Step two would be to respond as soon as possible with help to a veteran because he is fully aware of what PTSD is and seeks it fast. Big problem here because too many still don't know what PTSD is, have a twisted idea of it given the fact the stigma lives on and too many still are not hearing what they need to know. PTSD stops getting worse as soon as it is treated.
Step three would be to make sure every community around the country had support set up to help the veterans. No more excuses. Stop pointing to the change in the rules for VA free care. While they can received medical help free of charge for five years instead of two now, this does not mean an approved claim and it sure doesn't mean they get financial support while they heal until they have an approved claim. Top that off with the fact too many claims are given a less than real disability rating but they are expected to live off of it.
Step four, would be to get the heads of the service groups to get the facts and stop making baseless claims that most of them are fakers. Yes, some officers still believe this. They don't have a clue that it takes a lot of work to get these veterans to seek help in the first place. While there are some looking for an easy ride the rest of their lives, they are the minority. There are more not seeking help who need it and deserve it than there are those who don't.
Step five, would be to make sure all family members know what PTSD is. As we reach families with the knowledge they need to help the veteran, more and more families are provided with the coping tools they need to hold the family together as well as help the veteran to heal. If they don't understand it, then they become an adversary and make situations impossible to live with.
What we see is a continuation of more of the same problem we saw after Vietnam. Homelessness is a part of it because the majority have PTSD while others have duel issues going on like addiction coupled with PTSD instead of simply self-medicating. We have complex problems even when veterans only have mild PTSD because they cannot find jobs and this extra stress adds to the issues with PTSD. Self-medicating usually leads to crimes; violence, domestic abuse, drunk driving, drug deals, the list goes on. Not all self-medicating veterans will commit crimes but face committing suicide instead.
None of this has to happen at all and that is the saddest part of all. Every time we see a homeless veteran, there is a family that fell apart before it happened. Want to reduce the number of homeless veterans? Then reduce the number of shattered families with giving them the knowledge they need to stay together and help each other.
Chaplain Kathie
SOLUTIONS/BASSUK:
Ending homelessness among returning war veterans
By Dr. Ellen L. Bassuk
In a country as affluent as ours, no one should be homeless. Yet veterans who have served their country account for one-third of adult individuals who are homeless in America.
On any night, more than 130,000 veterans find themselves with no place to call home. Seven percent are women. Ending veteran homelessness starts with understanding why they become homeless.
At its core, homelessness is caused by a gap between income and the cost of housing. Given the diminished stock of affordable housing, people at the bottom of the wage scale are at greatest risk for homelessness. A minimum-wage worker cannot earn enough to pay for a two-bedroom dwelling anywhere in the United States.
Despite greater opportunities for education and training that arise from their military service, many veterans also struggle to make ends meet. Researchers report that nearly half a million veterans pay more than 50 percent of their income for rent.
read more here
Ending homelessness among returning war veterans
Why don’t you reader’s look up how Israel and other countries (except the USA) are using cannabis boiled oil as a remedy for PTSD war vets with suicidal impulses. Go ahead, do a google search and see if you can find the articles that tell of the Israeli study and how they boil marijuana in vegetable oil. They strain it, and bottle it like cough syrup. The soldiers take it by tablespoons – it tastes rank – and there’s no smoking.
ReplyDeleteThis method worked so well that other countries (not the USA) use this method for shattered war vets. Bosnia, Canada, New Zealand, England…….even a country or two in Africa, I recall.
There is much terrorism and war in the world now; and it’s all over the globe. In America alone the suicide level has reached (as of 2005) about 100 soldiers a week. That’s right, about 100 vets kill themselves EACH WEEK here at home, and we refuse to use the known technique discovered by the Israelis.
Ask why, dear readers, ask your elected officials ‘why’ ???
Anonymous I don't know where you got your information from but the reported number of suicides among veterans is 18 a day, but this is not counting active military coming in at over 100 per month. This is not counting the numbers of veterans not in the VA system or still tracked by the DOD, in other words, they vanish from the records. This also does not take into account the fact the VA reports there are an additional 10,000 veterans a year attempting suicide. As bad as you think it is, it's worse. As for the cannabis, there have been some studies pointing to it helping with PTSD as well as side affects of cancer treatments.
ReplyDeleteThere is much we should be asking our elected officials about but it would be really wonderful if people would know what to ask first and what would do the most good.