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.
As of 2014, there are 22.5 million veterans in the United States. According to Veteransinc.org, between 529,000 and 840,000 veterans are homeless at some time during the year. Did you know 33% of homeless males are veterans? Aside from homelessness, 70% have substance abuse problems, 45% suffer from PTSD, and there are 22 veterans who commit suicide every day. The problems don’t end there, homelessness is just one problem for our veterans. 573,000 were unemployed in 2014. There are many causes for unemployment such as PTSD, war injuries, or lack of knowledge in the work field.
In today's society where opinion matters, people have been extremely vocal about the lack of support the government has provided to our veterans. Many feel as if the government should do more, while others feel as if they are doing enough. Everyone will have a difference of opinion no matter if they have severed in the military or not. No matter how one may feel, is extremely important to take care of our veterans. As they have sacrificed their lives, time, and family to protect our country. Contrary to one's belief, the government provides a substantial amount of programs, which support the veterans. Honestly more could be done. On any given day you could see women and men standing on the corner holding signs implying they are homeless veterans and will work for food. A few programs the government offers our veterans are funding for mental health services, The Wounded Warrior Project and Vocational Rehabilitation and Education, which will be discussed throughout this essay. When you research the programs, they make it sound as if all proceeds are going towards the best treatment and care money could buy.
According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, in January of 2014 there were 49,933 homeless veterans across the United States. In 2013 the United States Department of Veterans Affairs released a study saying that 22 veterans die of suicide every day, or one veteran kills himself every 65 minutes due to either post traumatic stress disorder, or just because of guilt. Both of these statistics say that the way we treat veterans is clearly not good enough. Veterans do not receive the praise and the respect that they deserve because there are too many homeless veterans, veterans are killing themselves at a rate that is too rapid, and people just assume that because of their previous uniform they have killed and slaughtered babies, which
This is like a bomb waiting to go off: Family of veterans have to live with fear, hoping that their love one would recuperate, be happy, or simply a civilian again. The Veterans Affairs Department (VA) should put a better effort to better assist veterans, and their family with a better plan to reduce this preventable death. Many veterans find it difficult to admit, control, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), let alone reaching for help; when they do so, they are considered just another number at the VA. At any moment, a veteran?s sacrifice for this country should end
Throughout the history of the United States the government has felt a responsibility to care for those who defend the freedom of the United States. This responsibility is to make sure that our veterans have the best care possible when they return home from war. Since its establishment, the Veterans Affairs (VA) has come under fire from all angles, saying that they are not offering the best possible care for our Veterans. Throughout history yellow journalism has been found to destroy some organizations. The VA is an organization who has experienced the effects of yellow journalism and they are trying to recover. The VA is taking the yellow journalism and turning it into constructive criticism in order to improve their services for the United States Veterans.
In the article entitled “The Shameful Way America Treats Its Veterans” written by Tessa Stuart, the author gives us insight as to what it is like for homeless veterans living in today's world and why that needs to be changed. Stuart also goes into detail about the plenty of veterans that are left just waiting long before they can actually receive the right amount of care.
Homelessness is a problem, but being a veteran and homeless is a bigger problem. How can we allow any of our veterans to be homeless? Veterans for years have fought to defend our nation while serving on active duty, but who’s fighting to defend their rights to be able to have walls and a roof over their head. Any given day there are homeless veterans that are sleeping under bridges, on park benches and in abandon houses. According to the article “Homeless Veterans and Their Service to America,” 47,725 veterans are homeless at any given time this estimated is based on numbers from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In this article it talked about 12,700 veterans in the year of 2010 were homeless. The homeless veterans
Our United States military members swear on an oath to support and defend our constitution. These men and women protect us stateside and fight for our country abroad during war times. Loyalty is not only taught from the day they enter the service, but it is earned throughout their career. What happens to the well-being of our veterans when their military career has ended? Is the United States as loyal to these veterans as they were to us? The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers healthcare to veterans when returning from war. Unfortunately, too many veterans are not receiving adequate or timely care due to delays, poor record keeping, and mismanagement of fund.
Day in and day out we think of the 21st century as evolved, yet in this day and age there are a large number of homeless veterans that roam our streets and overcrowd our shelters. They suffer from mental illness, struggle with substance abuse, and reintegration into society. Most veterans believe that because they fought for our country, they are entitled. That may seem to be a myth, but it is definitely true. Many depend on the Department of Veterans Affairs to save the day; only to be disappointed by the lack of consideration for those who served our country, and the amount of hoops that have to be jumped in order to receive services. Veteran homelessness is a huge problem in America, and though the Department of Veterans Affairs has set programs into place, there are a series of factors that contribute to the problem with no solid solutions.
U.S veterans former, and current have fought or are fighting and have died in battle serving this wonderful country. More former veterans than ever are coming back disabled either mentally or physically. There are hundreds of disabled veteran foundations in the United States today, but a lot are a fraud. Everybody who has not served should donate a good amount of money of these foundations and not be worried about the foundations keeping it or giving it to someone else who shouldn’t receive it. We owe our lives to these men and women. Like Elmer Davis once said, ¨Our nation is the land of the brave because it is the home of the brave¨ (Elmer.). More Veterans are coming back disabled than ever before. To see the disgusted and sad faces on these families of these heroes who can’t live the way they used to is extremely depressing, You should
The life of a veteran names Bryan turned for the worst after his mother passed away about 5 years ago. Before her death he was involved in the community and was an all-around good guy. After her death he lost his involvement in the community, his mental stability was slowing getting worse and he ended up in a coma from trying to end his own life. After 3 months in the hospital they discharged him, promising they would find a place for him to go. “They said will sort it out for you, but nothing got done” (Brians Story). This leads to our problem of veterans being left on the street, sick mentally and physically after risking their lives for years to save ours.
Another issue regarding the VA system is the limitations that is places on the abilities of the private sector to provide aid to Veterans. The private sector of the United States has no access to the files of former members of our military; as a result of this, a Veteran would potentially have to drive hours to get to a VA facility for something as simple as a flu shot. Veterans should be able to enjoy the benefits that they are entitled to without having to go a great distance. This very solution presents yet another conflict: the majority of returning military members are uninformed regarding what it is that they are medically entitled to. There is often far too little communication between VA facilities and Veterans concerning how they
Everyone thinks it’s so easy and cool to join Armed Forces, but to be honest, half of them don’t even know what the effects would be when they join and after they leave the military. People usually take our veterans for granted and they don’t acknowledge what veterans have done for us and our country. Veterans should be shown respect when they come back home, but they don’t and to me that’s just disrespectful and it also shows how out of line citizens are. Everyone who has fought for their country, chose to fight, they never had to, but because they seen that people needed to be protected, they put their lives on the line. The least we could do is say “Thank you!” but no, they don’t even get that and that’s really messed up. They took a bullet for this country, they lost their lives for this country, they have nightmares every night because of things they had to see while defending this country. What do we do to show them our appreciation though? Nothing. As a result, most veterans don’t feel a sense of belonging and loyalty to their country.
The Veterans Administration hospital is a unique aspect because it is the second - largest agency in the federal government because it is funded by congressional appropriations. It is also comprised of three administrations such as Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and National Cemetery Administration (NCA) . VHA or Veterans Health Administration helps run clinics across the country to research and improve the quality of life for the Veterans. After the VHA comes the VBA which provides educational resources, loans for home purchases, and financial assistance. Last but not least is the NCA and it gives national cemeteries and provides final arrangements for veterans when they are unfortunately die.The