Iowa vets lobby for free counseling, mental health court

Iowa vets lobby for free counseling, mental health court
By Mike Wiser Lee Des Moines Bureau
DES MOINES - State support for free counseling services and establishing a mental health court that would cater to veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder are the top two priorities of the veterans lobby this year.
Steve Mulcahy, chairman of the Iowa Commission of Veterans Affairs, said he hopes to work with legislators this year for greater recognition of mental health issues many veterans face when they return from combat.
"PSTD is the main issue right now," Mulcahy said following a series of short speeches today by Gov. Terry Branstad and three of the four legislative leaders of the Veterans Affairs Committees in the House and Senate in the Capitol Rotunda.
"Last year we had legislation that any counseling visit by a veteran would be covered, but it didn't make it out by the end of session," Mulcahy said. "Every veteran goes through some readjustment when they return from deployment to what we call ‘the life' and we're working for greater support of that."
Mulcahy's presence and the speeches by the governor and lawmakers were part of the events set up for today's Veterans Day at the Capitol. Roughly 300 people, many of them wearing hats signifying the Legion or VFW post they belong to and the years of their military service listened to the speeches and browsed among the display tables set up by organizations such as the Gold Star Mothers.
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Iowa vets lobby for free counseling, mental health court