The life of a veteran isn’t always as honorable as it seems. There are many discrepancies surrounding the actual day-to-day life of a veteran. These discrepancies, also inconsistencies, come as a result of these veterans not receiving the appropriate type of help that one would deem fit for brave men and women who once risked their lives to defend and protect the country from terrorism. In general, veteran’s health, wellness, and daily living should be a priority to the government. It should be something that is automatically afforded as a symbol of gratitude to returning vets who took up that pledge to go fight for the country. I interviewed a veteran named Jeff who had recently returned from completing two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, …show more content…
In this case, the daily hassles which he faces are trying to get to the VA hospital for PTSD treatments through his city’s unreliable public transportation, and finding a job. He explained to me that these are the two most depressing factors about his return home, because he now has to depend on others to survive. This can be considered as the ‘enduring individual characteristics’ of the Vulnerability-Stress-Model. Next, the health stressor would be the PTSD diagnosis, and the frequent feelings of depression. Subsequently, the adaptive process would be how Jeff has been able to adapt so far, to civilian life, from spending four years at war in Iraq and …show more content…
According to Jeff, he stated that he could only speak mostly for himself, and his close buddies who are suffering from the same plight as he is. Additionally, he describes how hard it is for him to come back home, and things are not what he expected them to be. He mentions a few daily hassles which make him feel depressed, which are, not being able to find suitable and sustainable job because for some reason he feels as though employers don’t want to deal with someone who clearly has PTSD. I asked him what would make him think that way about employers, and he replied that since he spent five years in the military (infantry), whenever he would go to interviews and they asked about his experience, all he had to share were his experiences at war. I encouraged him to not give up and continue looking, and use the Veterans Hospital to find these resources. the other daily hassles which Jeff faces are finding transportation to get around town, especially now that he does not have a car. His wife’s car stopped working, and they have been trying to save some money to fix it. He added that, one of the major daily stressors is figuring out how to get to the VA hospital for his PTSD meetings. These are the few stressors that Jeff could share with me that are daily hassles which many military families
The mission statement of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) is, “To fulfill President Lincoln's promise ‘To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan’ by serving and honoring the men and women who are America’s vete...
I can only stress the importance of this topic so much. I can keep going on about how important it is to do something, but that won’t get us the change we need. We need society, the government, and especially the Department of Veteran affairs to work together. This will be an issue that will be going and going for years to come. But I do believe that there is something that can be done to improve this issue.
While John is under a great deal of stress, he is in the hands of seasoned professionals who all share the same goal, getting John better. St. Luke’s, a medical center geared towards helping veterans, has provided John a knowledgeable health care provider team to help meet his needs. John’s interprofessional team is being put together by John’s primary care physician, Dr. Jackson, and his licensed clinical social worker, Tessa. The team is kept small due to John’s reservations about opening up to people. The rest of his team will consist of a veterans affairs representative to help John seek any veterans benefits he is entitled to, as well as a mental health case manager. Lastly, a CNA assigned to help John integrate into life in a home with others while he tries to get a handle on his depression and Alzheimer’s.
“Factors Affecting Health Care” (50-55) Demonstrates the sacrifices and how difficult it is for veterans to receive healthcare from the Department of Veteran Affairs.
U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on Veterans Affairs, Statement of John. F. Sommer, Jr., Director National Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission Before the Committee on Veterans Affairs, 14 July 1988.
When a soldier enlists in the United States military they make a promise to serve and protect our nation, putting their lives at risk to help keep America safe. Sadly when they finish their service they unknowingly enlist themselves in another war: to receive proper health care from VA. Things like long waiting times, understaffed facilities, and few care options for veterans in rural areas are just the beginning of the problems plaguing VA health care. Horrifying issues that are killing our veteran are beginning to surface such as employees falsifying records, outdated facilities spreading diseases, and patient neglect; all while key VA officials continue to scramble to cover things up. Our government must intervene quickly to fix the growing problems with VA health care so our veterans receive the care they were promised and should be receiving.
Veteran homelessness must be attacked at multiple levels in order to ensure that it does not turn into a revolving door. So beyond simply providing temporary housing support we will also have to improve our veteran’s lives for the long-term. This entails treatment for their PTSD by providing them with access to health and wellness clinics, recovery resources, peer support groups, and individual counseling. (Note: Key information from HYPERLINK "http://www.voail.org" http://www.voail.org).
As men and women serve this country we often forget the importance of what they did and how we give back to them for what they have experienced. Through student surveys that have been gathered, it has been proven in the course of knowledge that 80% of all thirty students surveyed that say they know of someone who is or was a veteran and only 57% of those Veterans receive help. Richelle E. Goodrich stated, “Have you ever stopped to ponder the amount of blood spilt, the volume of tears shed, the degree of pain and anguish endured, the number of noble men a...
