Another Veterans charity tied to Florida being sued

Vietnam War veterans charity being sued by Mass. Attorney General
By Will Richmond
Herald News Staff Reporter
Posted Aug 16, 2012
SOMERSET

The Attorney General’s office is suing a local veterans charity and its professional fundraisers for allegedly using deceptive tactics in violation of state laws.

The suit, filed Wednesday in Suffolk Superior Court, alleges that Bay State Vietnam Veterans Inc. and its Rhode Island-based fundraiser, Dynamic Marketing Solutions Inc., violated the Massachusetts charitable solicitation and consumer protection laws during a phone solicitation campaign.

Also named in the lawsuit are Dynamic’s president, John Chaves of Warren, R.I., and its founder Thomas Gity Jr., of Pompano Beach, Fla. A temporary restraining order has been obtained against the charity and its fundraiser requiring them to preserve fundraising records and prohibiting them from transferring funds.

The suit alleges that during phone solicitations, Dynamic’s fundraisers deceived potential donors by falsely stating that 100 percent of their donations would benefit veterans, while only about 15 percent of the solicited funds went to support veterans and about 85 percent of the funds went back to Dynamic for their fundraising services.

According to the organization’s 2011 filing with the Attorney General’s office, the group raised $460,081 in 2011, with just $69,012 going to the charity.
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Wounded Times broke 700,000 hits

To readers of Wounded Times, Thank you more than words can express! I just noticed the hit count is over 700,000 and it must have happened yesterday. Thank you is just not enough to say but there are no words. Imagine that? I'm speechless!

Teens Raise Money for Wounded Veterans

Local Teens Raise Money for Wounded Veterans
by Jackie De Tore
August 16th 2012

Newport - During summer vacation, most teenagers are hanging out by the pool and enjoying their freedom, but some local teens are donating their time for American heroes.

Nokomis Junior ROTC students are raising money for the Wounded Heroes Foundation at Bud's Shop N' Save in Newport.

Cadet Staff Sargent, Felix Thibodeau said, "Some of the stories you hear from these veterans are heartbreaking, they're not getting the recognition they deserve."

The Wounded Heroes Foundation gives financial aid to vets who have been 100% disabled by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
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Mt. Pleasant couple sentenced in starvation case

Mt. Pleasant couple sentenced in starvation case
August 16, 2012
By SCRN

A Mount Pleasant couple charged with homicide by child neglect were sentenced Thursday, two years after their son starved to death.

Charles Gordon and his wife Ashley pleaded guilty to the charges but tearfully asked Circuit Court Judge J.C. Nicholson for mercy in the 2010 case. They said their 9-month-old son Andrew was being fed but continued to lose weight. Ashley Gordon said she thought something might have been wrong but did not think the situation was that serious. It turned out the infant was slowly starving to death.
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DAV needs volunteer drivers in Syracuse area

Volunteer drivers needed for vets
By MARTHA ELLEN
Watertown Daily Times
TIMES STAFF WRITER
FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 2012

Disabled American Veterans is looking for volunteer van drivers to take veterans to clinic appointments and to the Syracuse Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

“We’re in desperate need, especially in the north country,” said Andrew T. Newcomb, DAV transportation/hospital service coordinator. “The ones we have are being run ragged.”

The need will grow as the DAV has 13 new vans on order, which will replace some aging vehicles and add to existing service. Massena soon will have two vans instead of one; Watertown will grow from two vans to three; and Ogdensburg and Potsdam will receive replacement vans.

“We’re looking for as many drivers as we can possibly get,” Mr. Newcomb said. “Our needs are always for drivers and donations.”
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2 sheriff's deputies dead, 2 wounded in La. shootout

UPDATE
2 Wounded deputies recovering

2 sheriff's deputies dead, 2 wounded in La. shootout
AP
Posted August 16, 2012

The dead deputies were identified as Brandon Nielsen, 34, and Jeremy Triche, 27.

The wounded officers were Jason Triche, 30, and Michael Boyington, 33.

LAPLACE, La. (AP) — Two sheriff's deputies in Louisiana were shot to death and two others were injured in an early morning shootout west of New Orleans, authorities said Thursday.

The sheriff in St. John the Baptist Parish said five people are in custody.

A tearful Sheriff Michael Tregre said the incident started when a gunman opened fire for unknown reasons on a deputy working an off-duty traffic detail along a highway that connects U.S. Highway 61 with the busy industrial corridor along the Mississippi River. That deputy was wounded.

Tregre said someone called deputies with a description of a car fleeing the scene, and officers tracked it to a nearby trailer park.

When officers found the car, they handcuffed a suspect outside a trailer, then knocked on its door. Tregre said someone with a dog answered.

"Another person exited that trailer with an assault weapon and ambushed my two officers," Tregre said. Two deputies were killed and a third was wounded.

