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12 VETERANS Reporter News www.VeteransReporterNews.com August 1 %u2022 2025%u201cStill in the Fight%u201d: The Relentless Service of HUNTER CAIN %u25a0 A Veteran Who Refused to Stop ServingFrom the chaos of warzones in Iraq and Afghanistan to the chaos of America%u2019s foster care system, Hunter Cain has never looked away from the hardest fights%u2014he%u2019s walked straight into them. What makes Hunter Cain%u2019s story extraordinary isn%u2019t just what he did in uniform. It%u2019s what he chose to do after. Because while some veterans come home and quietly transition back into civilian life, Cain stayed in the fight%u2014only now, the battlefield is filled with foster youth, broken systems, and communities starving for leadership. And Hunter Cain has shown up for all of it.When most Americans were still reeling from the shock of September 11, 2001, Cain was already at the recruiting office. A month later, he raised his right hand and shipped out%u2014no hesitation, no delay. That decision began a journey that would stretch across a decade of military service, take him through the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan, and eventually lead him into places far more dangerous and forgotten: the foster care system.Cain didn%u2019t just deploy to war zones%u2014he survived them. He served through Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation New Dawn, watching friends fall and witnessing the raw, unfiltered reality of combat. When he came home, he brought more than scars and stories%u2014he brought back a fierce determination to serve others, no matter where the battlefield was.He Took Off the Uniform, But Never Stopped Fighting. Back in Nevada, Cain could%u2019ve faded into the background. He had every reason to%u2014after all, he%u2019d already done more than most ever will. Instead, he did something radical: he kept going. He spent nearly five years serving as Director of Community Outreach & Senior Veterans Representative for Congresswoman Dina Titus, where he became the quiet storm behind some of the region%u2019s most meaningful veteran efforts. Whether it was helping Vietnam vets finally get benefits, LGBTQ vets find equality after Don%u2019t Ask Don%u2019t Tell, pushing for better suicide prevention funding, or organizing job fairs for post-9/11 warriors%u2014Hunter showed up. But it was after government halls and ribbon cuttings that his greatest act of service began.He Didn%u2019t Just Open His Home%u2014He Opened His Heart. Hunter Cain became a foster parent%u2014not for the glory, not for the credit, and definitely not because it was easy. He did it because the system is broken. Because teens%u2014especially Black, brown, and LGBTQ+ youth%u2014are aging out and getting thrown into the street with nothing but a trash bag of clothes and trauma. So far, over nine years, 41 youth have walked through the door of Cain%u2019s home. Many were labeled %u201cHigher Level of Care,%u201d %u201cat-risk,%u201d %u201ctoo far gone.%u201d But in Hunter%u2019s house, they found something most of them had never truly experienced: structure, compassion, laughter, music, discipline, and a strange but comforting sense of peace. Some fought hard%u2014emotionally and otherwise. But everyone found family. %u201cThey didn%u2019t just become part of my home,%u201d Cain says. %u201cThey became part of the House of Cain.%u201d And for 12 of those youth, that bond became permanent. They are now his forever sons%u2014and five of them proudly carry his last name. What started as temporary care became a lifetime of love, accountability, and belonging. Today, Hunter Cain isn%u2019t just a foster father%u2014he%u2019s a grandfather. Two of his sons have started families of their own, and a third grandchild is on the way. And what%u2019s more powerful than that? Five of those young men%u2014youth who were on the edge of incarceration, sex trafficking, or homelessness%u2014turned their lives around and joined the U.S. military. Not because Hunter told them to. Because they watched what service looked like%u2014up close, in real time. They saw a man live with integrity, day after day. Another youth is headed off to boot camp this September, carrying that legacy forward.When the System Failed, He Built a New One. After years of foster parenting, one truth became unbearable: it wasn%u2019t enough. No matter how hard he tried, Cain couldn%u2019t house all the youth who were aging out of foster care. There were tens of thousands across the country%u2014with no safety net, no jobs, no mentors, no future. And Cain wasn%u2019t content to just keep doing %u201chis part.%u201d He wanted to fix the system. In 2024, Hunter Cain ran for Clark County Commission, not for glory, but to build something the county desperately lacked: a dedicated veteran%u2019s program at the county level, and meaningful reform to its broken family services system. He knew the problems from the inside%u2014he had seen how many veterans were falling through the cracks, and how youth in care were being set up to fail. He wanted to bring change from the top down. When the election didn%u2019t go his way, he didn%u2019t quit%u2014he got louder. Instead of waiting for permission to lead, he led anyway.He co-founded the Southern Nevada Veterans Providers Group, creating a unified space where nonprofits, government agencies, and community leaders could coordinate resources and eliminate duplication for local veterans. He built what the government hadn%u2019t. Then he went even further. He launched the Foster Care Chamber of Commerce%u2014a bold, disruptive, one-of-a-kind organization that brings together businesses, nonprofits, veterans, and changemakers to help young people age out of foster care with more than a pat on the back. He gives them tools. Jobs. Training. Mentors. Hope. The Chamber has already launched job readiness boot camps, storytelling projects, green job certifications, literacy programs, trade school pathways, and more. It%u2019s not charity. It%u2019s infrastructure for resilience. And it%u2019s changing lives.%u201cPeople always say, %u2018Thank you for your service,%u2019%u201d Cain says. %u201cCool. Then keep serving. These youth need you.%u201dThe Power of One%u2014But the Need for Many. Here%u2019s the part most people don%u2019t kno Hunter Cain does all this alone. No partner. No spouse. Just one man, opening his home, building a movement, changing the future for youth most of society ignores. He doesn%u2019t wear a cape%u2014but if you ask the youth he%u2019s cared for, they%u2019ll tell you he doesn%u2019t need one. %u201cIt%u2019s not about being perfect,%u201d Cain says. %u201cIt%u2019s about showing up, even when it%u2019s hard. Especially when it%u2019s hard.%u201d Through the Foster Care Chamber, he%u2019s offering everyday people a way back into service%u2014not just veterans, but barbers, bakers, mechanics, artists, nurses, coders, lawyers. If you%u2019ve got a skill and a heart to give, Cain has a place for you.Still in the Fight. Hunter Cain never stopped serving. His battlefield just changed. And if you ask him what keeps him going? He%u2019ll tell you it%u2019s the youth no one claps for. The ones whose names don%u2019t show up in honor rolls or headlines. The ones who%u2019ve been told their whole life that they%u2019re broken. %u201cThey%u2019re not broken,%u201d he says. %u201cThey%u2019re unclaimed greatness. And I plan to claim every single one I can.%u201dJoin Him. The Foster Care Chamber of Commerce isn%u2019t just a nonprofit. It%u2019s a call to arms. If you%u2019ve served your country, your city, or just your family%u2014and you%u2019re wondering what%u2019s next%u2014this is it. Be a mentor. Host a job shadow. Donate supplies. Hire a youth. Share your story. Open a door. Because service never ends. And because the fight for our youth is the fight for our future. Stand with Hunter Cain and change the world%u2014one youth at a time.Commander Dax here and I have to say the DS9 Inspire Chapter, my friends of the USS Hyperion, will absolutely win the charity bowl-a-thon. Come dressed in any fandom you wish to bowl and support our local veterans and foster youth this July 19th.Hunter Cain