Nation makes them combat veterans but states have to heal the warriors?

Illinois leads way in helping veterans
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - MO, United States

By Philip Dine
POST-DISPATCH WASHINGTON BUREAU
12/23/2007

WASHINGTON — By mid-January, Illinois will become the first state to require screening of all returning National Guard troops for traumatic brain injuries. And a hotline will provide around-the-clock psychological help for veterans who wake up in the middle of the night panicked by combat-related stress.

Illinois officials have spent months preparing, including training clinicians and securing funding, as they seek to help soldiers who have fallen through large cracks in care at the federal level.

Illinois is among several states that are beginning to assume responsibility for the detection and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries, which military experts are calling the "signature wounds" of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

The amounts are relatively small but growing, as is the number of states cobbling together funding and programs. Illinois legislators have appropriated $8 million this year; Missouri's governor intends to ask the Legislature for money as well



"It shouldn't be the responsibility of the Illinois taxpayer, but these are our sons and daughters," said Tammy Duckworth, director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs and an Iraq veteran who lost both legs to a rocket-propelled grenade in 2004. "If we don't take care of these veterans through this program, we'll be taking care of them in our prisons or our homeless shelters."

State programs

Among the states setting up programs to deal with the problems of returning veterans:

Illinois: Will require screening of all National Guard troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan for traumatic brain injuries. Screening will be offered to other returning veterans. A 24-hour hotline will be set up for veterans who need counseling.

Minnesota: Offers "Beyond the Yellow Ribbon," a program that helps reintegrate returning veterans into communities, including counseling for family members even before soldiers return home. This year, the Minnesota National Guard funded the program from money intended for training; the state legislature appropriated $1.5 million for next year.

Lt. Col. Kevin Olson of the Minnesota National Guard said: "We realized that while the military does a great job of preparing our soldiers for combat, they don't necessarily do a good job of preparing them to deal with post-combat stress, including divorces, anger management, relationship problems or issues with substance abuse."

Wisconsin: Offers "Mission Welcome Home," which enlists Vietnam veterans, Rotary Clubs and community groups to ease soldiers' transitions to civilian life. State veterans officials acted after noticing that many soldiers finished their tours of duty and returned to isolated rural communities with few services. The program has generated a large response, and officials will seek more than $1 million next year.

North Carolina: Rising domestic problems among returning veterans, few of whom sought help, convinced Veterans Affairs Director Charles Smith to request $600,000 so state officials could offer help to each of the 12,000 veterans returning over the year. He plans to set up a hotline for veterans next month and go before the Legislature early next year to request more funding.

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The nation sent them. Congress sent them. The President sent them. Yet the states are the ones who have to take care of them because the ones who sent them won't. This is so wrong. While it is great the states, some states are trying to take care of the wounded, it is not every state and the actions taken are not enough. What if a soldier or National Guardsman or Reserve lived far away from the help they need in a state where no one is doing much of anything? They served equally. They were wounded equally. Tax payers paid for each one equally to risk their lives. Why is it the government on the national level seems to believe their job is over when they come home?