Two suspects were wounded in the shootout before officers subdued them, Tregre said.
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Walmart suspends veterans charity as advocates seek stricter rules

If you live in Florida, you are very aware of Bill Vagianos especially if you do anything with homeless veterans. When he talks, everyone needs to listen because he has a huge agenda,,,,taking care of veterans!

Walmart suspends veterans charity as advocates seek stricter rules
Aug 16, 2012
Written by
R. Norman Moody
FLORIDA TODAY

Solicitors claiming to collect money in the name of veterans in front of Brevard County stores may soon have guidelines to follow if local advocates have their way.

Walmart already has decided to suspend one group from asking for money at its stores.

Walmart spokeswoman Kayla Whaling said the company has taken a closer look at the organizations requesting to solicit on its properties and decided to suspend Veterans Support Organization until it investigates further.

“The group is no longer welcome to fund-raise or solicit outside our stores until we know more,” she said.

Bill Vagianos, the president of the Brevard Veterans Memorial Center and vice chairman of the Brevard Veterans Council — a coalition of more than 70 veterans organizations — said that the topic of creating guidelines for groups claiming to collect money for veterans at stores and on the street has now been propelled forward in the wake of a FLORIDA TODAY investigation published Sunday.

“I recommend that we have a uniform criteria,” Vagianos said. “It’s been a topic of discussion for years. We’re just now taking up the initiative.”
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Update from a fellow sucker. If you gave to this group or any of the other groups you believed in, don't feel too bad. Just make sure the next time you know where your money is going. Don't fall for the sad stories about what is happening to our veterans if they do not list anything they are doing for them. We've all seen commercials and ads to groups claiming they are really working for veterans only to discover they are putting most of their money into raising more money and putting it in their pockets. I not only fell for a lot of these groups, I helped support them on this blog. I had to learn the hard way and support the groups I am still a member of. The DAV-DAVA has been around a long time and I know what they do. Point Man Ministries has been around a long time and I know what they do. There are several other groups I am still involved with because I do believe in them. I stopped advertising for new groups because I ended up regretting any support I gave them. This group is one of them.

Combat PTSD, get to the Point Man

Combat PTSD, get to the Point Man
by Chaplain Kathie
Wounded Times Blog
August 17, 2012

There is a great article on Dr. Edward Tick talking about the need to address the spiritual aspect of PTSD. As a matter of fact, it is vital since PTSD hits the soul. Dr. Tick is great and I have a copy of his book.

Embracing the soul to heal war's pain
Albany therapist trains Army chaplains to help troops who suffer PTSD
By Paul Grondahl
Thursday, August 16, 2012

Pyschotherapist Dr. Edward Tick, who has been chosen to provide national training on PTSD therapy for the 2,000 chaplains of the Army, goes through documents pertaining to the training, in his office in Troy, N.Y. Thursday Aug. 16, 2012.
(Dan Little/Special to the Times Union)

TROY — Psychotherapist Ed Tick has presented training sessions on post-traumatic stress disorder for 2,000 of the Army's chaplains at retreats from Hawaii to Florida during the past year.

The chaplains are a forgotten casualty of war, psychologically damaged themselves while providing spiritual healing to troubled combat soldiers.

"Each chaplain is caring for an entire battalion of 1,000 soldiers. They're faced with an overwhelming number of mental health cases and they're hurting badly themselves," said Tick, of Albany, executive director of Soldier's Heart, a not-for-profit group in Troy that helps veterans address their spiritual and psychological needs when they return from combat.

Following his two-hour presentations, chaplains sought him out in quiet corridors to open up how the brutality they encountered in Iraq and Afghanistan tested their faith and mental health. Tick is the lone civilian invited to the three-day retreats known as Chaplaincy Annual Sustainment Training, or CAST.
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So why isn't Point Man included in on any of this? Consider the following.

Since 1984, when Seattle Police Officer and Vietnam Veteran Bill Landreth noticed he was arresting the same people each night, he discovered most were Vietnam vets like himself that just never seemed to have quite made it home. He began to meet with them in coffee shops and on a regular basis for fellowship and prayer. Soon, Point Man Ministries was conceived and became a staple of the Seattle area. Bills untimely death soon after put the future of Point Man in jeopardy.

However, Chuck Dean, publisher of a Veterans self help newspaper, Reveille, had a vision for the ministry and developed it into a system of small groups across the USA for the purpose of mutual support and fellowship. These groups are known as Outposts. Worldwide there are hundreds of Outposts and Homefront groups serving the families of veterans.

PMIM is run by veterans from all conflicts, nationalities and backgrounds. Although, the primary focus of Point Man has always been to offer spiritual healing from PTSD, Point Man today is involved in group meetings, publishing, hospital visits, conferences, supplying speakers for churches and veteran groups, welcome home projects and community support. Just about any where there are Vets there is a Point Man presence. All services offered by Point Man are free of charge.

Combat PTSD on the Home Front has information about the need to get families involved, something else Point Man has been doing all along.

