Veterans for Common Sense scores legal win for veterans

Thirty years ago I was probably like most Americans when it came to our veterans. I didn't really think that much about them. I'm ashamed to admit that, but it is the truth even though my Dad was a Korean Vet and my uncles were WWII veterans. Pretty pathetic when you think with all of these veterans, they were all first generation Americans but other than listening to some of their stories when I had to, my thoughts about what they did, where they went and what came home with them ended quickly after I left the room.

That all changed in 1982, thirty years ago as of next year for the math impaired. That was when I met a Vietnam Vet, fell in love and then became a Vietnam War statistic to over come. I married a wonderful man with a very big heart and a very deep pain.

Back then PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was talked about in clinical circles. Those were the only books I could find on PTSD. Then there were the untitled whispers in homes all over the country. PTSD back then was a secret. Now all of that has changed but the pain hasn't changed. The help they need to heal has not changed any more than the help the families need has. When I started this work way back then, there was a driving force behind me and that was my husband. Not because he supported what I was doing but because I saw this wonderful man suffering and there are still too many going through hell waiting to finally find their service along with the wounds they carried home are acknowledged. They want to have their wounds treated no matter if they are wounds to their body or to their heads or even their souls. They want to make sure they can pay the rent and feed their families if they are unable to work because of their disabilities. Is that too much to ask in return for asking them to lay down their lives? Isn't that exactly what we asked of them when we sent them to war?

All these years later and so much hope of getting where we need to be on helping them but then we still have to read stories like this one and Veterans for Common Sense still having to fight a legal battle for those we sent into combat. All I can say is thank God they are there!

Major VCS Legal Victory in New York Times
Written by James Dao
Wednesday, 11 May 2011 10:43

Federal Appeals Court Backs Veterans’ Complaints on Mental Health Services

May 11, 2011 (New York Times) - In a sweeping decision released Tuesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that “unchecked incompetence” by the Department of Veterans Affairs had led to poor mental health care and slow processing of disability claims for veterans.

“The United States Constitution confers upon veterans and their surviving relatives a right to the effective provision of mental health care and to the just and timely adjudication of their claims for health care and service-connected death and disability,” Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote for the majority.

In its 2-1 decision in the case, Veterans for Common Sense v. Eric K. Shinseki, the court agreed with the plaintiffs’ claims that the department must put mental health initiatives into effect “systemwide” and alter the disability adjudication process in its regional office.

The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by Veterans United for Truth and Veterans for Common Sense, two nonprofit organizations that are seeking to force the department to make systemic changes to the way it treats veterans with mental health problems and handles compensation claims for injured veterans.

The veterans groups asserted that the department was unprepared for the flood of psychologically troubled or physically injured troops returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, had inadequate services at veterans clinics and had allowed a huge backlog of compensation applications to grow.

In a statement released after the ruling, Veterans for Common Sense said that recent war veterans had filed more than 550,000 disability claims.
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Major VCS Legal Victory in New York Times