Veteran Community Counseling Paper

The issue being addressed in this study is veteran’s rights, most notably homelessness and suicide rates. The subject of veteran’s rights overall is still being pursued. Along with the mindset of the American public, to the cases presented before Congress, this is an ongoing dilemma. Caring for our brothers and sisters in arms is the socially responsible thing to do. Ensuring the public is aware, and promoting campaigns to raise awareness, this is what the paper will touch on.

The Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) has been tasked with providing support and benefits to Veterans after they have completed their service. However, many Veterans are reporting difficulty accessing care due to systematic barriers within the VA’s Veterans Health Administration (Oliver, 2007). Complex eligibility requirements, long wait lists and lack of providers are a few of the issues Veterans are faced with when trying to access health and mental health care. Additionally, studies indicate that veterans, predominantly those from the recent wars in Iran and Iraq, have disproportionately high amounts of mental illness (Shim & Rust, 2013). These same veterans are experiencing difficulty accessing mental health care due to issues around a backlog of healthcare eligibility applications and a shortage of mental health providers through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), which operates the Nation’s largest, integrated health care delivery system (APA, 2014). In 2014, at the request of the Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) evaluated the merit of the allegations of mismanagement at the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) and the Health Eligibility Center (HEC).

In the past few years there has been increasing discussion about how to provide adequate care for the increasing number of veterasn who are eligible for care through the Veterans’ healthcare administration (VHA). There are concerns is that the VHA is not providing the level of access, efficiency, and quality of care that veterans expect. Lee & Begley, (2016) suggest access to care for the veteran population may be resulting in poor health outcomes. In response to these concerns, the Veterans ' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act (VACAA) of 2014, also known as the Veterans Choice Act, was created to improve Veterans’ healthcare. The VACAA proposed to do this by expanding the number of options veterans have for receiving healthcare, by providing access for healthcare at non-VA care centers as well as providing for an increase in staffing at VA facilities (U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2016).

An ex-military veteran, Sgt. Bradie Frink, lost his job for 26 months due to the fact that the VA thought he was trying to blow the whistle on them. Bradie, who served our country, was only trying to change his beneficiary policy so that both of his children would benefit from it. The VA has been under scrutiny for not providing benefits guaranteed to many of our ex-military personnel. These whistleblowers were then quickly unemployed due to the attention they brought on the VA.

Both articles identify the issue of providing mental health services for veterans with an extra emphasis on those that served in Afghanistan and Iraq (OEF/OIF veterans). It is no surprise that returning veterans suffer from both visible/invisible (physical and mental) wounds. Most veterans have this “high” expectation that they are going to receive quality care from both the DoD and VA. Unfortunately reality steps in where veterans are slapped in the face because they are receiving a lack of poor quality care all while jumping through Beuracractic hoops. The challenges faced to access these services include resistance, stigma, lack of professionalism, and geographic and/or regional disparities in the distribution of services resources and/or benefits, and the system simply refusing to change.

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

Carlson, E. B., Gavert, D. W., Macia, K. S., Ruzek, J. I., Burling, T. A. (2013). Traumatic stressor exposure and post-traumatic symptoms in homeless veterans. Military Medicine, 178(6), 970-973. doi: 10.7205/MILMED-D-13-00080

“There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds,” (Lauren K. Hamilton). PTSD is a mental disorder that comes from experiencing a traumatic event. It can manifest itself with flashbacks, severe anxiety, uncontrollable thoughts and constant memories of the event. This can be detrimental to daily life and living. (Mayo

Veterans Day is a day to celebrate. You really can not fully celebrate Veterans Day until you know the history behind Veterans Day, and the meaning of why we celebrate or Veterans on November 11.

Recent research has revealed that the majority of Veterans with a mental disorder under-utilize mental health services [3]. Among OEF/OIF Active Duty Veterans, only 23-40% of those with mental

Veterans Affairs is infamous for corruption and public scandals, yet have high rankings of overall patient satisfaction from outside reports. The Congressional Research Service estimates that there are about 21 million veterans in the United States and only 9 million veterans are enrolled in the VA. Only 5 million veterans actually received care during 2014’s fiscal year. “In a given year, not every VA-enrolled veteran receives VA health care services. Some veterans may opt not to seek care during the year, while others may receive care outside the VA system, paying for care using private health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, the military health system”

Veteran's Day is a special time. I have family or had family in the service. My Grandpa Harry Iunghuhn was in the Navy. My Grandpa Sir Schweier served in WW1. Now my cousin Emily Fay. She is in the Navy. Veteran's Day to means to honer men and women who have served for our country.

Intervention strategies that are best suited for veterans when a social support from other soldiers, friends and family members. The family council will help strength the family bond and relationship satisfaction, and lower divorce rates than individual treatment. “Crisis counselors can refer clients to marital counselors or provide it themselves for increased treatment effectiveness” (Kanel

Background: VHA is currently monitored using a performance tool called the Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning (SAIL). There is specific metric for Mental Health that focuses on Veteran satisfaction. Unfortunately, the national survey does not provide enough information for us to identify areas for improvement. We are therefore conducting our own internal interviews using the TruthPoint assessment tool.

The VA is failing and they should do more to help our veterans, here are 3 facts that support that statement. Number 1 more than 50% of our veterans who need mental health evaluations do not get them in time.Number 2 A