American Legion Post stepping up for new veterans

Over the years I've had a lot of discussions with service groups but up until the last couple of years, none of them have been willing to listen. The American Legion is doing exactly what needs to be done for the sake of the veterans suffering with PTSD. They need to come up with programs to help these veterans heal, offer support especially when the VA and Veterans Centers are overwhelmed and unable to take care of all the veterans.

No matter how much reach out work I do, how many hours a day I spend or how many videos I make, it will do no good if the veterans I reach have no place to go to for help. My goal is to provide the education veterans and families need to understand what PTSD so they have the ability to hang onto hope and begin to heal. Education is a great thing but if there is nothing in place for after, it does no good at all.

The DAV, VFW, American Legion and all other service groups need to be active in this. If not, they are not serving the veterans needs. In a time when all of these groups should be finding increased memberships, they are losing members instead. It's time for them all to open their eyes and offer what is needed far beyond what they have been willing to provide.

Many of these groups have taken advantage of the videos I created to show to veterans so they understand that what is happening to them after combat is normal. The combat itself was not part of normal life but their reaction to it is normal. Wives are able to understand it better without having to go through what I went through 26 years ago trying to understand my own husband and his friends. Vietnam veterans with PTSD had the same exact issues the newer veterans do, just as all those before them. The blessing is that information has caught up with the suffering thru the internet. That's a wonderful thing and the service organizations need to use what is available and working. Thank God there are many Posts willing to do this.

American Legion post looks to recruit new generation of veterans

By Greg Meyer
Watch the video
LEWISTON - The American Legion serves American veterans and now Lewiston has a new post to help do that.It's Stewart-Runyon Post 27. On Wednesday they received their new charter."Well in the last 12 years, we used to have like 1,200 posts in the United States and we went down to about 1,000," said National Executive Committeeman Morris Bentley, who presented the charter document. "There is a new push by the national commander to start new posts, to get a different era of veterans in, such as motorcycle riders, Afghanistan and Iraqi kids...to get their own."

"You got a lot of guys out there that have PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), depression and stuff and they sit at home all day and their conditions get worse,” said Parham. “But if you get out amongst people and communicate it's sort of like a treatment that you can do for yourself."
go here for more
http://www.klewtv.com/news/32617799.html