of Good. He recently saved the home of one Veteran after a brutal storm and fire by helping raise $5,000 to repair the house.

Lance wants to make use of some awful traumas in the U.S. Army in wartime (Afghanistan) and his frustrating and difficult experiences working as a police officer.

As you know, I consider people like this – people who focus their lives on helping those in need – hidden heroes. They are moved to help those with nowhere else to go. I am thinking of linking to his column once a week or so, and he can take it from there. I think he’s the real deal.

The suicide of two of his Army of Friends changed his life and intentions. He already has thousands of followers on Instagram and TikTok, and his music draws crowds across the country.

This is a cause I would love to support. The trauma, suffering, and struggle so many soldiers experience are heartbreaking; the country’s indifference is disgraceful.

Lance is a free spirit; for some time, he has lived and worked out of his truck, not because he has to, but because he wants to. He is a fierce individualist in a sea of enslaved people and billionnaires. He hopes to find or form a place where soldiers and first responders can meet and help one another. It seems like a great idea to me; he is starting to figure out how to do it.

He is much younger than I am, but we connect in important ways. We’ve spent a few hours talking about this. We are meeting to see if I can help.

So I’m sharing his latest work: a report from one of the country’s toughest hikes and walks, the Spartan-Beast Race in Killington, Vt. 

He is proud of himself. He used to weigh 300 pounds. He’s been through just about every kind of suffering, and he knows what it feels like.

Lance often broadcasts out of his truck – see today’s report – and he lives close to the Cambridge Pantry itself. He asked me for advice about his efforts to help stricken and often abandoned soldiers, first responders, and police officers (he was both) who live under great stress. I’ll help if I can. You can see his blog here.

He is a fascinating young man, worth a look. I’m big on mentoring, a task and obligation of the old.