Lisa Groves has a guestbook for supporters to sign, because her SUV ran out of surface area.

The veterans' advocate from Dunbar, W. Va., has been criss-crossing the continent for much of the past two years, collecting signatures in support of former military members and assisting down-and-out veterans with emotional comfort, practical aid and awareness raising.

"I got home broken-hearted at Christmas, devastated at how veterans were not being respected,” Groves said in an interview Tuesday in Whitehorse.

"You should respect them each and every day, and their families.”

Groves, 50, pulled into Whitehorse this week, capping off a nearly one-month trip through Alaska, meeting veterans and learning about their problems.

There, as in the lower 48 states, Veterans Affairs backlogs are causing grief among past service members.

"Push those claims through faster,” Groves said, wearing her signature "No veteran left behind” sweatshirt.

The inventory of backlogged claims for disability compensation for wounded or ill U.S. veterans amounted to roughly 600,000 as of May 2013.

With Remembrance Day approaching, Groves said, Canadian veterans face their share of obstacles. Nine Veterans Affairs Canada offices across the country are slated for closure by February 2014 (see p. 2).

Other cuts to Veterans Affairs Canada may amount to fewer visits from counsellors and less assistance with government forms.

Groves also pointed to a lawsuit in B.C. that challenges legislation from 2006 that changed lifetime financial support for disabled veterans to a lump sum payment, capped at $250,000.

"That's wrong,” she said. "It won't last. You're in your 20s; what are you going to do for the rest of your years, especially if you're hurt?” she asked.

She added that issues around post-traumatic stress disorder, compensation for widows and families as well as counselling need greater attention in both Canada and the U.S.

Having set out on June 2, Groves has visited veterans in 15 states, four provinces and a territory so far this year, armed with soap, deodorant, non-perishable food, adult diapers and teddy bears.

"I never knew a teddy bear would make people feel so comforted,” she said.

"I come here to Canada, felt a lot of love, a lot of love here,” she added in her Appalachian drawl.

Groves broke down in tears on the Alaska border, by turns overwhelmed and inspired by the trauma and perseverance of so many of the men and women she had encountered.

"I had veterans who never smiled or laughed, and they're smiling or laughing now, knowing that someone out here like me is going to stand up,” she said. "This is a serious labour of love.”

Groves served in the U.S. Army for eight years in the 1980s and 1990s, attaining the rank of specialist.

The self-described evangelist said she endured years of homelessness as a mother of four children.

She also said she experienced sexual abuse in the military and physical abuse from her now ex-husband.

Groves has raised money for veterans in West Virginia with a non-profit food stand.

She now relies on her own money and donations to fund the Veteran's Connection, her "mobile veteran's service.”

She said she hopes pictures and videos she's taken of veterans will alert elected officials back home to larger issues around funding, counselling and care.

"I'm bringing awareness on this trip,”she said.

"I'm not looking for nothing for myself out of this, except for seeing veterans being taken care of, respected.”