America is the land of opportunity and the land of second chances. People come to America to live a better life, but it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. When Veterans come back home, all they want is a second chance at life again. They want to come back and be able to start from where they left off. But the government has done very little to help these veterans. The government believes they have done enough with the programs they have created, but it hasn’t had much of a change. The purpose of this essay is to discuss my opinion and what I know about this issue, to benefit The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, who are my intended audience. If the government were to put a lot of effort, like they do for pointless issues, there wouldn’t be many struggling veterans. If the government does more to improve every aspect of the reintegration process of veterans, so many benefits would come out of this action. There are a couple of reasons for why we should work toward improving veterans lives. First, there would possibly be a decrease in the veteran suicide levels and a decrease in the substance abuse aspect. Second, less veterans and families will have to worry about living and struggling with mental illnesses. Third, by improving the economical aspect for these veterans, more will find jobs and less will end up on the street homeless. And lastly, the reintegration process won’t be as hard for these veterans, and they will be able to resume a normal life. This essay is not meant to offend in any way, its purpose is to provide a new perspective over this issue, to cause a change for the better.
Suicide has always been a problem in the world, but it becomes more of a serious problem when it has to do with our very own veterans taking t...
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...and also substance abuse classes. Better health programs for both veterans and families. And improve the programs about jobs that we already have.
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.
Works Cited
Alvarez, Lizette. "Home from the War, Many Veterans Battle Substance Abuse." The New York Times 8 July 2008: n. pag. Web.
Basu, Moni. "Why Suicide Rate among Veterans May Be More than 22 a Day." CNN. CNN, 14 Nov. 2013. Web.
Image: "Phoenix Ministries." Phoenix Ministries. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
Veterans had a hard time finding employment after the war. Employers considered a veteran’s service in the Vietnam War as evidence of drug addiction, and refused to hire them. The rejections only made the soldier’s struggles adjusting back to normal life even harder and encouraged their drinking and drug use. These harmful habits were their way of coping with the hate and rejection from society while still helping them forget their experiences in Vietnam. Veterans from the Vietnam War were the victims of an unprepared government.
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...
Murray, and Deborah are among some 50,000 veterans who are homeless, or 1.4 million who are considered at risk of homelessness on any given day, due to poverty, lack of support networks, and marginal living conditions in substandard housing, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. They, and all those who put on the uniforms of our nation 's armed services, sacrifice so much to defend the freedoms that we all enjoy and take for granted. Far too many, however, come home unable to defend themselves from the ravages of combat.” (Cole, 2015, Para. 23). Cole also goes on to continue stating “Providing shelter to our female and male veterans is not enough; it is simply one step. The transition from soldier to civilian is often the most difficult part of a veteran 's life. Yet the hardships of going from combat to job application, mortgage payments and working a typical 9-to-5 job, far too often are after-thoughts on the post-military agenda. It is no wonder that long after their active tours, many veterans continue to fight to reclaim their health and well-being.(Cole, 2015, Para.
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).
Treatment for substance abuse vital to reduce prison recidivism rate, The Medical News, March 14, 2008,http://www.news-medical.net/news/2008/03/14/36306.aspx
“Ultimately, diagnosis of a substance use disorder or PTSD relies on clinical assessment using DSM criteria. Screening instruments exist that can help uncover or point the way toward a potential diagnosis. For alcohol use disorders, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the AUDIT-Consumption (AUDIT-C) have been widely validated as self-report screening measures. A single-item screening measure was recently validated for drug use disorders consisting of the single question, “How many times in the past year have you used an illegal drug or used a prescription medication for nonmedical reasons?” A response of 1 time or more yields a positive screen.” -Returning Veterans With Addictions. (2011, July 11). Psychiatric Times. Retrieved Februa...
Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder need to receive better care, because post traumatic stress disorder is curable, damages relationships, and veterans made many dramatic sacrifices. The health care for veterans needs to be more easily accessible.
It should come as no surprise that for a variety of reasons, all stemming from combat experience, many of our nation's 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.
Veteran’s healthcare has recently been the subject of much discussion within American political circles. However, most ordinary Americans know little of this burning issue. Although support for veterans has risen to its highest levels compared to other times in American history, veterans need more than support to survive; they ne...
Not only have these men and woman risked their lives for our country, but now, return different people and can not comprehend whether or not to continue their lives. Many people believe we win wars, when in actuality, no one does, especially those who serve in the armed forces (Suicide Wall, 11-10-2000). The Vietnam and other wars have mentally and sometimes physically dismembered many veterans. Another factor that plays a role in a war-related suicide is the addition of many on-site diseases such as defoliants, Agent Orange in particular. Made up of equal parts N-Butyl Ester 2,4,-D
Suicides among U.S military members, both active and reserve, have become increasingly common as shown in Figure 3. Beginning after the...
A survey of OEF/OIF Veterans identified major rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, alcohol-related problems, social and family problems, and suicidal behavior. However the most alarming statistic is not about deployment rates or rates of diagnoses, the most alarming fact is that fewer than 10% of those diagnosed with PTSD or depression have received the recommended the mental health treatment upon re-integration into society. The dropout rate at the Veterans Association (VA) PTSD clinics is distressingly high as well when looking into VA records it was found that 68% of OEF/OIF Veterans dropped out of their prescribed counseling and programs prior to completion (Garcia et al., 2014). Because most of these men were deployed mul...
In an interactive tool map titled “Ending Veteran Homelessness Map,” found on the National Alliance to End Homelessness website, California and Los Angeles’ numbers in regard to veteran homelessness can be found. And even though the numbers of homeless people are huge, the numbers of homeless veterans in our nation are just astounding. It’s a surprising realization that the soldiers that fought and served us with their lives are now homeless. Half of America’s homeless veterans served in Vietnam, two-thirds served for three years, and one-third were stationed in a war zone according to the “FAQ About Homeless Veterans” by the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. These statistics only serve to emphasize once again how many veterans resort to homelessness. And since few truly effective plans have been created or brought to the fore, at least not until these past few years, it’s no wonder this situation hasn’t gotten any better for
Matthew Miller, et al. "Suicide Attempts And Suicide Among Marines: A Decade Of Follow-Up." Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior 43.1 (2013): 39-49. MEDLINE. EBSCO. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.