Well, frumps, it’s another Veteran’s Day and I’d like to take the opportunity to suggest that, just as we do on New Year’s Day, we start a new practice of making a Veteran’s Day resolution each year. If each one of us would make a small commitment to do whatever we can to support, encourage or heal our Veteran’s we could make a huge difference. They have given so very much for us and they ask for so little in return that it is too easy to be oblivious to their pain.
Too many of us think of returning veterans as “lucky” – lucky that they survived – especially if they’ve returned without obvious physical wounds. The inconvenient truth that we have slowly had to acknowledge is that, “In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.” as Jose Narosky said.
In the particular undeclared wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the toll on our soldiers is multiplied by the number of repeat deployments that have been necessary to keep those unholy wars going. Since these wars began, more American soldiers kill themselves than are killed by the enemy. And most of those suicides occur after soldiers return home.
As many as eighteen soldiers a day are committing suicide, veterans’ divorce rate is triple the norm and substance abuse is four times greater than the national average among veterans. These soldiers are not only in trouble, but they have a very difficult time asking for help. Those who finally bring themselves to seek help are not getting enough of what they need, fast enough, from the overextended military or the Veteran’s Administration.
Once again, the US has a generation of wounded veterans who could well spend the rest of their lives battling mental illness, substance abuse, homelessness, divorce, crime, alienation and suicide rather than the lives of unfulfilled promise that they put on hold to protect us all.
The obvious question then becomes “Who Will Stand” for these heroic men and women. Who will help them recover and put their lives back together again. This is not a “military” problem it is an American problem and we owe it to these troops to stand with them and help them solve it.
To give you an idea of the scope of the problem, these facts were recently released for Veterans’ Day:
“WASHINGTON — Far from winding down, the numbers of wounded U.S. soldiers coming home have continued to swell. The problem is especially acute among those who fought in Afghanistan, where nearly four times as many troops were injured in October as a year ago.”
“Amputations, burns, brain injuries and shrapnel wounds proliferate in Afghanistan, due mostly to crude, increasingly potent improvised bombs targeting U.S. forces. Others are hit by snipers’ bullets or mortar rounds.”
“With Veterans Day on Wednesday, wounded veterans from the recent conflicts consider the toll of these injuries, and the rough road ahead for the injured. Of particular concern are the so-called hidden wounds, traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder that can have side effects such as irritability and depression.”
“Since 2007, more than 70,000 service members have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury — more than 20,000 of them this year, according to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center. Most of the injuries are mild but leave symptoms such as headaches and difficulty concentrating.”
WhoWillStand4Us?
Two gifted filmmakers have done their part by creating a two hour long documentary called Who Will Stand. The film covers, in detail, the lives of US soldiers who return from Iraq and Afghanistan physically or psychologically damaged.
Phil Valentine and Michael Bedik started travelling around the country in 2007 to find out, first-hand, how veterans were coping with their re-entry into American life. That was no easy task because soldiers are trained to be stoic and are more reluctant to discuss their problems than most. Valentine and Bedik discovered that the biggest obstacle to a soldier’s re-integration is an unwillingness to discuss psychological problems which appear to be widespread.
The film, which has already won three Telly awards, is being screened in Las Vegas on Veteran’s Day, November 11, 2009. You can also see a free preview and purchase the DVD on the WhoWillStand4Us website. It is a powerful and inspiring film about real veterans and their families and should be required viewing for every American.
The answer to the question posed in the film’s title “Who Will Stand” is simple, we must all stand for these veterans who gave far more for all of us than they now ask. How can any of us, who have never spent an hour in a war zone, turn our backs on those who risked their lives and their futures so that we could feel safe at home?
How about purchasing the DVD and inviting a few friends to watch with you, then brainstorming about how to get involved in helping? just purchasing the DVD is a step in the right direction.
[Before anyone asks, I am not being paid to hype this film. I’ve bought the DVD, I’m getting involved in Veterans’ Affairs and I’m writing this article as a commitment to Bloggers Unite! To shine a light on this issue for Veteran’s Day].
There Must Be Something I Can Do?
In the course of researching this article and looking for a way that I can help, personally, I’ve come across a number of websites and private-sector non-profits that are really making a difference for veterans already. Each of these organizations really deserve an article of its own, which I hope to get around to in the next couple of weeks/months. There are lots of great social networking sites for veterans but I’ve focused here on organizations that are dedicated to helping troubled vets and their families solve immediate problems.
Here are some great ways to get involved with organizations that will be happy to hear from you:
The Soldiers Project
The Problem: More than half of the estimated 300,000 military service members who are suffering from depression, post-traumatic stress disorders, and traumatic brain injury are going without treatment because of the gaps in mental health care and stigma issues, according to RAND Corporation’s 500-page independent study on the prevalence of psychological injuries.
A Solution: The Soldiers Project is a private, non-profit, independent group of volunteer licensed mental health professionals including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and marriage and family therapists.
