He needed Steve Clark.

Clark, 51, is a Suffolk police officer and Navy veteran who started 9-1-1 Veterans, a nonprofit organization he runs from his Shoreham house to help returning soldiers and ease their transition to civilian life.

Long Island is home to 4,000 to 5,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters, according to Thomas Ronayne, director of the Suffolk County Veterans Service Agency. While most work with the VA, many also rely on volunteers or small nonprofit groups such as Clark's. With more goodwill than resources, the groups can often provide services government agencies usually cannot - a rent payment, a restaurant gift certificate, even a lawyer.

"The VA is great, but with today's war there are many more injured soldiers," said Kristin Bostic of the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes, a nonprofit group in Westchester that provides financial aid and counseling mostly to injured veterans, including some on Long Island. "The government is really trying ... but they don't have the resources to give them vans to get around and build them a handicapped-accessible house."

Soldiers coming home after a lengthy absence may find adjustment to civilian life difficult, Ronayne said. For many, the combat mentality is difficult to shake.

"You're cautiously distrustful of so many things around you, and it's difficult ... to turn that mode off," Ronayne said.

For Benitez, his soldier readiness translated into anxiety at home, where he did "a lot of walking around, making sure everything is safe," he said.

To help returning veterans, the VA and related county and state agencies offer counseling and employment help, but their vast services can be both overwhelming and insufficient.

"It's fine to have all these things available," Clark said. "But you need someone to point you in the right direction."

Clark's nonprofit is tiny. He is its sole employee, and he runs it with just a few thousand dollars raised so far. "I think there shouldn't be a need for 9-1-1 Veterans," he said. "But a lot of these guys need an advocate."

Clark gave Benitez more than $1,000 for food and bills. He also helped Benitez regain his job at the state Department of Transportation as a highway maintenance crewman.

Federal law mandates that employers allow workers to serve in the military without sacrificing their jobs. A DOT spokeswoman said Benitez's job was waiting for him, but he was required to notify the agency that he had returned. Benitez said he was unaware of his rights and responsibilities - until Clark and others helped him.

"My advice for veterans is to have hope, but you have to look for help," Benitez said.

The advocacy can extend to legal assistance to help veterans navigate the arcana of benefits. Massapequa lawyer Genevieve LoPresti volunteered her services to the Nassau County Veterans Service Agency. "These people need immediate attention," said LoPresti, daughter of an Air Force veteran. "These guys are heroes."

She has taken about 10 veterans' cases pro bono. The matters range from divorces to evictions to a lawsuit Chris Sinatra wants to file against a group of men who assaulted him.

Sinatra, 22, of Westbury, who served in Baghdad as a cannon crew member with the Army's 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, said he was assaulted by three men in an East Meadow bar Aug. 17. He went to Nassau University Medical Center for treatment and a CAT scan.

Sinatra filed a complaint and three people were charged with misdemeanor assault, Nassau police said. LoPresti now plans to sue to recover Sinatra's medical expenses.

"She says it's her service to me because I served the country," Sinatra said.

The Nassau County Bar Association's military law committee also began a pro-bono program for veterans in October.

Even soldiers such as Yale Reisman, 25, of Lindenhurst, who seem to have made the transition back to civilian life with few problems, have used community resources.