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Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Ilona Meagher is moving Congress to care about PTSD as well as the nation


NIU journalism student to testify before Congressional committee

Northern Illinois University journalism student Ilona Meagher, who has become a leading voice for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and earlier this year published a book on the topic, will testify on Wednesday, Dec. 12, before a Congressional committee.

Meagher is scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill before the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs at a hearing to examine current mental health care available to our nation's veterans.

The hearing will focus on two recent reports: a National Alliance to End Homelessness study showing that one out of four homeless are veterans and a CBS News report that found the rate of suicide among veterans is double that of the general population.

The issue of veterans' difficulties upon reentering civilian life is close to the heart of Meagher, a 41-year-old former flight attendant turned advocate. In 2005, after being moved by a news account of veterans of Iraq who had committed suicide, Meagher began collecting media reports of combat-related PTSD incidents.

Eventually, her work developed into the “PTSD Timeline” that is now maintained online by ePluribus Media, a citizen-journalism initiative. It was the first public collection of possible, probable and confirmed reports of post-combat reintegration difficulties. The timeline has been accessed by dozens of media outlets and government offices.

Meagher also launched an online blog, “PTSD Combat: Winning the War Within.” In the spring of 2006, her work drew the attention of Ig Publishing in New York, which asked her to write a book on the plight of returning veterans. Meagher devoted herself to the project, reading all she could on PTSD and interviewing veterans, their family members, veterans' advocates and medical experts.

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