Here’s their description of what they do:
“We provide free counseling and support to military service members who have served or who expect to serve in the Iraq and/or Afghanistan conflicts and to veterans of those conflicts. We see active duty as well as members of activated Reserve or Guard units. In addition, our services are available to the families and other loved ones of service members.”
“We provide help to service members and families struggling with issues related to the overwhelming trauma of war including the cycle from pre-deployment to deployment to homecoming and re-entry to civilian life. Our services are entirely free of charge. We do not report to any government agency.”
“The Soldiers Project is an example of people around the nation who want to help these young men and women coming back, according to Congressman Bob Filner, Chairman, Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. ‘If the VA is not doing its job, at least some people have stepped in to try and do it,’ said Filner.”
– Truthout.org
To find out more about how you can help with this wonderful and desperately needed program click here.
Canines for Combat Wounded
Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans/NEADS, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit
organization, has trained nearly 1,000 dogs since its beginning in 1976. The NEADS campus is located in central Massachusetts and has recently added a new program called Canines for Combat Wounded. Wounded vets stay in accessible housing on campus, free of charge during their two week training session.
This info from the NEADS website explains how the program works for both veterans and volunteers:
WHAT IS AN ASSISTANCE DOG?
Assistance dogs partner with people withphysical disabilities or various degrees of deafness to enhance independence and social interaction especially in public situations.
Under the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, assistance dogs accompany their partners at school, at work and in public settings. The dog will continue to assist in civilian life or at a new military assignment.
WHAT DOES AN ASSISTANCE DOG DO?
√ Help a person transition to
prosthetics
√ Help with tasks for a person using a
wheelchair
√ Retrieve and carry objects
√ Press buttons and open doors
√ Turn lights on and off
√ Assist on ramps
√ Respond to sounds for those who are
deaf or hard of hearing
√ Provide social interaction
√ Provide balance when walkingHOW MUCH DOES THIS COST?
Thanks to the generous donations of thousands of individuals, private foundations and small businesses specifically for Canines for Combat Veterans, Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans/NEADS is able to
provide these fully-trained Assistance Dogs at no cost to qualified veterans.Travel to our national training campus in Princeton, Massachusetts is provided free of charge to the veteran. Fully accessible on-site accommodations are also provided at no cost.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?
Any combat veteran whose service injury has
resulted in deafness or a disability.HOW TO APPLY?
Go on our website www.neads.org and click on our new program, “Canines for Combat Veterans”. Find the service dog or hearing dog icon, click on “APPLY NOW” to find an application.
Or
Contact NEADS directly for an assistance dog application.
978/422-9064 Ext. 22
veterans@neads.org
NEADS has opportunities for volunteers in many different areas, both on the Princeton, MA campus and in different regions and states.
At any one time there are over 100 volunteers giving their time and sharing their energies to help NEADS provide canine assistance for people with disabilities.
These volunteers walk and feed dogs, raise puppies, give presentations to organizations, staff trade show booths and are ever present ambassadors all over the USA.
Types of Volunteer jobs include:
• State Representative
• Puppy Raisers
• Dogs at your desk program
• Housekeeping
• Marketing
• Administrative
To find out more about volunteering or donating, click here.
Wounded Warrior Project
Wounded Warrior Project’s tagline is: The greatest casualty is being forgotten. And it’s pretty clear, surfing through their website, that the Wounded Warrior organization is not forgetting.
The mission of the Wounded Warrior Project is to honor and empower wounded warriors.
PURPOSE
• To raise awareness and enlist the public’s aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women,
• To help severely injured service members aid and assist each other, and
• To provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of severely injured service members.Wounded Warrior Project began when several individuals took small, inspired actions to help others in need.
One night while watching the evening news, a group of veterans and brothers were moved by the difficult stories of the first wounded service members returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq. They realized then and there that something needed to be done for these brave individuals beyond the brass bands and ticker tape parades.
The resulting objective was to provide tangible support for the severely wounded and help them on the road to healing, both physically and mentally. What had been initially viewed as a small contribution (compared with what the warriors had sacrificed while serving our country) has become WWP’s signature program: “WWP backpacks delivered bedside to wounded warriors.”
There is simply so much going on in this organization, so many ways that they are helping wounded veterans and so many different ways to get involved that you just have to go and see it for yourself, I wouldn’t want to leave anything out.
If there are other organizations that you know of on a national or local level, please feel free to supply a blurb and a link in the comments section of this post. If there are enough of them, I’ll gather them up and post them as a follow-up.
For all of the fallen: may you rest in peace and live forever in the hearts and minds of those for whom you made the ultimate sacrifice.
To the heroes returning home: may you find peace and prosperity and be healed by the love and support of a grateful America.
Technorati Tags: Veteran’s Day, Iraq, Afghanistan, Soldiers Project, Canines for Combat Wounded, Wounded Warrior Project, Who Will Stand, Phil Valentine, Michael Bedick
