In the recent years, the number of mental health professionals providing for the military has dwindled, there is almost no combat-specific psychologists left, and the wait time to be treated for a mental health issue by the Department of Veterans Affairs has drastically increased. Examining MilitaryOneSource and the Department of Veterans Affairs, two of the most highly regarded military health providers, the lack of mental health services for veterans and active duty members has diminished and has resulted in a multitude of veterans going untreated or even ending their own life instead of receiving the help they …show more content…
In order to categorize the priority of a patient’s necessities, the VA has implemented a series of tiers that rank veterans into groups in order to classify their severity of need (“Removing Barriers to Mental Health Services for Veterans”). Typically, those that are experiencing mental health concerns will be ranked in the bottom two tiers, leaving them stranded without care for months at a time. Within the VA in the last year, there was currently upwards of 500,000 appointments that were waitlisted with delays totaling longer than 30 days (Griffin, Drew, Nelli Black, Scott Bronstein, and Curt Devine). Although there is currently an influx of patients seeking treatment at VA health clinics, the number of patients being waitlisted throughout the past year has augmented up to fifty percent, meaning those that are pursuing mental health care through military benefactors can end up waiting up to six months without treatment. Statistically proven, the rates of mental and emotional suffering experienced by American veterans is excessively high, meaning that the obstructions to care for them after reentering the civilian world puts them in a further
Missouri Veterans Commission is a state agency that provides veteran benefits. It was established by the Missouri Statute. The state of Missouri is one of the top states for veteran benefits. The size of a hierarchy varies depending on a variety of things.
Veterans Essay , Hunter Bradford What a Veteran means to me. It means, freedom, honor, putting their life on the line everyday. So that me, my mom, my dad, my sister, my grandparents,and the rest of my family and friends can have freedom. We all have freedom and we owe them our respect because if it was not for God and a Veteran who knows how this world would be.
A veteran is someone who has served a long time in the military, no matter what their age. Veterans are important to our freedom because while serving their time, you have to remember that they are fighting for your right to be free in the United States. Without them, there wouldn’t be any freedom in this world. They fight for what they believe in and what is right for the country. You have to remember, these war vets are putting their lives on the line for people they don’t even know.
Supporting Homeless Veterans Almost 60% of all veterans say that the VA is doing “only fair” or a “poor” job at taking care of the problems faced by serviceman (Chandrasekaren). Current soldiers, as well as veterans, are facing problems like not be able to find a job because of a disability or not receiving compensation for an injury that occurred while in the service. Many wait months upon months just to be seen by a doctor. The men and women protecting this country deserve the best help available, and they are receiving very little or no help at all.
“... O say does that star spangled banner yet wave, o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.” Nearly every American can recite the final lines of our National Anthem. However, few take the time to truly contemplate the meaning of these words. When I hear these phrases, I think of the principles on which our country was founded: the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. But perhaps more important than these rights are the defenders of them: our veterans.
The VA needs to change the way it deals with Veterans and their bout with homelessness, consistent and worthwhile employment, and mental
Another issue that veterans struggle with when they come back from war is mental illnesses like PTSD. According to “bringing the war back home”, “Of 103 788 OEF/OIF veterans seen at VA health care facilities, 25 658 (25%) received mental health diagnosis(es)”. This disabilities can make getting into the workforce much more difficult and even leave veterans to live on the streets from lack of employment. The solution discovered from this research is that if these mental diseases are caught early enough, the veterans will receive the help they need and be able to continue their normal civilian lives. “Targeted early detection and intervention beginning in primary care settings are needed to prevent chronic mental illness and
A constant watch over mental health issues of all military servicemen and women has gone under the radar in the past few years due to a lack of knowing how unrecognizable the problem just might be. The magnitude of this problem is enormous. A recent report finds that the estimates of PTSD range from 4 to 45 percent for those soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan (Cesur, Sabia & Tekin, 2012). Research suggested that other serious medical issues are likely to accompany the PTSD diagnosis, such as cardiovascular disease, and chronic pain (Frayne, et al, 2010). Compiling mental health issues, physical ailments along with family reintegration can prove overwhelming for a returning veteran.
Veteran’s Benefits Veteran’s pay a heavy price for our freedom, but do we in turn repay them back? Once veteran’s return home they receive several benefits, such as education, disability compensation, and low-cost medical care. Each are specific due to how they benefit each veteran, but not all are capable of fully providing the veteran. Veterans receive benefits based on discharge from active military service other than dishonorable conditions. Active service must be serving full time as a member under several branches, Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, or as a commissioned officer of the Public Health Service, Environmental Services Administration or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Homeless veterans need more help After all the things that homeless veterans have done for this country, they need more help. Many times, veterans will be seriously injured while in service. Whether it’s a physical or mental injury, they are serious.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in The Things They Carried During the turbulent times of the Vietnam War, thousands of young men entered the warzone and came face-to-face with unimaginable scenes of death, destruction, and turmoil. While some perished in the dense Asian jungles, others returned to American soil and were forced to confront their lingering combat trauma. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried provides distinct instances of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and reveals the psychological trauma felt by soldiers in the Vietnam War. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD for short, is the most common mental illness affecting soldiers both on and off the battlefield.
Veterans and active-duty members are considerably diverse in individual characteristics and life histories. Veterans refer to retired or discharge military population. Some suggest programs implemented are addressing too broad of a population and should be focused on specific veteran populations. Many veterans develop self- stigma, internalizing the negative beliefs society places on this population, and avoid seeking help. "Each of the military services and the Veterans Administration (VA) have developed educational campaigns to reduce the stigma associated with reporting emotional distress, raise awareness of the risk of suicide, and teach military personnel, veterans, and their family’s suicide prevention strategies (Brenner & Barnes, 2012).
In the United States, serving in the military is seen as a model of true patriotism, and rightfully so. Service members train for 10 weeks in their transition from civilian to a soldier. They train to be able to endure all the hardships that may come their way. Service members have to be in the best physical shape to serve and because of all that they do, they are thought of as brave and selfless people. Service members make extreme sacrifices to defend our country and act selflessly by doing so; it is fitting that they are seen as heroes by many Americans.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD, is a mental disorder that most often develops after a veteran experiences a traumatic event. While having this illness, the veteran believes their lives are in danger. They also may feel afraid or feel they have no control over what is happening. If their feeling does not go away, the symptoms may disrupt the person 's life, making it hard to continue daily activities.
Why do the people of today still associate stigma, shame and blame with mental health issues? Mental health issues are extremely and widely misunderstood. Despite the fact one in four people are likely to experience some kind of mental health problem a year in the United Kingdom. “Mental health is a person’s condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well-being and it affects how we feel, think and act. It also helps to determine how we handle situations such as stress, how we relate to others and how we make decisions.