Will Florida ever get it right on taking care of our veterans? You know, all our veterans and not just the ones groups want to limit care to.
First the rate of "post 9-11" veterans with PTSD is one out of five. One out of three would be Vietnam veterans! You know, the ones groups like this will not even mention. The ones who waited longer for the same care. Oh, well, what could they expect? After all, it isn't as if the Vietnam veterans started all the research and making sure help was there....oh, wait...they did make it all happen.
"There are more than 76,000 post-Sept. 11 veterans living in Central Florida, Rodriguez estimates, and about a third of them experience some kind of cognitive or mental-health readjustment issue when returning from deployment."
Florida has about 1.5 million veterans and most are over the age of 50! They are also the majority of the known suicides.
While this was one of the pieces of information on this article,
The majority of veterans committing suicide are over the age of 50~It must have not dawned on the reporter to ask why older veterans are not among those who deserve the same camaraderie!
Group raising $2 million to fund counseling for post-Sept. 11 veterans
Orlando Sentinel
Kate Santich
September 8, 2018
At the Camaraderie Foundation in Orlando, the calls and emails come from veterans across the nation — some suicidal, some traumatized, some haunted by their own thoughts.
“We had five more last night,” said executive director Neftali Rodriguez, shaking his head. “You can raise a million dollars to save the whales. But what about these guys? They’re in pain.”
This weekend, the foundation launches a campaign to raise $2 million by the end of next year — enough to provide free counseling to 1,000 post-Sept. 11 veterans and their families on top of the charity’s current caseload.
It’s an ambitious goal for a still-young nonprofit, which operates with a staff of six out of crowded rented office space off East Michigan Street. Started in 2009 by a local veteran and his wife, the foundation gives counseling “scholarships” to veterans struggling to readjust to civilian life — or the families struggling to help them.
read more here
PTSD Patrol, directions to hope
Kathie Costos
September 9, 2018
This morning on PTSD Patrol, the topic was listening to your guide, in this case, a GPS trying to get you on the best road.
That is, after all, what we are doing here every week.
PTSD is not new. It is as old as biblical days when the anguished cried out to God for either mercy or forgiveness. Anything had to be better than what they were going through.
It is the same way with you. When you are struggling to find hope, you need to know how to get there.
It is almost like saying you are going to drive out west. If you live in Florida, that can get tricky on your own. Out west is Tampa and the the Gulf of Mexico. You need to find out how to get out of Florida first.
If you are smart enough to figure out you need directions for a road trip, then why don't you use that same intelligence to know when to ask for directions to heal?
This is from PTSD Patrol
Whenever you want to go to a place you have never been before, you have to find out how to get there.
In my case, my daughter bought me a GPS after I got lost in Tiffin Ohio...for two hours circling corn fields. (Don't ask, long story) She said I get lost getting out of a paper bag!
Everyone can get lost but the folks who planned the road and loaded directions must have gotten lost too.
When everything is going to hell, it is hard to believe in a place you have never been to. You are used to being stuck, most of the time feeling alone, and always being just too depressed to do much at all.
But even though you may feel as if you are stuck, there is something inside of you trying to get you to notice you are the only one keeping you from getting to where it is so much better. You can live a better life if you look for directions how to find it.
This video is for anyone who is lost but refuses to pay attention to the easiest way to get to hope. No one is so lost they cannot be found and get your life turned around from grave to Hope Road.
go here for more hope
I'm Listening
EXCLUSIVE: Michael Phelps’ Full #ImListening Interview
“It’s okay to not be okay…”
LAUREN HOFFMAN
SEPTEMBER 9, 2018
The world’s most decorated Olympian, Michael Phelps, opens up about his vulnerability, swimming as an escape, and how therapy changed his life - in this exclusive interview:
“While I had a lot of success in the swimming pool, I also struggled with anxiety and depression so I understand how difficult it can be for people to address mental health challenges,” says Phelps. “In sharing my own journey, I would like to help people understand that it’s okay to not be okay, and that asking for help isn’t a sign a weakness but rather a sign of strength and courage.”
Phelps recently announced a partnership with Talkspace, which helps connect anyone with therapists through a computer, tablet or smartphone. “I was scared to go in somewhere and be judged,” says Michael. Talkspace helps break the barriers – especially for those who are reluctant to seek-out help in person, or may not have the financial means. “Every day is not going to be perfect,” he explains, “but it gives me tools to help work through things.”
“Saving a life is much more important to me than winning a gold medal,” Michael concludes. “You are not alone.”
For more positive strokes, check out the Michael Phelps Foundation: https://michaelphelpsfoundation.org.
read more here
Fort Knox soldier earns Soldier’s Medal for saving man from burning fuel truck
Army Times
By: Charlsy Panzino
September 8, 2018
“He was upside down and his feet were stuck under the dash,” King said. “He managed to grab and push out the windshield.” The sergeant first class pulled Bowling out of the vehicle and dragged him about 150 feet away as the truck’s fuel tank was engulfed in flames and its tires were exploding.
Sgt. 1st Class Mario King, Army Human Resources Command information technology specialist career adviser, is presented the Soldier's Medal during a ceremony hosted by Maj. Gen. Jason Evans, Army Human Resources Command commanding general. (Master Sgt. Brian Hamilton/Army)
Sgt. 1st Class Mario King and his wife, fellow soldier Sgt. Adriane King, were driving in Kentucky when a movie-like scene unfolded in front of them.
The information technology specialist at Army Human Resources Command at Fort Knox, Kentucky, received the Soldier’s Medal on Friday for his actions that day.
It was May 13, and the Kings were coming back from a surprise visit to Mario’s parents for Mother’s Day.
“Normally we take a different route back, but because of all the traffic that weekend, we took a detour,” King told Army Times.
They were behind a small car and a fuel truck on a two-lane highway when they noticed the small car had veered off to the left, as if to make a turn.
“But then all of a sudden, it went back to the right in front of the fuel truck, and that’s when the accident occurred,” said King, who has served in the Army for 17 years.
read more here
This is what happens when disabled veterans are treated like their care is not due to the service they gave to this nation!!!!
Double-Billing for Private Care Cost VA $101 Million, IG Finds
Military.com
Richard Sisk
September 8, 2018
The double-billings by Health Net and TriWest cost the VA $66.1 million in overcharges, and three other types of accounting errors by the two contractors cost $35.3 million, for a total of $101.4 million in losses to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the report said.
U.S. Senator Jon Tester talks about his VA Mission Act last May on Capitol Hill. The bill, which would replace the VA Choice program, was passed by Congress but has yet to be funded. (U.S. Congress/Ann Strausse)
More than 250,000 double-billings by medical contractors for private care in the Department of Veterans Affairs' Choice program -- and other accounting errors -- cost the department $101 million in overcharges from March 2016 through March 2017, a VA Office of Inspector General audit found.
During that one-year period, 142,493 duplicate payments were made to Health Net Federal Services and 111,148 to TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corp., for a total of 253,641 duplicate claims out of 4,758,759 medical claims submitted, the audit, released Thursday by the IG's office, revealed.
read more here
And now that POTUS keeps pushing to make sure even more veterans get into the hands of these profiteers, there will be even more veterans betrayed for bucks!!
