RIVER Personal Statement

INTRODUCTION: How many people have a Veteran in their family or know one? If yes do you help them or is it someone else’s problem. Well many people think it’s someone else problem, but the truth is it’s our problem.

State and federal legislators both need to make it a priority to be involved in the welfare of veterans. The issues will never get better unless the individuals in charge of the laws, regulations, funding and departments step up to the challenges. That alone will not even be enough. These issues need to be addressed on a state level as well. Housing projects and professional training need to be made more widely available. Understanding the importance of both changes made at a state and federal level for the living conditions and health status of American veterans is the first step. The next step is that it must be acted on and improved. The United States of America owes that much to its

This study strives to increase the awareness of healthcare disparities among veterans in hopes that veterans can receive the best healthcare possible. This study has the potential to change the structure of veterans’ health care. If their health care is damaged to the extent that some insiders and outsiders believe it to be, then hopefully the veterans’ health care system can be restructured. These disparities can be addressed in community outreach programs to expand common knowledge on the subject.

Homeless veterans population has been a problem over the decades but over the passed few years the population of homeless veterans has increased. This is a concerning problem that needs to be attended to and human services is one of the ways to seek help. Many veterans that are homeless is due to mental illnesses such post traumatic stress disorder (PSTD), substance abuse (alcoholism and addiction), and depression. Veterans that are homeless usually have one or more issue that they are facing that is causing them to be homeless. Some veterans can be facing psychiatric, physical, and medical disorders at the same time, which is very common today (Goldstein, Luther, Haas, Appelt, & Gordon, 2010, p.312). Veterans that were deployed and fought

United States veterans have risked their lives in order to give us all the freedom we have today, yet they are struggling in the society we have today and are forced to live on the streets. One major issue in our world today is the increasing number of how many veterans are homeless. After researching I have found the five most commonly discussed topics in this subject are; the number of homeless veterans in the whole United States, the different causes of veterans homelessness, the statistics of different races, ages, and sexes affected, if these people are being helped by the government or community-based support groups, and finally the homeless veteran populations around the United States. Veteran homelessness is an important issue in the world we live in today because of the amount of people who are affected, the causes for it have to do with our society today, there is a broad variation of people who are affected, citizens should be aware of which groups/programs are helping and how, and lastly, the populations of homeless veterans in states of the United States.

Destitute veterans are a real social issue confronting our general public today. Vagrancy among United States veterans are of specific concern to the general public in light of the fact that everybody sees a percentage of the weights confronting vets after coming back to regular citizen life. Who are homeless veterans then? The U.S. Division of Veterans Affairs

The growing number of homeless veterans in the city of Los Angeles is growing out control, this issue is a social phenomenon that affects every city across the country; small or large. It is important to understand that consequently, one way or another, this issue affects not only the homeless veteran, the city, state and government, but every citizen within each city. Bring forth more attention to the fact that additional resources are required; resources such as prevention programs, services, education and vocational training, affordable housing, and medical services. In the last few years, government officials have realized that the current services for veterans are inadequate or insufficient. The government realizes that with the end of both wars, Iraq and Afghanistan, the number of homeless veteran will surely increase. Additionally let’s not forget that these are the men and women who put their own lives in danger to protect our freedom and our way of life. After all that, the least we can do is to ensure that they are provide with adequate post-war services and training in order to adequately transition from military to the civilian sector.

When I returned from Iraq, I worked as a Veteran Representative for the County Veteran Service Office in Martinez. There, I managed over 1,500 veterans’ medical records and guided them to the right resources for their claims, including burial proceedings, Agent Orange related illness, and other disability and compensation-related issues. I’ve experienced the battle vets fight both overseas and at home; hence, another reason for my pursuit of nonviolent conflict resolution. During this time, I became frustrated by the limitations of help available to veterans in need. I saw that without a change in policy, there will always be a limit to change you can effect.

Much like the people who serve and will ultimately utilize this organization, The Veterans administration (VA) has a set of core values each member of the armed forces live by: integrity, respect, excellence, advocacy and commitment. The VA has always signified a place of hope and security for veterans past and present. For those who serve the expectation is that when they need medical, dental, housing, educational and other assistance the VA would be there. Marred by problems over the years and recently in the media highlighted for long wait times to receive medical attention , bureaucratic red tape to receive the benefits these veterans have earned, some have paid the ultimate price (death) which they expected to happen in some foreign land not at home.

“Nationwide, spending on homeless vets is up 300 percent since President Obama took office, hitting near $1.5 billion last year. That tracks with a reduction in homeless vets by about a third (Lawrence, 2015, August 4). Progress is being made in the homeless state of veterans. However, it is not enough. If there are 50,000 homeless veterans on any given night, enough is not being done. Perhaps more of a ground effort should be made by the organizations that help veterans. Instead of waiting for the veterans to come to the facilities, go to them, under the freeways, in the alleys or the makeshift homeless camps. Moreover, we as citizens of the United States whom have depended upon these great men and women of the military, need to step up and become more involved in helping the veterans. Instead of passing by or walking over the next person you see lying on the sidewalk, stop and extend your hand to that person, whom can very well be a veteran. If that is not feasible then volunteer or donate to a local organization that is trying to help the homeless veteran. The homeless state of the veterans is all of our problem – Get Involved!!!

Have you ever wondered what happens to war vets when they return home from the front lines? Some of the outcomes are not as happy as most people would like them to be. War veterans that survive come home with Mental Illnesses and other issues. Many war veterans end up homeless because of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, and some are even living with the homeless men and women at shelters because they cannot receive the help they need from the government. In a study from a Research Brief in 2012, “Veteran and non-veteran participants were compared in a nationally-supported housing initiative for chronically homeless adults. Veterans were not found to be at increased risk for adverse outcomes once

The failure of the United States government to sufficiently care for their men and women in the military can be seen in the number of homeless veterans. In fact, the U.S. Housing and Urban development (H.U.D.) reports there are over 39,000 members of the armed services living on the street (2016). The main causes of vagrancy among veterans include lack of housing, jobs, and access to health care (National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, n.d.). Men and women ex-soldiers run a higher risk of becoming homeless if they are: suffering from a mental illness or substance abuse problem; lack support systems; or are disabled (Ainslie & Cooper, 2016).

I have always been aware of global issues and needing to understand what is happening in the world has always been important to me. However, I never understood global concerns through a health paradigm. Many of the concepts presented in this course were not new to me, as I have been an active participant in global issues and organizations, such as Spread the Net Campaign to end malaria, as well as many different human rights causes. However, the new insight I gained was in regards to

The seminar had an emphasis on Health, which had multiple professionals whom gave us their insight in their concentrations of work. The presentation benefited everyone in the audience, in which they gave us some of their personal advice to succeed as students and in our own personal lives. The panel consisted of Dr. Patricia Carter, Dr. Jaime Davis, Dr. Reginald Baptiste. All three of these doctors brought up the University of Texas slogan, “What starts here changes the world.” They added to it, by saying changing the world cannot happen if you are not healthy, then linking both “changing the world by being healthy.”

River Padma, the biggest and most turbulent river of Bangladesh, is around twenty kilometers from the village where I grew up listening about sinking of locally manufactured steamer which regularly took a toll of thousands of lives. Every year around thousands of people lose their lives because of these accidents. I just always asked myself why this type of accident happens. As the Padma has alienated the southern part of our country from the other parts, it is a must for people in those areas to cross the river to reach the capital city, Dhaka. In year of 2008 when I first came to Dhaka, I had a bitter experience of observing such accident. Horrible scene of hundreds of people dying in front of me made me seriously rethink- how this problem