When will government work for the veterans with PTSD?

Bad economy and bad PR hurting veterans

“The issue of mental health has turned into a double-edged sword for returning veterans. More publicity has generated more public awareness and federal funding for those who return home different from when they left. However, more publicity — especially stories that perpetuate the ‘Wacko Vet’ myth — has also made some employers more cautious to hire a veteran,” said Joe Davis, spokesman for Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Study: Job market hard on recently discharged

By Hope Yen - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Feb 7, 2008 19:42:42 EST

Strained by war, recently discharged veterans are having a harder time finding civilian jobs and are more likely to earn lower wages for years due partly to employer concerns about their mental health and overall skills, a government study says.

The Department of Veterans Affairs report, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, points to continuing problems with the Bush administration’s efforts to help 4.4 million troops who have been discharged from active duty since 1990.

The 2007 study by the consulting firm Abt Associates Inc. found that 18 percent of the veterans who sought jobs within one to three years of discharge were unemployed, while one out of four who did find jobs earned less than $21,840 a year. Many had taken advantage of government programs such as the GI Bill to boost job prospects, but there was little evidence that education benefits yielded higher pay or better advancement.

The report blamed the poor prospects partly on inadequate job networks and lack of mentors after extended periods in war, and said employers often had misplaced stereotypes about veterans’ fitness for employment, such as concerns they did not possess adequate technological skills, or were too rigid, lacked education or were at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder.

go here for the rest

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/02/ap_veteransjobs_080207/

They need a great PR firm. Educating the veterans and their families on what PTSD is and getting them into treatment cannot take a back seat. It's that simple. The problem is, while the government is finally, slowly being responsible enough to start to take care of them, the media is hugely responsible for this happening and they should be applauded, not blamed.

The problem is that the government has done very little to educate the general population on PTSD as well. How else can they view the returning forces after all these years of stress and trauma after trauma? What people do not understand is that there are many who come back fine. Others with PTSD are not suddenly so damaged they cannot work for a living. There are many of them with mild PTSD causing them sleep problems and edginess but their symptoms can be controlled with medication and therapy. While there are many who will never be able to work again, even they can lead productive lives.

We have a nation of people with PTSD and not all of them are veterans. What is the next excuse they use to not hire people? Are they going to give out a questionnaire asking them about every traumatic event in their lives and then say "sorry but your too unstable to hire?"

I really think aside from the lack of education on PTSD, there is something more serious under all of this. My gut is telling me that it's the redeployments issue is the biggest factor. If they hire someone, especially a National Guardsman or Reservists, what are the chances they will get redeployed? Pretty high right? If they get redeployed, their job has to be held open. In a weak job market you have lines of people waiting to apply to Wal-Mart, so it's very unlikely they will hire a veteran who may have to go back. With stop loss, that is another problem. You have so many who think they are done serving only to get orders to go back in. This is not helpful to an employer.

Two ways to get around this: Educate the public on what PTSD is and what it is not. Let the veterans collect unemployment until they can find a job. After all, they were doing their jobs when they went to Iraq and Afghanistan and now they can't find work. Bush can make sure he always finds the money for both occupations and to pay the contractors but has a huge problem when it comes to taking care of the men and women he sends. It's time Congress took this all seriously.