War is hell. War is misery, suffering, pain, and anguish. From the days of rocks and sticks to today’s high tech drones and aircraft carriers one thing above all others has remained the same; war is a terrifying, nightmarish endeavor. Unfortunately for those who fight for their nation, the battlefield does not remain in the far off land where the battle took place. In fact, those warriors bring back that battlefield, festering in the hearts and minds, sometimes long after their uniforms have been put in the closet to collect dust. It should come as no surprise that for a variety of reasons all stemming from combat experience, many of our nations Veterans will act in unconventional or perhaps even illegal ways, in an attempt to cope with the stress of their military service. It may be easy for some to say that these men and women, despite their service, are criminals and should be locked away like any other who breaks the law. However, if rehabilitation is truly a goal of our justice system it would not make any sense to take a group of offenders suffering from the side effects of combat experiences and throw them in prison, which is little better than combat anyway. This is why the advent of Veteran’s courts is so important. Due to their service, and the effects that PTSD and other service related conditions may have on their criminal behavior, Veteran’s courts are not only an honorable way to treat our nation’s defenders, but a way in which to protect them from the negative impact of incarceration. These courts, which are based off of drug and mental health courts, are designed to take less serious offenders, who offenses were related to their service connected conditions and keep them away from incarceration and into treatment (...
Veterans who have long services and are influenced by the military’s training have struggles with their civilian life after separating the military. They have to start from the beginning with their stressful, impatient, and painful. On the other hand, our Congress have mandated some benefits for all veterans to share their endurance. However, there are some reasons that many veterans cannot get any benefits from the government like some homeless veterans can’t afford themselves and their family, which is telling our society need to care more about them. For the reason that, our society should take more action to help veterans because of their services and scarified
It was once assumed that the government would provide services for veterans, but nonprofit organizations and communities have been picking up the slack to help veterans get back on their feet after returning home. The government is dependent on nonprofit organizations to supply veterans and their families with the necessary goods and services. The Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is an organization that provides services for veterans and their families. The WWP focuses on mind, body, economic empowerment, and engagement, all things that help veterans through post-war symptoms (The Wounded Warrior Project). The government is recommending giving less housing allowances, limiting pay raises, and having higher fees for health care benefits; other cuts would include stores being unable to give discounts to military families (Nissenbaum and Barnes). The amount of money veterans receive for housing, health care, and retirement is being cut left and right by the government and the money is being used and put towards other departments. In California, The County Veterans Service Officers Inc. plays a very important role in verterans’ lives (California Association of County Veterans Service Officers, Inc.) Many organizations help veterans who are in need of services because our government is not always able to provide...
Nardin, Rachel “Healthcare for vets - and all others” The Boston Globe. 11 NOV 2007: N. Pag. Boston.com. WEB. 10 Nov 2009.
It is understandable that some people may disagree on improvement of veteran care due to simple things like the fact that “veterans were getting addicted….even dying, from over prescription,” when they asked for assistance with their PTSD, but when all things are considered, veterans risked their lives for freedom. People should be able to take the time to take care of those who were willing to give their lives for freedom. Colby Buzzel says “if you want to know what the price of freedom looks like, go to a V.A. waiting room- wheelchairs, missing limbs, walking wounded.” These are all things that veterans have to go through to ensure freedom. And that is added to their struggle of PTSD. So, before people say that veteran care for PTSD does not need improvement, they need to think about whether or not they are willing to pay the same price that these veterans were willing to
Post-Traumatic stress disorder is a psychiatric disorder that may develop after one has been a victim or witness of a traumatic event (What is PTSD). Men and women who served in the Vietnam War were vulnerable to many acts of violence and death such as guerilla warfare. After being discharged from the Armed Forces, they may experience flashbacks when a trigger brings back a memory or they may also suffer from nightmares or insomnia due to specific rattling experiences (Riley, Julie). Not being able to sleep can have some deteriorating effects on the body which can make life after war very hard to adjust to. The transfer of the Armed Forces back home life can be somewhat of a culture shock. However, anyone can develop PTSD. A person who has been a victim of abuse, an unexpected death/accident, or even a survivor of a natural disaster is at risk of being diagnosed with this disorder (Mental Health America). They may experience some symptoms of; depression, irritability, insomnia, flashbacks, they may complain of headaches or stomach pain, and may become reserved (Riley, Julie). These indicatio...
In 1636 the “Pilgrims passed a law which stated that disabled soliders would be supported by the colony.” (VA History) This paved the way for veterans’ benefits and healthcare. It wasn’t until 1811 that the federal government authorized the first medical and domiciliary facilities along with benefits and pensions for the veterans and their families. When the United States entered World War 1 in 1917, Congress created a new system for veterans’ benefits such as disability compensation, insurance, vocational rehabilitation. These benefits were directed by three different agencies in the Federal Government, these branches were the Veterans Bureau, the Bureau of Pensions of the Interior Department, and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. Ten years later congress authorized the president to “consolidate and coordinate Government activities affecting war veterans”; this action united the three component agencies into bureaus under the veterans’ administration. In the following six decades there were vast increases in the veteran population, and new benefits enacted by congress for veterans following Wo...