"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." -John Fitzgerald Kennedy
As we pause this November 11th to honor those who have served our country, it is instructive to reflect about how we can best embody John F. Kennedy's words. How can our actions, as a nation, illustrate our deep appreciation for our veterans? In other words, how can we, both collectively and as individuals, "act our gratitude"?
The realities that our veterans face are stark. Consider these sobering statistics: According to the 2015 American Community Survey there are almost 19 million veterans in the U.S. and 3.8 million veterans have service related disabilities. The 2016 Annual Wounded Warrior Project Alumni Survey states that just more than three out of four wounded veterans who responded to the survey reported living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and more than half of respondents sought help from a professional for stress, emotions, alcohol, drugs, or family issues. The survey further notes that the top five most commonly experienced injuries and health problems of the respondents are: 76.7percent experienced PTSD; 75.7 percent experienced sleep problems; 72.1 percent experienced back, neck or shoulder problems; 70 percent experienced depression, and 67.3 percent experienced anxiety. And the survey tragically notes that the mean number of days for a veteran who has been homeless was 152 days. These numbers and the true pain behind them is real, stark and truly appalling.
At the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), we feel that the best way to act our gratitude is to help make our veterans with disabilities aware of the services and protections they are entitled to under the law. One of those services is the Congressionally-mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) and Client Assistance Program (CAP) agencies located in every state and territory, which NDRN represents, who work every day to help empower veterans to become beneficiaries of, and advocates for, the very laws which they have fought to defend. To that end, NDRN recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Veterans Affairs Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) to collaborate to improve outreach to veterans with disabilities, and increase awareness of and access to the kind of services that P&As and CAPs can provide.
For example, Disability Rights Texas (the Texas P&A) filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education on behalf of a veteran who has PTSD attending the University of Texas at San Antonio who was inappropriately questioned regarding her use of a service animal on campus. The complaint resulted in a modification of school policies regarding the use of service animals. Disability Rights Ohio (the Ohio P&A) filed a complaint with a Navy veteran's employer regarding confusion around the veteran's need to attend VA medical appointments and have his service animal with him at work. The complaint resulted in the employer allowing the veteran to maintain his employment while attending his necessary VA medical appointments, and a better understanding of the issue of service animals and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
On this Veteran's Day, NDRN exhorts each and every individual in the United States to think of one concrete action they can take to help a veteran who served this country to defend our rights. Indeed, it is incumbent upon all of us who have so benefited from the continual and very real sacrifices of veterans to think long and hard about the concrete ways that we can help to empower our nation's veterans. These actions may range from donating to a worthy organization that helps veterans, volunteering at a homeless shelter that serves veterans, conducting community outreach to help link veterans to services, or providing much needed legal and advocacy services to veterans. Whatever your talent, whatever your financial flexibility, whatever your personal situation, decide this Veteran's Day to act your gratitude.