Outposts are lead by Christian Vets who care deeply about veterans and their struggles. They fully understand the difficulties associated with returning home after a long and difficult deployment as well as the non-combat experiences. Outposts are places for veterans to talk, share and listen to others who have walked in their shoes. All Vets are welcome regardless of what country they served with and gender is irrelevant as both men and women have served and sacrificed for their respective countries.

Homefront groups are lead by Christian mothers, wives and friends of both active duty military and veterans. They provide an understanding ear and caring heart that only those left behind at home can understand. They have experienced the stress of dealing with deployments and the effects of a loved one returning home from war. If you have someone you love deployed or having issues readjusting since coming home get connected with a local group or contact HQ for assistance.

You'd think members of Point Man would be invited to all of these events but the truth is, Point Man International Ministries has a great reputation but no PR at all. Honestly we operated mostly out of our own pockets so no one has money to spend or time to get reporters to pay much attention to us at all.

I had a meeting with some business people the other day and we were talking about how I don't have a clue what is needed to find financial support or even promote what I do. There are some things I just don't understand or have time to learn about. Most of us are in the same position. Our time is dedicated to healing veterans and their families.

With all the new reports coming out, you'd think the spiritual part of healing PTSD is new as well but as you can see, Point Man figured that out a long time ago! UPDATE

Faith-based Website: Churches, Non-profits Need to Proactively Respond to Military’s Suicide Epidemic

The Army reported more suicides within its ranks in July than in any month since 9/11; faith-based website, followme.org, says community organizations need to reach out to returning soldiers.

(PRWEB) August 18, 2012

Community organizations, churches, and non-profits can make a big difference in the military’s war on suicide, says faith-based website, followme.org.

That statement came today as the military last week released a startling statistic: that the number of suicides by American soldiers in the month of July was the highest it has been since 9/11.

According to the Pentagon, 38 soldiers are suspected of having killed themselves in July, Time reported last week. That amounts to a 117 percent jump from June’s count of 12 suicides and a 50 percent increase from the average number of suicides in the last 18 months, the Time report said.

The statistics have the Pentagon searching for clues, as suicides have spiked since 2005, despite the end of the Iraq War and a phasing out in Afghanistan, Time reported. If the current trajectory continues, the Washington Post reports, the Army will lose 200 active-duty soldiers this year.
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Preventing military suicides starts with the end of Resiliency Training

BLOG: Marine general calls for stepped-up efforts to stem suicides
North County Times
By MARK WALKER

Eight active-duty Marines took their own lives in July, raising the number of troop suicides so far this year to 32 ---- the same number recor…

Despite an array of screening, monitoring and outreach programs, the Marine Corps like all U.S. military services remains vexed by suicide rates among its troops.

Through July, 32 active-duty Marines have taken their own lives, equaling the figure recorded for all of 2011.

Faced with that alarming trend, a Marine Corps general says the service has to do "whatever it can" to stem the number of self-inflicted deaths in the ranks.
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Here's a place to start.

End resiliency training! Stop telling them they are weak minded, didn't train right and it is their fault they have PTSD!

US Army reports spike in suicides
(AFP) – 12 hours ago

WASHINGTON — Suicides among US Army soldiers more than doubled in July compared to June, the Pentagon said, the latest evidence of a worrisome trend that has vexed military leaders.

Among active-duty troops, 26 soldiers killed themselves last month, compared to 12 in June, according to an army statement.

The July toll was the highest for any single month since the Army began documenting suicides by month in 2009, officials said.

The army, which has borne the brunt of more than ten years of protracted ground wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has suffered the highest suicide rates among all the US armed services.

Commanders have struggled to stem the problem, funding a myriad of programs and research to try to understand what is driving so many soldiers to take their lives.
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This program does not work, has not worked at best, made it worse for too many told they could train their brains to be "mentally tough" and would be prevented from ending up with PTSD. WHEN WILL THEY GET A CLUE THIS IS PART OF THE PROBLEM? Will the media ever get serious about asking the DOD about this?

Postal carrier stole money sent to a Chicago charity

Veteran postal carrier admits to stealing $275K destined for single charity
5-year sentence possible for yearlong scheme in Berwyn
By Annie Sweeney
Chicago Tribune reporter
August 17, 2012

A veteran postal carrier admitted Thursday to stealing nearly 30,000 letters containing cash, checks or money orders that he was supposed to deliver to a charity on his mail route in Berwyn, federal authorities said.

Frederick L. Taylor stole $275,000 meant for the charity over the yearlong scheme, according to a guilty plea he entered at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse. But it was unclear how much money he actually pocketed because checks made out to the charity made up most of the stolen funds. He pocketed more than $17,700 in cash, authorities said.

The purloined donations, taken between August 2010 and August 2011, came from some 25,000 different donors, authorities said. The charity was not identified in court documents.
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