Syracuse VA helps vets battle hidden wounds of war

VA helps vets battle hidden wounds of war
Published: Monday, January 16, 2012,
By James T. Mulder / The Post-Standard

Dick Blume/The Post Standard
Military veteran Chip Crawford of Baldwinsville says the VA has helped him cope with post traumatic stress disorder

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Chip Crawford of Baldwinsville estimates that for every military veteran like himself who has been treated for post-traumatic stress disorder, there are five others who need the same help but are not getting it.

“They’re just living with the pain, trying to go about living in the world, even though you don’t fit in,” said Crawford, 50, who served with the U.S. Coast Guard in the early 1980s in Grenada and Lebanon.

Crawford shared his story at the Syracuse VA Medical Center earlier this week at Recovery Day, a program designed to encourage veterans who need help with PTSD and other mental health issues to come to the VA. Other veterans, family members and VA officials joined Crawford.

“The nightmares never end but the treatment you get helps you deal with them,” Crawford said.

The Syracuse VA provides mental health services to more than 7,000 patients annually and expects those numbers to grow as more soldiers return from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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