Panel finds vets not seeking help

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Panel finds vets not seeking help

‘Hidden wounds’ unreported

By John J. Monahan TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
jmonahan@telegram.com


BOSTON — A state commission has concluded that high numbers of veterans returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are not receiving adequate treatment and readjustment assistance for what they called the hidden wounds of war — mental health conditions from battlefield brain injuries and post-traumatic stress.

The commission, which described failures to provide needed mental health services to veterans of past wars as “despicable,” today is issuing a series of recommendations for new government and community efforts to provide a range of key readjustment resources and programs to fill unmet needs.

“These warriors did not obtain these wounds on the golf course. They obtained these wounds, physical and mental, or both, on the field of battle,” said state Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, who is co-chairman of the commission. “If they have mental distress, we the citizens of this country must help them get over that. It is our obligation to help them.”


Besides a variety of new direct services to complement federal veterans programs, Mr. Brewer said, the commission is recommending broader social efforts, including an educational advertising campaign and training of police, emergency responders, corrections officers and court officials, to raise public awareness of special problems many veterans face.

“It is vital to ensure that service members, their families, and the public at large are educated about the warning signs, treatment options and societal effects of mental health issues left untreated,” the report concluded.

“If they have mental distress, we as citizens of this country must help them get over that. It is our obligation to them,” Mr. Brewer said of the urgency to expand special assistance in the form of medical transportation, free psychological counseling, career assistance, outreach initiatives and other support for veterans and family members as recommended by the commission.

Darrell P. Keating, executive director of the Montachusett Veterans Outreach Center, said over the last two years only a couple of veterans have come to that program to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder problems, and he said it is obvious to him many suffer without help.
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